UBER, and the future of collaborative consumption

[The Dice Man]

I could write a hundred thousand words about this subject but I'd still only be scratching the surface. I've used uber in the title purely because people are becoming aware of it, but there's huge industry here, and it's collaborative consumption. It's about sharing our stuff.

On average every average home owner who owns a drill will use that drill for 7 minutes in both the drill, and the owners lifetime. If you have a network of people, local people, why does every home need to own a drill if it's only used for such a short life?

We can share, we can rent. We can collaborate.

Need to drill a couple of holes in your wall to hang some pictures of Jack Watts flying down the wing? Why buy a drill? Why not rent from someone nearby?

 

[GROTTO]

I am jackhammer and drill every night.

 

[The Dice Man]

I am jackhammer and drill every night.

That's really cool.

 

[edgie]

I do believe people hanging pictures of Jack Watts wouldn't have the faintest idea how to use a drill, so why rent a drill when they can rent a person with a drill! Oh that's right, that service already exists.

In all seriousness, what kind of renting financial arrangement are you talking? What are the figures?

 

[GROTTO]

That's really cool.

Not really, I get asked to use a different drill.

 

[The Dice Man]

I do believe people hanging pictures of Jack Watts wouldn't have the faintest idea how to use a drill, so why rent a drill when they can rent a person with a drill!

In all seriousness, what kind of renting financial arrangement are you talking? What are the figures?

It's just the vibe.

Apps, communication ect. It's a way to escape taxes for both parties, and the government are so far behind that they really can't catch up. AirBnB, UBER, Couchsurfing,

The biggest thing is trust, will you trust someone to use your s**t. This is a booming economy in Europe, and it's tax free. Smartphones make it possible. The only limits are the edges of your imagination.

Have a little plot of soil in Melbourne that your not using? Rent it to someone who wants a little herb patch.

Shareyourmeal.com is a site that connects people that cook meals for people who don't have time to cook...

 

[The Dice Man]

Definition,

«Traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting and swapping redefined through technology and peer communities that is transforming business, consumerism, and the way we live»
Rachel Bostman 2010

It's an escape from hyper consumption. It's about being smart, it's about not buying s**t you don't need. It's about sharing.

 

[The Passenger]

It's an interesting economy that's on the rise.

The biggest thing for physical items is theft. Hardware is a great example because some blokes have some pretty wicked hardware setup's but never use them.

The other thing is convenience. People are getting very much used to having things ready to go, here and now.

One thing I've often thought about in regards to this is insurance. The average person comes out well behind on insurance costs. If they didn't, insurance companies wouldn't exist. But there must be some way to bring down the cost of insurance by having some sort of community based not for profit insurance consortium. I guess one problem is payouts for insurance groups can severely escalate at unexpected times.

 

[clogged]

A way for companies to profit off people doing work for free.

 

[Leper]

Best form of this i've seen is the bike rent scheme they have in Paris.

I think they have or tried it in Melbourne, but IIRC it never really took off because of things like having the carry a helmet with you (thus no impulse users etc) and a dose of over-reulation no doubt thrown in.

Does this concept work with wives / girlfriends? eg. Mine's in the workshop so can I have a "loaner"?

 

[The Dice Man]

Best form of this i've seen is the bike rent scheme they have in Paris.

I think they have or tried it in Melbourne, but IIRC it never really took off because of things like having the carry a helmet with you (thus no impulse users etc) and a dose of over-reulation no doubt thrown in.

Does this concept work with wives / girlfriends? eg. Mine's in the workshop so can I have a "loaner"?

Have you seen Aktor Manniskor?

 

[Flash of power]

Then you need your own drill

I am jackhammer and drill every night.

 

[The Passenger]

I think they have or tried it in Melbourne, but IIRC it never really took off because of things like having the carry a helmet with you (thus no impulse users etc) and a dose of over-reulation no doubt thrown in.

I think it's going reasonably successful now - you can rent them from 7/11.

Not going as good as in some other countries, but definitely better than when it started.

The share cars things is another similar example. They are everywhere in Sydney.

 

[The Dice Man]

I think it's going reasonably successful now - you can rent them from 7/11.

Not going as good as in some other countries, but definitely better than when it started.

The share cars things is another similar example. They are everywhere in Sydney.

Noticed a couple of the cars around the Gold Coast, pass one every day that always seems to be there though.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

if they had the bike thing in Perth I would use it

 

[Leper]

Have you seen Aktor Manniskor?

Can't say I've heard of it, but I gather it's partly about the use of "sex robots" which will make us blokes redundant one day!

 

[The Dice Man]

Can't say I've heard of it, but I gather it's partly about the use of "sex robots" which will make us blokes redundant one day!

Works both ways... Oh hang on.

Great series. Think the US tried to copy it but didn't work.

 

[Damon_3388]

Obviously not the entire point of the thread, but I'm still yet to be convinced that Uber presents any real advantage over simply taking a regular cab.

 

[JuddsABlue]

Obviously not the entire point of the thread, but I'm still yet to be convinced that Uber presents any real advantage over simply taking a regular cab.

lol it doesnt

the drivers get paid * all (driver last night earned $100 for an all night shift of 9 pick ups) and we tried to get him to pick up a friend then pick us up on the way, but when he got to where we were we had to 'order' a new pickup in the app before he could take us anywhere

 

[Damon_3388]

lol it doesnt

the drivers get paid **** all (driver last night earned $100 for an all night shift of 9 pick ups) and we tried to get him to pick up a friend then pick us up on the way, but when he got to where we were we had to 'order' a new pickup in the app before he could take us anywhere

So really, what's the point of it then?

 

[JuddsABlue]

So really, what's the point of it then?

just cooler than cabs I think?

 

[Damon_3388]

just cooler than cabs I think?

Lol, it's even more of a wank than I thought then.

 

[Scotland]

I like the idea of collaborative consumption, to a degree. There's no point everyone owning a 6 x 4 trailer for example as you need one once every year if that. If I want to drill a hole in something it's convenient to just walk to the shed and grab the drill. A 5 minute job requiring going to borrow a drill each time would be a PITA.

People don't share/borrow stuff as much as they used to because on top of being inherently selfish and untrusting, we're conditioned to cheap, disposable stuff. If you had one table to sand and varnish you could (assuming no one will lend you one) hire a sander from Bunnings for half a day. Will probably cost you $20-50. Alternatively, you can just buy a cheap $10 sander, use it once and chuck it in the shed in case you need one again some time.

 

[Taylor]

I'm watching a row of people taking the same photo of the same church from the window of the hospital (meeting someone who works there, nothing bad). They will all end up with near enough an identical product so what is the point? The point is that having something that is yours is sometimes just as important as the function it serves.

Like hot footballer boyfriends.
A man defining his handyman skills by the tool collection he has.
A house
A car.

Really we could all sleep in bunks down a hole and emerge to work the field until the bell rings for meal time.

 

[Damon_3388]

I like the idea of collaborative consumption, to a degree. There's no point everyone owning a 6 x 4 trailer for example as you need one once every year if that. If I want to drill a hole in something it's convenient to just walk to the shed and grab the drill. A 5 minute job requiring going to borrow a drill each time would be a PITA.

People don't share/borrow stuff as much as they used to because on top of being inherently selfish and untrusting, we're conditioned to cheap, disposable stuff. If you had one table to sand and varnish you could (assuming no one will lend you one) hire a sander from Bunnings for half a day. Will probably cost you $20-50. Alternatively, you can just buy a cheap $10 sander, use it once and chuck it in the shed in case you need one again some time.

Isn't this kind of stuff basically what Kennards Hire exists for?