Sharing Smarter with Technology and AI: Tactics for Product and Technology Innovators

With the internet and online platforms, sharing has evolved into a dynamic and accessible practice. While sharing has environmental perks, it also brings new demands. Think about it: someone without a car might start using one regularly thanks to easy car-sharing options. Let’s explore some tactics and real-world examples that show how sharing can benefit consumers and communities alike.

Facilitate Sharing is the twenty-first Design Strategy in a series where I share essential tips for creating tech products people love, based on the book Design Things That Make Sense (with a free downloadable toolkit).

Read all articles about Design Strategies here.

Barter

Bartering is a great way to exchange products, services, or experiences without spending money. While socially and environmentally beneficial, sustaining bartering platforms is challenging. With no financial transactions, earning commissions on trades is impossible, and the "no money" appeal means users are reluctant to pay subscription fees. A major challenge is the "double coincidence of wants": if one user doesn't have an item the other wants, the trade can't happen. Some platforms use a point or digital coin system, where users earn coins for giving items and spend them on other items. However, as the platform grows, more coins must be issued, leading to inflation.

Platforms like Listia and TradeMade are amongst today’s most successful bartering platforms. Although their AI usage is unspecified, there are many opportunities to improve the user experience through AI. Bartering platforms could leverage AI to suggest items based on user behavior, determine optimal point values, detect suspicious activity, categorize items from images, and improve search functionality using large language models.

Borrow and Lend, Rent and Rent Out

While purpose-built lending and borrowing struggle to build a business case, social media platforms have also become popular places to find the products and services people seek. Varying from neighborhood apps like NextDoor to specialized parts within generic social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace, these platforms enable local communities to buy, sell, borrow, and lend items. As you might expect, Facebook applies AI in many ways to enhance Marketplace. AI-powered computer vision and natural language processing create detailed product indexes from text and image data, while demographic and search history data generate personalized recommendations. Computer vision recommends visually similar products, and AI automates listing processes, suggesting categories and prices. Image enhancement tools adjust lighting in photos, and machine translation translates item descriptions into buyers' preferred languages. The AI assistant, “M,” aids communication with quick replies and translations, while visual search features allow users to find products using photos. Additionally, AI moderates content and ranks posts to ensure relevance and speed, significantly improving the user experience.

Rent (Out)

Renting out products can be a savvy way to earn some extra cash. In the peer-to-peer realm, Peerby is one such platform specifically created for borrowing or renting items like power tools or camping gear from individuals. Snappcar and Turo are other examples, offering platforms for car owners to rent out their vehicles. It’s a smart way to offset the costs of car ownership and reduce the number of idle cars on the road. In 2023, Turo launched a ChatGPT plugin. Consumers could tell ChatGPT about their travel plans, like desired vehicle type, location, and price, and ChatGPT will provide personalized car recommendations from Turo’s fleet. Although this sounds promising, it no longer seems to be operational. It is likely to resurface as a chatbot in Turo’s own platform.

In the tech world, Grover offers a subscription-based service for renting electronics. Need a high-end camera for a project but don’t want to buy one? Grover has you covered. You can rent it for a few months and then return it, keeping your tech arsenal fresh without the commitment.?

Although it’s not clear how Grover uses AI today, it could in the future apply AI to enhance the rental experience by analyzing user preferences and behavior to suggest the most suitable tech gadgets based on individual needs and past interactions, predict product demand to ensure popular items are available and reduce overstock of less popular ones, and streamline the credit check process.?

Rent Together

Bundling demand can help people save money, as described in the Design Strategy Save Money (B9), but can also offer other benefits. For example, Koru Kids developed a “family finder tool” to help close-by London families connect and share a nanny. When two families share a nanny, they save money, the nanny’s wage increases, children find playmates, and KoruKids earns a commission, a quadruple win. Koru Kids leverages AI primarily through its AI Nanny Assistant, named Poppin. Poppin is designed to support the nannies employed by Koru Kids by providing them with resources and assistance in their daily tasks.

Dos and Don’ts for Facilitate Sharing

?? Build Trust: Trust is key in any sharing economy. Make sure to communicate clearly, stick to agreements, and respect the items you borrow or rent.

?? Think Green and Commercial: Always consider the environmental impact. Sharing reduces waste and promotes sustainable living. Remember that building and maintaining a platform is costly, so it's crucial to develop a viable business model from the outset.

??? Community First: Engage with the community aspect of sharing platforms. It's not just about the transactions but about building connections and fostering a sense of belonging.

?? Stay Informed: The sharing economy is continuously evolving. Keep up with the latest trends and platforms to maximize your benefits.

The sharing economy is revolutionizing how we access and utilize resources. By bartering, borrowing, lending, or renting, these practices foster community, save money, and promote sustainability. All actors in the sharing business must collaborate and share knowledge, as scaling the sharing economy requires collective effort and cooperation. Think of each other as friends, not competitors.

Remember, sharing isn’t just about getting—it’s about connecting, growing, and making the world a better place.

This article is the twenty-first publication in a series of articles sharing practical, actionable tips on how to design tech products that people don't just use, but love. We'll dive into applying AI in ways that truly matter by making technology work for people, not the other way around.

?You can find all publications here.

The articles build on the world’s leading design methods for designing successful tech products, as described in the book “Design Things that Make Sense”. Visit www.designthingsthatmakesense.com to learn more or download the free toolkit.

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