Road Trip Update and Next Steps for Shareconomy the Film

Welcome back!

Last fall we wrapped up our Indiegogo campaign and started planning Shareconomy's next steps. Through crowdfunding we raised an incredible $15K which allowed us to travel across the United States and complete several key interviews. This trip broadened our sphere of influence and got us to places in America where the sharing economy is making an impact.

These additional interviews and those we completed before will be the foundation for Shareconomy the film. It was especially important that we capture the varying stances on the collaborative economy. We interviewed everyone from platform founders and users, to state assemblymen, to sociology experts, to people we met on the streets. By investigating every side of the sharing economy we can better determine it's progression and future impact.

We also integrated ourselves in the sharing economy community as much as possible. We stayed with Airbnb hosts, were fed by strangers, and tried our best to use collaborative platforms when we could. This was not only a great way to travel, and lots of fun, it also put us in the shoes of those using the sharing economy every day.

So after 10,000 miles and six cities we are back in Seattle and ready for the next steps in completing the film. Currently we are rolling into post-production. We are very excited to be working with Killer Infographics who will create the motion graphics for Shareconomy. 

We thank everyone for all the great support we've received and can't wait to finish the project. In the meantime check out some of the photos we took on our trip.

Thank you!

Home for the next 10k Miles

Leaving Seattle

Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL

 Jillian participating on a Sharing Economy panel at the PCI Legislative and Political Conference

Meal Sharing Founder, Jay Savsani

Meal Sharing Host Huan

Street Interviews in Chicago

Meal Sharing Host Hanne

Madison, WI

Interviewing Stephanie Rearick, Founder and Co-Director of the Dane County TimeBank

Detriot, MI

Joe Louis Monument

Interview with Philip Cooley, Co-Founder of Ponyride.

New York City, NY

Brookyln Bridge, NY

Getting footage from the "Top of the Rock"

Interviewing Richard Gottifried, NY State Assembly Member

Washington D.C.

Ride Along with TaskRabbit Marc

Niagra Falls

Greg makes a friend

Buffalo, NY

10,000 miles and we are home!

Share NY

No taxies at 4pm in NYC? Load up the carriage full of luggage and go! On our way to #sharenyc #shareconomyfilm pic.twitter.com/1IjA5DHY4L

— Shareconomy (@shareconomyfilm) May 30, 2014

Today Greg and Jillian headed to the inaugral Share NYC conference at NYU. Hosted by Arun Sundararajan, Luke Williams, and Cynthia Franklin, #ShareNYC featured speakers and panels discussing current hot topics in the sharing economy. The event joined together "entrepreneurs, government leaders, academics, business executives, VCs and students for a unique day of discussion and thought leadership about the emerging collaborative, peer-to-peer and sharing economies." Unfortunately the event was not live-streamed, however Twitter gave us a pretty decent play by play on the main points of discussion.

.@digitalarun framing #sharenyc and announcing http://t.co/V8E4qW2plj a collective #sharingeconomy research platform pic.twitter.com/9H7Y3QwmBH

— Benjamin Tincq (@btincq) May 30, 2014

So true:"Institutions will always work to preserve the problem to which they are the solution" @cshirky #sharenyc

— Jennifer Bradley (@JBradley_DC) May 30, 2014

The sharing economy is a way to address inequality- it's a way to share wealth via @Sara_Horowitz #sharenyc

— Let's Collaborate! (@letscollabnyc) May 30, 2014

the new collectives: @cshirky chats w/@rasiej @nataliefoster @dkrugman @cshapiro @btincq #sharenyc pic.twitter.com/6FHpGWhLfa

— Arun Sundararajan (@digitalarun) May 30, 2014

Welcome @freelancersu, largest group for freelancers in US. Shifting risk from individuals to a collective. #sharenyc pic.twitter.com/AinapjKPNS

— sydney campos (@sydcampos415) May 30, 2014

Yes! Thrilled to see published. MT @obeniflah Proposed Principles for Peer Economy by Sarah Cannon, Harvard pic.twitter.com/0AxXlkSvi0 #sharenyc

— April Rinne (@aprilrinne) May 30, 2014

.@fredwilson closing at #sharenyc: what will be the role of govt, capitalism when we move to true distributed systems #thoughtprovoking

— sidbhatia (@sidbhatia) May 30, 2014

The first Share NYC conference seemed to be a success and continues to confirm the interest society has in the sharing economy. It's excellent to see such a young economic model hashed out by groups of educators, regulators and enthusiasts while still in development. Did you have an opportunity to attend #ShareNYC? What did you think? Are these conferences developing the sharing economy or not?

a regulator, a lawyer and an economist walk into a bar... #sharenyc

— jen lemen (@jenlemen) May 30, 2014

Airbnb's Agreement in New York

This week New York State's attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman, succeeded in obtaining a subpoena for anonymized data on New York Airbnb hosts. Schneiderman recently targeted the housing-rental site stating that some hosts are "large, commercial enterprises with dozens of apartments - truly illegal hotels". This was Schneiderman's second attempt to get Airbnb records as the first deemed over-broad by a New York Supreme Court Justice. Schneiderman narrowed his focus and submitted a new subpoena the next day which was approved Wednesday. 

The attorney will have a year to sort through the data and identify those in violation of local laws. Scheiderman has stated that he only plans to pursue anyone who's running illegal hotels. If his office finds something suspicious, Airbnb must identify the host. Airbnb's head of global public policy, David Hantman, called it "a strong agreement that best protects our community's data and sets us on a positive path forward." 

So far, it looks like both parties are claiming this ruling a victory. We have yet to hear how NY hosts feel about the agreement. For many, inviting a stranger to stay in their home is much more comfortable than opening it up to regulators.

Schneiderman is one of many regulators keeping their eye on the digital economy. He announced his intentions for sites like Airbnb and Uber in a press release last month:

Regulators should not be deterred and, as a practical matter, they can’t and won’t be — we are now living in an online world, one that offers great promise but is also becoming one of the primary crime scenes of the 21st century. Major service providers cannot be allowed to treat it as a digital Wild West. The only question is how long it will take for these cybercowboys to realize that working with the sheriffs is both good business and the right thing to do.

 Schneiderman claims that the deal was "a template for other places in the country where the issue has been raised."

Perhaps it will become a worldwide template as Airbnb was also in international news this week as one host ran into legal problems in France. A young man was found guilty of breaking his lease after subletting out his room in Paris for €450 ($613) a week. The man was ordered to pay € 2,842 ($3,872.79) in damages to his landlord. 

The judgment – a first involving Airbnb in France – coincides with a wider crackdown by the French government and the Paris town hall on the flourishing market for letting rooms or whole apartments to tourists. It also coincides with the settlement of a legal battle between Airbnb and New York State, which could lead to the prosecution of thousands of people who have defied state laws and let rooms or flats to tourists.

We are curious to see how this plays out. What do you think? Is this an example of over regulation or did Airbnb have this coming? Check out Airbnb's Blog Post on the deal and let us know what you think.