THE EVOLUTION OF MY THEORIES RACHEL BOTSMAN

“WE ARE AT THE START OF A COLLABORATIVE REVOLUTION THAT WILL BE AS BIG AS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.”

RACHEL BOTSMAN 2009

2009: COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION

In 2009, I began exploring key questions that led to the idea and book on ‘collaborative consumption’: •  How would technology change not just what we consume but how

we consume? •  We are sharing music, videos, knowledge; what was next? •  What would the concept of ownership mean in the digital age?

COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION

The reinvention of traditional market behaviors—renting, lending, swapping, sharing bartering, gifting—through technology, taking place in ways and on a scale never possible before.

2010-2012: THE SHARING ECONOMY

The term ‘The Sharing Economy’ started to take hold in 2010. It is an economic system largely based on peer-to-peer marketplaces that depend on the social glue of trust between strangers. The ‘providers’ in these marketplaces are often referred to as ‘micro-entrepreneurs.’ (E.g. Airbnb hosts, Etsy sellers, Lyft drivers.)

SHARING ECONOMY An economic system based on sharing or renting underutilized assets directly from individuals for monetary or non-monetary benefits.

THE SHARING EVOLUTION

MICRO-ENTREPRENEURS

Empowering people to make and save money from their existing assets.

2012: REPUTATION CAPITAL

We are at the start of a profound shift from trusting people more than corporations or government. This new era of trust needs a measure, namely reputation capital. Books, music, knowledge, photos have digitized; identity, trust and reputation next. I believe it will transform how we think about wealth, power and personal identity in the 21st Century.

REPUTATION CAPITAL

The worth of your reputation – behaviors, capabilities and values – across communities and marketplaces.

2014: COLLABORATIVE ECONOMY

At the start of 2014, I expanded my focus to look at how decentralized networks of connected people – who create, distribute and consume value in ways that bypass traditional centralized institutions - are starting to change sectors such as finance, manufacturing and education. Ripe for disruption by this model are systems with waste, redundant intermediaries, complexity, limited access and broken trust.

COLLABORATIVE ECONOMY

An economic system of decentralized networks and marketplaces of connected individuals creating value in ways that bypass traditional institutions.

2015: THE IMPLICATIONS…. I am currently focused on looking at the positive and negative effects the collaborative economy will have on society, the economy and culture. Warts and all…