We are seeing it happen. From corporations to crowd-powered institutions. This trend, where the people in the crowd connect to each other using these sharing startups, enables people to get what they want from each other, rather than using traditional corporations. I’ve even documented the true story of a crowd building a 100 mpg car, and selling it legally. From latent delivery to on-demand. Amazon delivery of 3-5 days, or even overnight, will begin to feel slow, as on-demand services, like Uber, make renting a car happen in real time.
Last night, I had to wait for five minutes Antarctica Email List for my car, before traversing San Francisco. So how do Airbnb and Uber deliver on these overarching trends? Airbnb delivers personalized, local experiences, powered by the crowd. They provide that personalized experience at the local level of properties and experiences available to rent, but have an inventory that spans the globe. In fact, the New York Times has reported that Airbnb is putting 200,000 heads in beds per night, and they’re still in their formative years. It’s local and specialized, and often less expensive than hotels. The future state of Airbnb could go beyond just beds, disrupting eBay.
This is a massive marketplace that can add any product mix that the crowd wants. I imagine the next natural phase for Airbnb is to help restaurants, local retailers, and artisans to provide services to guests at Airbnb facilities, and then to everyone else all at the local level. Need a new shirt? Use Airbnb. Need more furniture for the guest room? Use Airbnb. Need a place to eat in your neighborhood instead of a restaurant? Use Airbnb. Uber delivers services, and now goods, on demand. On July 18th, the Huffington Post reported that Uber put its toes in the water of delivering physical goods at the local level, on demand.