What impact will physical computing technology have on "the sharing economy", and in general on sharing and ownership?
Physical computing technology will have a great impact on all aspects of the current "sharing economy" in the next few years. The now blooming industry that is "collaborative consumption" is attracting more and more companies, meaning a greater use of technology in this area but also leaving room for future innovations. Growth in the use of these technologies will ultimately lead to a growth in this industry, as it becomes safer and easier to use.
The increasing use of these technologies will provide an easier, safer and more convenient way to share things. For example, GPS trackers provide so much use in this industry already, currently being used in all car sharing companies, such as Go Get and WhipCar to track and locate their cars. This however isn't just useful to the company so they can keep track of their cars, but also for customers who wish to see cars in their areas. This convenient way of finding what is in your general vicinity could and will be applied to many and any types of sharing goods or sharing businesses, providing an accessibility to practically anything you could need at any time. The ease in which we can find and acquire these goods will definitely boost the already widespread use and popularity of "the sharing economy".
But not only do these technologies allow users to easily locate goods but it also enforces a sense of honesty whilst using them. The ability to track and monitor goods that are being shared across large spaces, reduces the risk of people stealing, vandalising and just taking advantage of the system as a whole. Such as with London's Barclay's bike hire, RFID's are used in the bikes and also in users keys which allows the company to track where the bikes are and for how long they have been rented for. Allowing the company to monitor usage, user behaviour and any abuse of the system. This kind of technology ensures the safety and reliability of these organisations. And as the involvement of these technologies increase as will the public's willingness to use such products.
Social networking as a whole has completely changed online identity and what it means to be on the internet. People are becoming more and more connected through many different platforms. As Courtney Boyd Myers says in an article for thenextweb.com, we are entering into an age of increased online honesty as we are constantly connected to everyone and everything through social platforms. This increase in honesty is what has allowed the sharing economy to begin to blossom, and this growing concept of "online reputation" is what will help the sharing economy to grow. It allows users of these companies to feel more secure in lending out their rooms, couches and resources to practically complete strangers. TrustCloud is a new online organisation that allows users to sign up and measure their online behaviours and transactions through many different sharing sites. TrustCloud then creates a score for the user which carries across with them through different web sites determining their reliability. This does not only help by giving you the creditability in these sharing communinities but also to help users find other reliable people that they can feel safe sharing their rooms, cars or belongings with. This kind of technology is imperative to the growth of collaborative consumption. As honesty and trust are the basic foundations of this type of economy, without it none of these ideas would be possible.
As the sharing economy becomes more prominent in society, the combination of tracking goods but also tracking transactions and behaviours will play a integral part in collaborative consumerist culture. These technologies give users the piece of mind and reassurance that their sharing is safe and won't be abused. But it also increases the ease in which goods and resources can be shared. As this type of consumerism becomes more and more popular the whole concept of ownership will change. In a society in which it is easier and more cost effective to share products what will happen to consumerist behaviour? Will people be buying less out of necessity and more out of greed?
This shift in behaviour will affect many aspects of everyday life not only for those who use sharing communities but also for companies who supply products to the public. Not to mention how it well affect how these companies will market these products to the public, Why buy a brand new car if renting it means less waste and more savings?
