Peer2Politics

With Internet-based apps and services like Uber, Airbnb and others, you make money, and the consumer saves.

Government regulators and the taxi industry can’t stop Uber — but maybe a patent can.

Uber, Lyft, Airbnb. These brand names have dominated headlines over the past year alongside mentions of the "sharing economy." But what exactly is this brave new world of commerce? How is it different from years of trade in the past?

A Q&A with Greg Jaros, the CEO of Spare to Share, which offers a platform to make it easy for neighbors to socialize and share services.

Even beyond the world of travel, it is hard to argue with the statement that 2014 was the year of the sharing economy.

Last month, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University put out a report titled ‘The Sharing Economy and Consumer Protection Regulation: The Case for Policy Change.’ The paper, penned by Christopher Koopman, Matthew Mitchell, and Adam Thierer, discusses the relationship between sharing economy startups, incumbents in industries the startups are looking to disrupt, and government regulators.

California lawmakers are expected to explore regulations for online room and apartment rentals this session. Good timing. Here’s how easy it is to be hijacked by the sharing economy.

Reprising a written piece from over the summer, Ericson asked TEDx attendees: What is the social cost of Uber and Lyft?

Airbnb your room? Drive for Lyft? Unfortunately, that extra income isn't free money.

In the language of startups, circling the block looking for a space is a system ripe for disruption.

Whilst there are many definitions for exactly what makes up the sharing economy, it can be summarised as a diverse collection of sectors based on access, rather than ownership. These are now beginning to disrupt traditional business models. Although the sharing economy still has a lot of room to grow, we agreed it will work alongside traditional models, rather than replacing them entirely.