What's Mine Is Yours

The Rise of Collaborative Consumption

By: Roo Rogers, Rachel Botsman

Narrated by: Kevin Foley

The recent changes in our economic landscape have only exposed and intensified a phenomenon: an explosion in sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping. From enormous marketplaces such as eBay and Craigslist to emerging sectors such as peer-to-peer lending (Zopa), "swap trading" (Swaptree), and car sharing (Zipcar), Collaborative Consumption is disrupting outdated modes of business and reinventing not only what we consume but how we consume.

While ranging enormously in scale and purpose, these companies and organizations are redefining how goods and services are exchanged, valued, and created - in areas as diverse as finance and travel, agriculture, and technology, and education and retail.

Traveling among global entrepreneurs and revolutionaries and exploring rising ventures as well as established companies adapting to these opportunities, authors Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers outline in bold and imaginative ways how Collaborative Consumption may very well change the world. Anyone interested in the business opportunities and social power of collaboration will enjoy this smart, timely book.

©2010 Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A convincing, charming and in every sense collaborative account of how the new networks that have disrupted our lives are also likely to alter them, and entirely for our good." (Adam Gopnik, author of Paris to the Moon)

“Part cultural critique and part practical guide to the fledgling collaborative consumption market, the book provides a wealth of information for consumers looking to redefine their relationships with both the things they use and the communities they live in.” ( Publishers Weekly)

An Important Topic

I am always looking for books that will help me fathom the new social media/electronic environment. "What's Mine is Yours" seeks to fill a void in that area by addressing social media and consumer behavior. If you have little back ground in the two areas this is a good enough place to start. It is well short of insights not well covered elsewhere. However, is is filled with anecdotes and illustrations that are very inspiring and informative. It is hard to write, publish, and then make a volume ready for Audible in a timely fashion so this one is just a little behind the curve. Another book that is, perhaps, more helpful is Clay Shirky's "Cognitive Surplus." That said, if you have little or no background in social media and consumer behavior - don't miss this book because it is a "business book." Its application is wide ranging.

Sharing Can Be Fun!

If you enjoyed Freakonomics or The Tipping Point, I recommend this book. The first part is an interesting look at how we got to where we are as consumers, and the rest of the book outlines various ways that people are creating collaborative environments with the help of social media. I found it to be inspiring.