Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
New blog post : Demystifying the diesel debate - Should Mr Minister mind his own business? http://bit.ly/cbcH0G
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Bibi Russel
Bibi Russel will showcase colorful accessories — recycled bags, sandals, running shoes, necklaces and bangles & her collection in cotton, recycled terracotta silk yarn, organic fibre and silk in Bangalore. The clothes will have the famous rickshaw art on them and the models will walk to the rhythm of Bengali folk music by Lalan Fakir. Be there.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Key Success factors to enable a better shared economy:
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.
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.
Sisodia, Wolfe, and Sheth have documented the value created by companies who recognize this in their book Firms of Endearment (FOE), Wharton School Publishing, 2007. The results show that FOE’s generate more than 10x cumulative investor return compared to the S&P 500 over a ten year period, and 3x Jim Collins’ “Great Companies.” Any company failing to recognize the significance of these other bottom lines will do so at their own peril.
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