Roger OngSharing economies don’t always get the kindest of spotlight. And can we blame it? What used to be a promise to disrupt wasteful consumption by building a network of trust within a community, is now a leverage for capitalism to do what it does best – to profit. But perhaps we took a wrong turn somewhere.
After attending the Shikoku Share Summit 2019 in Japan, I believe that many modern day “sharing economies” are missing certain essential elements to be a true sharing economy. And by “true”, I mean a system where it delivers actual social good benefits. Because the three days summit has shown me that a successful sharing economy doesn’t need to change the world. It just needs to change a few lives.
So here are four essential concepts from Japan that can lead to a successful sharing economy with a blissful social impact!
A sharing community is a family
Trust is pretty much a given, isn’t it? Since no sharing economy can exist without trust. However, for a desired positive social impact, we might need to go one more step further to explore the concept of a “family”.
Within a family, the members to look out for one another. They take actions or make decisions thinking about the impact or consequences it can have on others. Therefore it is not just about consumption in sharing economies. Unlike services where we use and forget, there is thought for the next person who is going to use it. When was the last time we used Airbnb and thought, “I need to keep the accommodation clean for the next person to use”?
And that includes the items that are being shared. Kenichi Yamashita, representative director of Japan Cryptocoin Association shares that core mindset to sharing economy. “Because we need to think of others when we share. When we borrow or rent something, we want to take care of it. It’s not only because we understand that it’s not our possession. It is also because we care about the next person and want them to enjoy using it too.”
Yamashita is referring to an embedded culture in Japan, where the Japanese treat their possessions with care. We can see this from the popular second-hand shops, including used clothes, accessories, books, software, DVDs and music discs. Most of the items look new, as though they were regular items sold at discounted prices. That is why these second hand shops are so popular among the Japanese and foreigners.
Determining your target audience will bring about different synergies
This concept is important when we are talking about building businesses in a region, including sharing economies. The easiest to understand this is through regional revitalization.
Yusuke Tanaka from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shared his insights, like how mimicking existing models can speed up solving social issues, and that older generations face technological obstacles. He also reminded attendees of the term “relationship population”, which is getting more popular in Japan. This is a group of people who do not live in the region, but has strong bonds to the region for various reasons.
The talk about target audience comes in here: the kind of value that is created when a system of sharing economy is applied. Is it going to be for the local population, for tourists, or for the relationship population?
By creating value within the local population, you create value for the city or town, and in turn a stronger community bond. On the other hand, a focus on tourism builds an attraction that brings in external resources to the city or town. Finally, putting effort towards a relationship population builds future resources that can be tapped on later.
Since we want a sharing economy that contributes socially, then this is an extra layer of consideration. Our target audience will determine the new synergies that present opportunities to further our goals. It would also consequently affect the shape of the sharing economy.
It doesn’t need to be global
It is folly to think that all sharing economies needs to grow indefinitely. That is a capitalist thinking that strays away from maximum social impact.
What it needs is a tipping point, that there is enough people to sustain. To reach this tipping point, the service should be something that solves an unmet need. If there is no need, why would there be a need for that service? Which brings us to the next point.
Sharing Economy is not a business, it is a tool
This is another mindset that is essential is that creating a sharing economy is not the goal. The goal of a service or product is to solve a problem. It is through designing a solution that a sharing economy becomes the natural solution. That is to say, a sharing economy is but a tool to solve problems.
This was the reminder when entrepreneur Yoshiho Shibata shared the closed cryptocurrency he has created. “At the end of the day, the coins are just a tool. These coins are not linked to real life currency because I wanted to attempt to create a different economy. They are just a means to a goal.”
In fact, we have shared three successful sharing economies created by three Japanese ladies. They set out to solve social problems, and the solutions they landed on became sharing economies. For example, skill sharing so that the disabled and the elderly can continue to travel travel. There were like-minded people who rallied to the founder’s vision, and skill sharing was the natural solution that solved mobility issues while traveling. It might not have happened if a skill sharing platform was the goal, instead of designing for a social solution.
Sharing economy comes in all shapes, sizes and styles
We are so used to relating “sharing economy” with tangible goods. But what about sharing skills? Sharing experiences? Sharing “persons”? If I dare say, Japan is redefining sharing economies. Furthermore, most of them are designed to solve a problem.
We are living in an era where we can customize services and products for the consumer. Because of that, we are able to pivot to meet different needs, and create different forms of successful sharing economies. Therefore, we can surely affect great social impacts through them, while keeping these essentials in mind.
