The Fourth Revolution is about the end of ownership as we know it traditionally. At least it is the trend for may of the amenities that we use on a day-to-day basis. Instead of owning, we rent. When we own, we share.
We don’t own any more our music, our films – we rent them. In many towns people rent on an as-needed basis their transportation means: bicycles and cars – instead of owning them. In electrical cars we will probably rent the batteries instead of owning it – and exchange it instead of loading it. We won’t probably even own the car but lease it and share it.
When we don’t rent, the trend is to share in an effective manner – hence the services such as Airnb (sharing apartments or couches), or services that propose to share cars during the day instead of leaving them in the office parking…
This is all made possible by the online platforms made available by internet, powered up by mobile ubiquity. The number of these platforms is increasing at a rapid pace. Those that can offer a great quality of service thrive. These platforms lower the time and cost for coordination with other users. Our preferences can be known that optimize what’s available and even offer useful suggestions.
Not only will this trend decrease the number of items we will need collectively, it will result in less waste. It also means that our choices increase dramatically – owning, sharing or renting.
There are still certainly a lot of still unidentified opportunities in renting instead of buying, or sharing those amenities we use on a day-to-day basis. Any idea?
