Here is a curated weekly roundup of the breaking news and must-read thought leadership pieces on the crowd economy. These weekend reads will get you up to speed on the collaborative economy, open innovation, crowdfunding, sharing economy and more.
Are we entering the age of abundance?
In her Medium channel, Robin Chase the co-founder of Zipcar who also wrote a new book called Peers Inc., shares her insights on why it’s time to say “Bye, Bye Capitalism. We’re Entering the Age of Abundance.” While most of the traditional companies that we know of had embraced the Industrial Revolution business models, Chase said, “The companies and governments that fail to share and connect will fall farther behind. We are witnessing the end of capitalism, as we know it. Nothing can or should hold us back.”
Large companies embrace the collaborative economy more than ever
On the other hand, a handful of large companies are open to the collaborative economy and their numbers are increasing since 2012. Jeremy Owyang, CEO and founder of Crowd Companies writes on Web Strategist, “Large corporations, which we define as companies with over 1000 employees, $1B in revenue, and are often Fortune 1000 companies are also adopting, many in the last two years.”
BNP Paribas, the first European bank to partner with international tech behemoths
BNP Paribas is partnering with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google to establish “strategic management of its presence on digital media, while opening up to new opportunities for cooperation and innovation in terms of communications, marketing and customer relations,” as reported in the official newsroom. BNP Paribas is known for being an early adopter open for innovation and collaboration.
E-Car Club meets equity crowdfunding
David Prosser, a Forbes contributor writes, “How An Electric Car Company Won Britain’s Equity Crowdfunding Race To Profit,” and also a brief of the current equity crowdfunding state in the UK. In his post, he shares the story of this electric car company, dubbed E-Car Club, which hires electric cars using a pay-as-you-go service, giving its investors a profitable exit. “Will that encourage more investors to participate? Maybe, though it’s worth pointing out that this corner of the crowdfunding industry is already growing incredibly quickly in the U.K. – at an annual rate averaging more than 400 percent between 2012 and 2014 according to the innovation charity Nesta.”
Is crowdfunding a viable solution for developing countries?
Jamaica’s Minister of Finance Dr. Peter Phillips believes it is! He said, “Crowdfunding could be a “genuinely exciting” way of “democratizing finance,” Jamaica Observer reports. “Access to affordable financing is of central importance, especially if we are to satisfy the development goals which are the heart of this conference.” Phillips said. “There is the prospect of crowdfunding being a viable solution for helping Jamaica, and other countries, channel financing to small and medium enterprises to grow the private sector investment.”
10 banks that are seriously testing out Blockchain technology
Santander, DBS, Goldman Sachs, Barclays… Okay, we’ll let you take a look on the 10 banks that are seriously looking into the Blockchain technology. CoinTelegraph gives you the complete list.
Sharing Economy plus Europe equals?
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills releases a report putting sharing economy in the spotlight, ITPro writes. Guess what the recommendations are: “Sharing economy firms exploit new technologies, and sometimes they are constrained by – or confront – regulations designed without the Internet in mind. We must not respond by tabling new regulation designed to protect the status quo, or to halt technological progress.” Read the whole story and see how EU is responding to the new technologies and innovations.
The world’s best travel jacket hits more than $1 million pledges
Are you a frequent traveler? This “world’s best travel jacket” might be for you. Chicago-based company Baubax recently launched its Kickstarter campaign, showcasing this travel jacket that has 15 features; from the built-in neck pillow to eye-mask, to drink pocket and iPad pocket and many more. As of this writing, it has more than $1.8 million pledges with different rewards for the backers to choose from.
[Photo credit via Deposit Photos]
There are tons of amazing stories out there. What else caught your eye this week? Did you come across some breaking news or a good thought piece?
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