Re:We may have reached peak “gig” economy
by privateprofile on Monday February 06, 2017 @10:21AM
(#13580191)
>> Look at long running projects like Couchsurfing for example
The big difference is that, unlike those "sharing" economy companies, Couchsurfing was not a business, and once it turned its focus to making money an exodus of "users" ensued.
Couchsurfing was not targeted at Airbnb's "get a cheap place to sleep at city X" demographic, and people that couldn't demonstrate they were looking for anything other than a low cost hotel would see their requests turned down. Couchsurfing users were willing to share their house, not for a small amount of money, but for the value of making international acquaintances (and friends for life, sometimes), which is something they also received through the service when going abroad.
The big difference is that, unlike those "sharing" economy companies, Couchsurfing was not a business, and once it turned its focus to making money an exodus of "users" ensued.
Couchsurfing was not targeted at Airbnb's "get a cheap place to sleep at city X" demographic, and people that couldn't demonstrate they were looking for anything other than a low cost hotel would see their requests turned down. Couchsurfing users were willing to share their house, not for a small amount of money, but for the value of making international acquaintances (and friends for life, sometimes), which is something they also received through the service when going abroad.