7 ms·

Even AirBnB isn't sharing though, in the traditional sense of the word. This should be obvious when you compare it to CouchSurfing, which is genuinely about sha

Even AirBnB isn't sharing though, in the traditional sense of the word. This should be obvious when you compare it to CouchSurfing, which is genuinely about sharing. I would argue that the way it's traditionally understood, sharing is something that happens between equals, or people who have an intention of becoming equals. "Let me share some advice with you" is fundamentally about a relationship between equals or possibly a relationship between people who are not exactly equals in some aspect, but either feel like they belong to some common in-group or like they will be equals eventually. From this perspective, it's obvious that CouchSurfing is sharing while AirBnB isn't: on AirBnB, the expectation is that there is a split between the seller and the buyer; on CouchSurfing, there is a shared identity of "travelers" and an expectation of reciprocity. Let me also point out that by your own definition of how you use the word sharing, it's not so clear why you wouldn't call Uber a sharing service. After all, somebody might decide that their car is an underused asset which should be "shared". (Hold on, you say, those people are also selling their labor? Well, so do AirBnB hosts when they clean the room after you stayed in it...). tl;dr: Your conclusions don't actually follow from your implied definition of sharing, and your definition of sharing doesn't match the general feeling that the word evokes.

bmir-alum-007 11y ago
Also: Freecycle and Popcorn Time# (and BitTorrent, both legal and illegal uses). # "Theft" is part of the economy too, with a purchase price of zero.
- collyw 11y ago
  Don't confuse copyright infringement with theft. https://www.quora.com/Intellectual-Property-Law/Is-copyright-infringement-theft?share=1 https://www.quora.com/Intellectual-Property-Law/Is-copyright...
ucaetano 11y ago
Guess I should have made my definition of "sharing" more explicit: Share: have a portion of (something) with another or others. I never said sharing should be free. Carrier share towers (for fees), companies share office buildings, warehouses, etc. "I would argue that the way it's traditionally understood, sharing is something that happens between equals, or people who have an intention of becoming equals." Well, that's your definition. We can spend the rest of our lives arguing about definitions. "From this perspective, it's obvious that CouchSurfing is sharing while AirBnB isn't: on AirBnB, the expectation is that there is a split between the seller and the buyer; on CouchSurfing, there is a shared identity of "travelers" and an expectation of reciprocity." So, by my definitions, AirBnB is sharing, so is CouchSurfing. "by your own definition of how you use the word sharing" Again, you're implying a different definition of sharing than I'm using (or even that the dictionary uses). "somebody might decide that their car is an underused asset which should be "shared"" The car yes, but you're not paying for usage of the car, you're paying for a transportation service. "Well, so do AirBnB hosts when they clean the room after you stayed in it...)." That's asset maintenance. Someone driving a car isn't asset maintenance, it's a service. And that's even charged separately, usually (as a "cleaning fee"). "tl;dr: Your conclusions don't actually follow from your implied definition of sharing, and your definition of sharing doesn't match the general feeling that the word evokes." Not only you wrongly implied my definition of "sharing", which I actually took from a dictionary, but you also didn't understand the difference between usage of assets and labor services. Another way to look at it is: what's the main cost component? Is it return on assets or labor? - Uber: labor - TaskRabbit: labor - AirBnB: return on asset
- cloudsloth 11y ago
  Uber requires a significant investment - a new car.
  - ucaetano 11y ago
    Nope, not significant at all, you can lease a reasonable, "uberable" car for way less than $200/month (which already includes depreciation). If the car is used on Uber for (a very conservative estimate) of 20 hours per week, ~150 hours per month, that's about $1/hour in asset costs. Let's say maintenance and what not costs another 50% of that plus another 50% of whatever, we're still talking $2/hour in asset costs, which is far less than minimum wage.
- kedean 11y ago
  Dictionaries don't specify that sharing be free, sure, but that's because the concept of 'i give you part of something i am in excess of in exchange for something' is already called selling, and 'i allow you to use part of something i am in excess of in exchange for something' (airBnB) is already called renting. Those activities are not sharing because they are already renting and selling, which are incompatable with sharing. By induction, sharing must not involve transaction of money between the two parties doing the sharing. A timeshare is sharing because the people who share the condo do not pay each other, they both pay someone else and agree on when each party will have access. Also, Uber's claim to be 'ride sharing' is the idea that the rider is filling otherwise empty space in the drivers car. It's original purpose was to let drivers pick up strangers to fill otherwise empty seats while on their way to do other things, it just mutated into the 'driver as a profession' form that we have now, so I think it does fit your definition.
  - ucaetano 11y ago
    We can disagree on definitions then.
    - earleybird 11y ago
      Your desire to have a word mean something different does not make that alternate meaning correct.

