The document discusses how human civilization has progressed but often fails to efficiently use resources due to individual needs overriding collective optimization. The sharing economy addresses this by enabling collaborative consumption of goods and services through platforms that provide incentives for individuals and businesses. By improving knowledge of sharing opportunities and enabling monetary gains, the sharing economy allows underutilized resources to be optimally used, reducing waste and increasing access.

2. HUMAN CIVILIZATION HAS COME A LONG WAY

3. EVERYDAY, WE CONSUME RESOURCES TO
CREATE VALUES
Labor
Human capital
Talent
Knowledge
Land
Natural resources
Energy
Raw materials
Capital
Financial capital
Infrastructure
Technology
Goods & services
to meet
our wants & needs

4. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, WE FAIL TO CONSUME
RESOURCES IN EFFICIENT, OPTIMIZED MANNER
 We consume resources in such a way that it caters to our individual needs
and wants, but not to the interest of our entire human race collectively.
 As a result, we waste a lot of resources. This is a problem when our
population constantly grows and resources are depleting fast. It’s simply not
sustainable.
Example
John Doe ‘s work
requires him to
commute quite a
bit on weekdays.
On weekends, he
gets around on
foot to exercise.
Jane Dee and her
family use public
transport on
weekdays, but on
weekends, she
prefers to travel in a
car together with her
family.
John Doe and Jane Dee buy a
car each to meet their commuting
needs.
5 seats idle for 48
hours a week
Z
5 seats idle for
120 hours a week
Z Z
Z
Z
Z
However, since John Doe and Jane Dee
do not fully utilize their cars throughout the
whole week, their cars are idle for some
time. This translates to wasted parking
spaces, wasted effort on car maintenance
and many more.

5. INEFFICIENT USE OF RESOURCES IS PARTLY, BUT
NOT COMPLETELY DUE TO OUR SELFISHNESS
Imperfect
knowledge
Logistical
difficulty
Lack of
incentive
It’s difficult for us to know who else is consuming a particular
type of resources, for how much or when.
Even if we do know how much others are consuming and there
is a potential for collective optimization, it may not be so easily
implemented.
Inherently, there is little incentive to optimize the use of
resources collectively because well..., we feel that there is too
little in it for us.
Too much effort, too little gain?

6. SHARING ECONOMY COMES TO THE RESCUE!
Back to John Doe’s and Jane Dee’s Dilemma
John Doe ‘s work
requires him to
commute quite a
bit on weekdays.
On weekends, he
gets around on
foot to exercise.
Jane Dee and her
family use public
transport on
weekdays, but on
weekends, she
prefers to travel in a
car together with her
family.
John Doe needs car
on weekdays while
Jane Dee needs it
on weekend. If John
Doe and Jane Dee
were the same
person, only one car
is needed.
In a sharing
economy,
they can
indeed share
a car!
Sharing
Economy:
Collaborative consumption of talent, goods
and services, sometimes characterized by
disownership of the said talent, goods and
services.

7. SHARING ECONOMY IS ON THE RISE ALL OVER
THE WORLD
If you know or have been a customer of the following services, you have
come in touch with the sharing economy:

8. FUELED BY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY,
PEOPLE NOW FIND THE INCENTIVE TO SHARE
Information
Technology
Monetary
Gain
Social
Awareness
Information technology improves imperfect knowledge by transmitting
information on almost real-time basis from one individual to another. IT
tells us who owns something that can be shared and who needs it.
People can now make money out of sharing. Businesses earn revenues
by providing a platform and infrastructure to enable individuals to share.
Individuals earn revenues by sharing.
For people who are not motivated by monetary gain, there is an inherent
social value in sharing, especially when you know who you are sharing
with through a social networking platform.

9. SHARING ECONOMY ALLOWS OPTIMAL USE OF
RESOURCES AND ACCESS TO GOODS AND
SERVICES PREVIOUSLY NOT ACCESSIBLE
Before After
Sharing
Economy
less polution
less carbon footprints
less parking space
1 person who couldn’t afford
owning a car can now ride a
car

10. STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!
Keep a look out for the next post if you are curious
about:
 How no single Finnish will be owning private cars by 2025
 How a domestic helper’s son managed to pay his college without having to
borrow from a single bank
 How to eat home-cooked food without having to cook at home