My day begins with swapping …我的一天從交換開始…
As I was planning to attend a design conference being held from other part of the country, I went online and used the Airbnb website to book a room in an apartment building in the city center. The owner of the apartment was also a designer. Besides being cheaper than booking a hotel, using Airbnb meant that I was also able to benefit from the convenience of being in the downtown area, and could get a first-hand picture of the local design scene. The apartment owner said that, to make the room he rents out more attractive, he had used bartering sites such as SwapTree to obtain furniture items with a “designer” feel. He was also planning to use similar sites in the future to learn skills from other people; this might involve him teaching computer drawing skills in exchange for woodworking lessons, or going out to a house in the suburbs that has a garden and learning how to grow organic fruit from the owner…
為了參加在外地的設計研討會，我上網在Airbnb預訂了市區公寓內的一間房間，屋主也是設計師，比起搶訂旅館，除了便宜享受市區的便利性，還能對當地的設計圈有最真實的認識，屋主說為了讓自己的出租房間更有特色，他還特別到Swaptree等物品交換平台交換了一些有設計感的家具，接下來他還計畫用閒暇時光跟別人交換技能，也許是教人繪圖順便學習木工，或到郊區找一塊院子，與地主一起耕作有機蔬果……
This “sharing economy” model is being widely adopted in other countries. In her book What’s Mine is Yours, Rachel Botsman uses the term “collaborative consumption” to describe this kind of activity, which she explores in-depth from the standpoint of a “green” consumer. In her examination of consumerism, for which the U.S.A. has arguably the worst reputation, Botsman notes that, over the last four decades, the average size of a family home in the U.S. has increased from 1,140 square feet to 2,434 square feet, while during this same period average household size has fallen by 0.7 persons. However, people are filling up the extra space with personal possessions, so that the amount of free space available within the home for people to be active in is no greater than it was 40 years ago. Some people even have to pay to use self-storage facilities outside the home, or keep getting rid of the clutter that is constantly building up. Fortunately, with the rise of the “sharing economy,” besides online auctions, there are also now bartering sites like Freecycle and Swaptree that provide a chance for things that people don’t need any more to be used by someone else.
以上正在國外蓬勃發展的共享經濟模式，在《What's mine is yours》一書中，作者Rachel Botsman用協同消費(Collaborative Consumption)一詞代表，以一個綠色消費者的觀點做深入探討，以美國最為人詬病的消費主義為例，提到近40年間，美國家庭平均住宅大小由1,140平方呎倍增至2,434平方呎，成員數則下降0.7人，然而購入過多物品，家庭活動空間不比40年前大，有時還需另付費用在郊外租倉庫，或「統統丟掉」。所幸新一波共享經濟崛起，除了網拍，Freecycle、Swaptree等物品交流平台也給了這些家中用不到的良品再一次機會。
This trend has grown to include the sharing of durable goods such as houses and cars. We can now lease out unused rooms (Airbnb), cars (RelayRides), and parking spaces (Park Circa), and even share open space in front of our houses with strangers (Landshare), thereby squeezing more value from existing assets.
這波風潮也延伸到耐久財，如房屋、汽車的共享，我們能租出閒置的房間(Airbnb)、汽車(RelayRides)、停車位(Park Circa)，甚至將家門口空地分享給陌生人耕作(Landshare)，從已有的資產擠出更多價值。
Caption：With the rise of the “sharing economy,” besides online auctions, there are also now bartering sites like Freecycle and Swaptree that provide a chance for things that people don’t need any more to be used by someone else.
為了參加在外地的設計研討會，我上網在Airbnb預訂了市區公寓內的一間房間，屋主也是設計師，比起搶訂旅館，除了便宜享受市區的便利性，還能對當地的設計圈有最真實的認識，屋主說為了讓自己的出租房間更有特色，他還特別到Swaptree等物品交換平台交換了一些有設計感的家具，接下來他還計畫用閒暇時光跟別人交換技能，也許是教人繪圖順便學習木工，或到郊區找一塊院子，與地主一起耕作有機蔬果……
This “sharing economy” model is being widely adopted in other countries. In her book What’s Mine is Yours, Rachel Botsman uses the term “collaborative consumption” to describe this kind of activity, which she explores in-depth from the standpoint of a “green” consumer. In her examination of consumerism, for which the U.S.A. has arguably the worst reputation, Botsman notes that, over the last four decades, the average size of a family home in the U.S. has increased from 1,140 square feet to 2,434 square feet, while during this same period average household size has fallen by 0.7 persons. However, people are filling up the extra space with personal possessions, so that the amount of free space available within the home for people to be active in is no greater than it was 40 years ago. Some people even have to pay to use self-storage facilities outside the home, or keep getting rid of the clutter that is constantly building up. Fortunately, with the rise of the “sharing economy,” besides online auctions, there are also now bartering sites like Freecycle and Swaptree that provide a chance for things that people don’t need any more to be used by someone else.
以上正在國外蓬勃發展的共享經濟模式，在《What's mine is yours》一書中，作者Rachel Botsman用協同消費(Collaborative Consumption)一詞代表，以一個綠色消費者的觀點做深入探討，以美國最為人詬病的消費主義為例，提到近40年間，美國家庭平均住宅大小由1,140平方呎倍增至2,434平方呎，成員數則下降0.7人，然而購入過多物品，家庭活動空間不比40年前大，有時還需另付費用在郊外租倉庫，或「統統丟掉」。所幸新一波共享經濟崛起，除了網拍，Freecycle、Swaptree等物品交流平台也給了這些家中用不到的良品再一次機會。
This trend has grown to include the sharing of durable goods such as houses and cars. We can now lease out unused rooms (Airbnb), cars (RelayRides), and parking spaces (Park Circa), and even share open space in front of our houses with strangers (Landshare), thereby squeezing more value from existing assets.
這波風潮也延伸到耐久財，如房屋、汽車的共享，我們能租出閒置的房間(Airbnb)、汽車(RelayRides)、停車位(Park Circa)，甚至將家門口空地分享給陌生人耕作(Landshare)，從已有的資產擠出更多價值。
Caption：With the rise of the “sharing economy,” besides online auctions, there are also now bartering sites like Freecycle and Swaptree that provide a chance for things that people don’t need any more to be used by someone else.