bmir-alum-007 11y ago

Also: Freecycle and Popcorn Time# (and BitTorrent, both legal and illegal uses). # "Theft" is part of the economy too, with a purchase price of zero.

collyw 11y ago
Don't confuse copyright infringement with theft. https://www.quora.com/Intellectual-Property-Law/Is-copyright-infringement-theft?share=1 https://www.quora.com/Intellectual-Property-Law/Is-copyright...

ucaetano 11y ago

Guess I should have made my definition of "sharing" more explicit: Share: have a portion of (something) with another or others. I never said sharing should be free. Carrier share towers (for fees), companies share office buildings, warehouses, etc. "I would argue that the way it's traditionally understood, sharing is something that happens between equals, or people who have an intention of becoming equals." Well, that's your definition. We can spend the rest of our lives arguing about definitions. "From this perspective, it's obvious that CouchSurfing is sharing while AirBnB isn't: on AirBnB, the expectation is that there is a split between the seller and the buyer; on CouchSurfing, there is a shared identity of "travelers" and an expectation of reciprocity." So, by my definitions, AirBnB is sharing, so is CouchSurfing. "by your own definition of how you use the word sharing" Again, you're implying a different definition of sharing than I'm using (or even that the dictionary uses). "somebody might decide that their car is an underused asset which should be "shared"" The car yes, but you're not paying for usage of the car, you're paying for a transportation service. "Well, so do AirBnB hosts when they clean the room after you stayed in it...)." That's asset maintenance. Someone driving a car isn't asset maintenance, it's a service. And that's even charged separately, usually (as a "cleaning fee"). "tl;dr: Your conclusions don't actually follow from your implied definition of sharing, and your definition of sharing doesn't match the general feeling that the word evokes." Not only you wrongly implied my definition of "sharing", which I actually took from a dictionary, but you also didn't understand the difference between usage of assets and labor services. Another way to look at it is: what's the main cost component? Is it return on assets or labor? - Uber: labor - TaskRabbit: labor - AirBnB: return on asset

cloudsloth 11y ago
Uber requires a significant investment - a new car.
- ucaetano 11y ago
  Nope, not significant at all, you can lease a reasonable, "uberable" car for way less than $200/month (which already includes depreciation). If the car is used on Uber for (a very conservative estimate) of 20 hours per week, ~150 hours per month, that's about $1/hour in asset costs. Let's say maintenance and what not costs another 50% of that plus another 50% of whatever, we're still talking $2/hour in asset costs, which is far less than minimum wage.
kedean 11y ago
Dictionaries don't specify that sharing be free, sure, but that's because the concept of 'i give you part of something i am in excess of in exchange for something' is already called selling, and 'i allow you to use part of something i am in excess of in exchange for something' (airBnB) is already called renting. Those activities are not sharing because they are already renting and selling, which are incompatable with sharing. By induction, sharing must not involve transaction of money between the two parties doing the sharing. A timeshare is sharing because the people who share the condo do not pay each other, they both pay someone else and agree on when each party will have access. Also, Uber's claim to be 'ride sharing' is the idea that the rider is filling otherwise empty space in the drivers car. It's original purpose was to let drivers pick up strangers to fill otherwise empty seats while on their way to do other things, it just mutated into the 'driver as a profession' form that we have now, so I think it does fit your definition.
- ucaetano 11y ago
  We can disagree on definitions then.
  - earleybird 11y ago
    Your desire to have a word mean something different does not make that alternate meaning correct.