collaborating and sharing: the power of we

2010 is coming to a close: Looking back now as the year 2010 is coming to a close, it’s quite amazing to see where I am, where my friends/family are, and society in general as a whole.  There’s no doubt that the general consensus is that 2010 was a year of epic change for many of us.  Epic: for many of my friends/family that moved to new cities to begin new lives, some closed the chapter on long relationships, and some began new chapters with new career changing moves.  Me?  I am sitting here, on a Monday, having just finished cooking all morning, plowing through my piles of books, and thinking about what I need to get done today so I can go to bed with a clear conscience – I need this clear conscience saying I added value to the world today.  I spend a lot of time analyzing and thinking.

Our world has changed.  The world has gone through some crazy changes.  Our irresponsible ways of hyper consumption have caused the collapse of our financial systems - because there is a price for everything. The world is stretching and working its muscles as we are being forced to change – and change very quickly.  No pain, no gain, right?  We have had a change of power in our government (US) – and more changes will come to bear as the old inefficient processes and systems undergo more scrutiny.  We’ve been shuffled into a new world of sharing, thanks to the world of technology and all that’s happened during start of the 21st century. 

The power of we:  Sharing.  Collaboration.  Co-working.  Collaboration.  Co-paying.  That’s where the past decade has taken us.  Isn’t it amazing?  Now, with the simple click of a button – I can reach out to thousands of people, some of whom I know very well, and some of whom I’ve never met. Thanks to technology, we have a system of trust happening between complete strangers.  We have a global community.  Flickr.  Yelp.  Twitter.  Facebook.  YouTube.  Foursquare.  It’s so simple.  We are connected.  We have moved from the individualistic culture focused on “me” (20th Century) to a collaborative one that understands the power of “we” (21st century).  There’s hope for us yet!    

Examples: The average consumer today is no longer the passive one just taking in like before – today, we are proactive, informed, and collaborative.  We trust the recommendation from a peer over the one that is produced by the system. 

• We bargain hunt and reuse/redistribute goods and services via communities like Craigslist.  Why pay $1,200 for the brandnew TV when I can get a working one for $500?  How about I trade you my season 1 of LOST for your season 1 of the Sopranos?  I’ll fix your iPhone if you help me setup my iTunes.
• We’re more collaborative.  Now you can land on the comfy couch of a complete stranger while couch-surfing your way through Europe (couchsurfing.org).  You have multiple designers working together to build witty tee shirts (Threadless.com).  You can work with a stranger who has the gardening skills to grow food in your extra plot of backyard space (landshare.com)
• We share products.  What if you could have all the benefits of a product without having to own the product outright?  I’m talking about a culture where access to this product is more valuable than actually owning it (Netflix.com, avelle.com, zipcar.com).  With Netflix, I don’t want a pile of DVDs, I want the movies.  I don’t want stuff – I want all of the needs and experiences that the stuff can give.

Trust.  I spent a great deal of time working with some researchers in the domain of trust/internet security and privacy – so all of this collaborate, sharing goodness requires trust.  Reputation is paramount – and is being created with every interaction you have in the world wide web. Reputation and social credit is the new currency of how products/services are being sold.  We’re headed towards a more sustainable system that makes the collective good the priority.

All Things Wishful: So as you know, the three of us (Arry, Mina, Michael) are working on a startup called All Things Wishful.  We hope to help the change the world a little bit through our product that helps communities collaborate and share.  We’re hitting beta now – so keep your eyes peeled!