Rentoid blog

Our current paradigm, our current way of living is deeply flawed and unsustainable. The threats of peak oil, climate change, water & food shortages, deforestation, mass extinction etc are all clear examples of a need for change. Not to mention that we still live in a world where war and poverty are common. It is logically inescapable that you cannot have infinite growth on a planet with finite resources.

Why are these things so obvious to some people and denied so vehemently by others? I’m not a psychologist but my guess is that, to people who tend to avoid these topics, discussing them calls into question everything they’ve know, everything they have grown up believing and by extension their identity - who they are. It’s just too difficult or maybe even scary, I don’t know.

In my opinion, this is where I see the environmental movement as having failed - in its communication, or maybe even their approach generally. To me the environmental movement seems very alienating in nature as it comes across as saying - ‘your current lifestyle is bad, you are hurting the planet, you need to pay for it by reducing your consumption, which in the minds of many people translates into - you must reduce your standard of living’. For many of those people, it is a price too great and they reject it.

Now, we could sit here all day playing the blame game and recycling arguments, getting really cranky with each other and going nowhere fast. Or, we could do something different. Something better. This is what Rentoid, and others working in the collaborative consumption space are all about - providing an alternative win/win solution:

By sharing what we already have, we can reduce our consumption without reducing our standard of living. In fact it can even enhance living standards by reducing the burdens of ownership (cost, maintenance, worry etc) and also by creating new value from underutilised resources.

What makes this solution so special is that because it benefits everyone who participates and the environment, not either/or, it is finally possible to get everybody working on the same team.

This is why I love rentoid.

Geordie, the rentoid team.

The traditional approach for most businesses has been to: create a product/service, sell it, end of story. This has worked well up until recently. But now many consumers are looking for a change. There’s a couple of good reasons for this:

Financial - The GFC has bred distrust of old companies and has also forced or at least encouraged many people to tighten the belts, downsize and re-examine what is actually important to them. Many are actually finding that they prefer simpler lives, with less stuff and want invest more in the things that actually make them happy such as their friends, family, health, traveling and new experiences.

Environmental - Growing awareness of environmental issues is causing people to question the consequences of our lifestyles - where do these products come from? What does it cost to produce them? What are the unintended side-effects of our production system? Where do they go once they’re no longer useful or wanted? It is an inescapable fact that we live on a planet with finite resources and need to find a better way of doing business.

The solution is a model based on sharing that Lisa Gansky calls ‘The Mesh’. The mesh is a new business model that is taking the world by storm. It is about giving consumers more tools, choices and information. It is about sharing products and services - giving people superior access without the burden and expense of ownership.

Mesh businesses work by leveraging the following growing trends:

Urbanisation - The increased population density caused by urbanisation makes sharing networks possible. Once people are living nearby one another in large numbers, sharing of certain items such as cars and tools can become practical.

Use of Data & Social Media - Whereas a buy/sell model encompasses one transaction, a sharing model inherently creates a conversation between providers and customers as they need to continually interact to do business. Every time a product or service is rented, leased, or borrowed the company can collect data about the transaction. This lets them get to know the customer better and then use that data they have compiled to personalise the offerings for the customer for next time. These conversations are happening in real life but also online with the explosion of social media, which provides an effective platform but also another point for data collection and further personalisation. Conversations over social media tend to be much more genuine and human, as opposed to the traditional scripted press release/sell approach.

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Mobile - the Internet started by moving data around but now with widespread adoption of smartphones it is also moving around physical goods. Mesh companies are leveraging this trend to enable their customers to reserve cars, bikes, homes, meals and more - on the go.

Examples of mesh businesses are popping up everywhere. Here are a few to check out if you’re interested!

Carsharing - www.zipcar.com

Entertainment - www.netflix.com

Kids clothes swap - www.thredup.com

Collaborative funding - www.kickstarter.com

Group discounts - www.groupon.com

And there are plenty more here - http://meshing.it/

Geordie - rentoid team.

In a recent Smart Company article rentoid.com was featured alongside Zappos, Virgin Blue and Atlassian. Which is quite a nice compliment.

The article was all about having a culture with essentially human values. Which our rentoid members know we are all about being real. The article is worth a read and features our Chief Rental Guru Shannon Cooper and has some good tips for any company or small business.

Click here to read it all.

Could this be, the most environmentally friendly piece of advertising possible? I think there’s a chance.

There’s also a chance that it’s the most ridiculous thing for someone to do while at the beach as the rentoid.com founder Steve clearly loves this humble little web business. Yep, that’s him in the corner.

What we believe in at rentoid - we aim to update this as new ideas enter our head and we evolve. We’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Rentoid Founder, CEO and all round nice guy Steve Sammartino will be giving the key note speech at the Melbourne Sustainability drinks in August.  August 5th to be precise.

For the uninitiated the ‘Sustainability Drinks’ event presented by the Shaper Group and is all about connecting passionate people who want to create a better world. Something we are proud to be associated with. The fact is, we can’t rely on large corporations or governments to create our future. We have to do it ourselves. We have to be positive about the technology we have access to and invent new ways of living which don’t ruin our only home (Earth). Our backyard is shared and it deserves a little more respect than we’ve given it in the past.

In the spirit of this Steve will be painting a picture of where he sees the internet improving the future in what promises to be an inspiring session. Come along for a drink and some positive vibes with people who are making a difference.

Details: 6-8pm August 5th, Tjanabi, in Federation Square. (Flinders St side)

Or click here for a map & more info

Cheers, rentoid team.

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