It's time for the independent workers to steer this new marketplace in a more sustainable direction that helps the people who make it run, not just the companies behind it.
In New York City today, you can rent a room on Airbnb, catch a ride with Uber, sell your old threads on Modabound, and leave your nine–month–old with a shared nanny. The so–called "sharing economy" is revolutionizing the way Americans think about ownership and commerce. It's also poised to make a handful of venture capitalists in Palo Alto and Tribeca very, very rich. Airbnb is estimated to be worth $2.5 billion. Uber's valuation is rumored to be $3.5 billion.
To be sure, these companies are valuable for a reason: They created highly innovative, transformational platforms. But what of the tens of millions of independent workers––the Airbnb hosts, the Uber drivers, the Modabound sellers––whose labor is equally responsible for this tremendous wealth? Freelancers are powering the sharing economy, but they're not in the driver's seat. It's time for independent workers to take their rightful reigns and steer this new marketplace in a more sustainable direction. That starts with applying the ethos of freelancing to solve the challenges of collaborative consumption.
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