The Case for Collaborative Consumption

The normal market is usually faced with numerous problems and challenges every day. Buying and selling of goods and services is an activity that cannot be avoided by the modern man. Therefore, humans have to seek better ways to transact and smoothen up the process in order to reduce the various hitches that may be experienced. In business, it is quite difficult to trust other people; therefore, people have come up with various forms of technology that enables them to trust each other. This has been a factor that many business persons have strived to achieve (Gerzema, 2011). In a normal market, customers and clients need to trust a supplier or trader before they engage any business with them and this has been the major trial of many entrepreneurs; to establish trust worthy business mechanisms and systems. In the recent past, trust has been created among various trading parties and all these can be attributed to the advanced technology that the businesses are being subjected to.

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People are also making use of the internet and other easy sharing methods that increase awareness of business and therefore increase market as well. Collaborative consumption basically talks about how people are able to connect, find buyers and sellers from any part of the world thanks to technology and the internet. The success rate of the use of the internet and other forms of technology is quite high with very few complaints recorded relating to issues such as delayed deliveries (Gerzema, 2011). The internet has also helped market products online making it more convenient and cheaper by removing middle men and hastening the process of ordering and delivering.

Social media have been the forefront of marketing various products to people all over the world. It has played a great role in making the world a global village. The collaborative consumption theory talks about how people all over the world have increased consumption needs and is constantly being satisfied via technology and the internet. It has also increased the efficiency of unwanted goods by processes such as reusing and recycling. The current generation has, by a great measure, reduced the amount of tangibility of our needs and wants. This is because people tend to simplify their requirements by use of technology such as entertainment. It becomes more of access is better than ownership (Gerzema, 2011). People, for instance, will not be interested in purchasing many DVD disks. Rather, they will seek other means of watching movies and listening to music such as streaming them online. Rachel Botsman finalizes by saying the market world is revolutionizing and changing to less tangible wants to more use of technological elements to satisfy the human needs.

Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce

Happiness is an important factor to all humans. However, there is more to the simple happiness that is brought about directly to humans. Various things make humans generally happy such as finding easy ways to solve various life problems. Whenever people have the chance, they will opt not to get tired in order to solve a certain solution; but this does not give deep and genuine happiness (Belk, 2014). A test done to the general public shows that people enjoy solutions to various problems of life; however, they like to get the solution the easy way. Malcom Gladwell says that researcher Howard tested the characters of various Americans using spaghetti sauce. The result of this research was that most Americans either like the sauce plain, spicy or extra chunky. Of these, most people preferred the extra chunky type. People who got the results of this research went ahead and produce the rare sauce and because of its uniqueness the sales were high. Seeing this, the extra chunky had several other producers trying to share in this good sale as well.

However, when people are asked what they really want, they do not want. This is the normal nature of many human beings. They want good things but they are not sure what they want. They expect nature and circumstance to solve their various cravings and needs. In general, people need to be motivated to know what they really want and need. They need to be taught to have a vision and given reason to work towards it (Belk, 2014). They should not be readily satisfied by the simple achievements of everyday life but rather they should learn to be happy from having bigger challenges and achieving them, which will definitely not be easy. People envy expensive things and since that is when they will realize what they want, it will motivate them to work harder and achieve it. The best way of finding happiness among humans will be by embracing the various diversities of men.

Chris Anderson (Wired): Technology's Long Tail

Technology is a form of invention created by humans that has had one of the largest impacts on the lifestyles of people. Various forms of technology have been discovered from mere experimentations to accidental inventions. All in all, people dwell on technology in order to make life easier and smoother. All forms of technology usually undergo four main stages of their lifespan. During any of these stages, the technology will have to face some sort of changes in price in the economy (Wallis, Rolando & Borgman, 2013). In the introduction of technology, the first stage it goes through is the critical price. This is followed by the critical mass stage. Once technology is introduced, after a while the prices begin to decrease and the machine or instrument becomes more affordable to more people. After this boom time, the technology machine will gradually decrease the level of wontedness and thus also the price of the machine.

After the introduction of a new form of technology in the market, it gains fast and popular market that grows quite rapidly. Within few days or weeks, it becomes monotonous and people tend to feel the need for something better. There is a recorded drop in the things that are introduced to people and later on drop in preference and price. After the drop in preference, there is a slanting slope of quantity demanded of the various goods and technology provided to people.

Summary and conclusion

In summary, the three videos describe similar trends in the demand and behavior of men when they are exposed to various goods and services. It is common in all vides that humans like the best of what is new. They will prefer the new objects and products in the market. After a while, they will eventually get bored and new and better solutions will definitely be sought. After the new solutions are sought, the previous version of the goods and services become less valuable. Humans will also do all that they can to satisfy their needs and wants.

References

Gerzema, J. (2011). John Gerzema: The Post-Crisis Consumer.

Belk, R. (2014). You are what you can access: Sharing and collaborative consumption online. Journal of Business Research, 67(8), 1595-1600.

Wallis, J. C., Rolando, E., & Borgman, C. L. (2013). If we share data, will anyone use them? Data sharing and reuse in the long tail of science and technology. 8(7), e67332.