Trust through Community: Trust needs to exist in order to allow sharing transactions to occur. Many sharing startups begin by leveraging an existing community. People who wouldn’t share a ride with a complete stranger would have no problem doing so with someone who went to the same school. Once sharing is established within a specific community, it then becomes simply a matter of linking separate communities to expand that trust.
Trust through Familiarity: Another approach is through the use of extensive profiles to build trust, even when the profile information seems irrelevant (like favorite bands). Users are much more likely to trust someone they feel that they know and act socially responsible in response.
Trust through Reputation: A more technological solution to this problem is reputation. eBay has used feedback scores to effectively ensure that users can buy from complete strangers based on their reputation alone. Similar structures need to be in place for any sharing transactions to occur.
Regulation: A much less understood challenge is regulation. Yet in the same way that legal issues challenged but did not stop the proliferation of the audio tape, the VHS tape, digital music, and Youtube, laws will need to be fought over and adapted to the new sharing economy.
Socially conscious startups which are eager to expand the sharing economy have many challenges ahead of them; however, many resources exist to help them navigate into the future. With some determination and care, they will usher in a new sharing based economy where enabling the sharing of rather than the overconsumption of resources creates profit.
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