What's Mine Is Yours Intl: The Rise Of Collaborative Consumption (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
A well-structured and engaging conversation of a fascainting topic which could indeed change the world and the way we behave as human beings. While the environmental benefit of collaborative consumption is cleaar, it strikes me that it is not the argument that is most liekly to sway skeptics as these are also likely to be unconcerned by environmental issues, or less so than purely economic ones. And there lies the rub: I would have liked the authors to delve omre into the ecnomics of collaborative consumption, how it isnt necessarily a handicap to a capitalist society, on the contrary. Yes these topics are tackled but i felt their impact were lesser compared to the environmental concerns.Besides this, the topic defintely resonated with me and you cannot help but be buoyed by a great sense of optimism and pride in the human nature for constantly evolving and innovating. The potential presented through this book is stagering for modern society, and excitment times could be ahead if this is embraced quickly When I was only a few pages into this book, I was pretty sure it was going to be another example of Millenials patting themselves on the back for being so great at whatever they do. But it's not. Or maybe it is. Or maybe Millenials actually DO have a lot of things to pat themselves on the back for when it comes to using technology creatively to make the world a better place. I have never seen the rise of (mostly) Internet-fueled collaboration documented and analyzed as well as it is in this book. In fact, I don't think I've seen it documented anywhere before, and I've never been more encouraged by this movement toward collaboration than I have been by this book.The authors point out dozens of examples of people sharing everything from rides to homes to knowledge. Not every example was based on technology, but the vast majority of them were. She revisits the genius that is craigslist, and the brilliance of ebay. And she also analyzes the success of zipcar and other collaborative consumption mechanisms that wouldn't be as possible were it not for web 2.0. Technology is seen as instrumental in the energy/materials savings that come along with sharing and from virtual consumption. We can enrich our visits to Iceland, or Seattle, for instance, if we can find a local to stay with, as opposed to staying at the Motel 6. Not only that, we make a lifelong friend. Or--it's not the CD we want, after all, it's the music ON the CD. So we are saving landfills and oceans from football fields full of plastic by taking advantage of downloading. These are good things, unless you happened to be in the CD/DVD stamping business. This review will not do this book justice, because I will be chewing on what I gained from it for a long time to come. It shifted my perspective on this vast shift in culture we're experiencing from a hesitancy about the changing economic landscape and encroaching environmental disasters to--dare I say, hope?--about where we're headed. I thought a lot while reading this book. I learned about a lot of internet ventures with which I hadn't been familiar. Technology is a great assistant in leading us back to values most of us associate with simpler, pre-World War II times. It is, indeed, a great democratizer--well--except for the fact that our access to the technology is in the hands of huge corporate interests, and not really in the hands of us normal people. If anything, a takeaway that I had after reading this book was not in the book at all. It's the desperate need we have to keep the internet free, uncensored, and as available as possible to as many people as possible.The book reminds me of some of the work of Paul Glover--social change genius and the inventor and founder of IthacaBUCKS. Paul says we need to take power back from the maze of corporate/governmental control so that it serves common humanity. His phrase for this way of living is "mutual enterprise." I think Paul would appreciate "What's Mine is Yours". He will be the first person to whom I send my copy. Rachel and Roo, if you're reading this, thanks for changing my life.
What do You think about What's Mine Is Yours Intl: The Rise Of Collaborative Consumption (2010)?
This is more than just a book - it is a movement that is picking up steam!
—esmeraldaa
This book is simply inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
—Dhritz
So full of information I had to take notes!
—Anne
Looking forward to reading this book!
—olusanyaoni
