DailyPost 160
ACCESS Vs OWNERSHIP
Imagine of a world where you don’t have buy and own most of things, which we treat as essentials of life, the access to those resources is provided to you whenever / wherever you want, at acceptable hire / usage charges and at terms and conditions of your choice. It sounds like a fairy tale story; it is the direction the world is moving in today’s technology enabled world.
Sharing and shared resources is the name of the game henceforth. Internet is the most famed of the shared resources. Had ownership been the concept, the benefits of the internet could not have reached even a small fraction of today’s internet base of users, leave aside the intensity of usage and 24/7 dependence on this resource. What would have been the fate of world’s economic and social development had we not had this shared resource.
Idling is a concept has come in vogue for resources which is not being used for most of the time. At a higher level thought process, the resources are not able to contribute in the creation of wealth, employment and thus national growth. One research shows that the normal usage of cars in Canada is for just one hour a day. The effort and capital invested in for its manufacturing and the benefits imagined does not match with the actual reality.
From Wikipedia to YouTube et al have been the pioneers, we are all comfortable with. Uber and Airbnb have added to a new dimension, more relevant to the concept and displayed it to the world the modalities by which it can be made possible. A model of this nature for luxury and antique cars was launched in Bangalore yesterday. This role model needs to be replicated in more and more sectors and sub-sectors and in activities we participate in a day to day.
A successful movement in this direction would ease the pressure, stress and strain of buying and maintaining most of our assets.
ASSURED EASY ACCESS TO GOODS & SERVICES IS THE WAY FORWARD IN A DIGITALLY ENABLED COLLABORATIVE ECONOMY.
Sanjay Sahay