Welcome to the course blog for "Cultures of Consumption" at Rutgers University in the Fall 2011 Semester.
Course Description
This course aims to examine the development of mass society, mass production, consumption and the American consumer from the late 19th century to the present. Areas considered may include industrialization and the development of work in relation to leisure, Worlds Fairs, the development of the advertising industry, the impact of American suburbanization on consumer behavior, television, technology, shopping, mass production and consumption.
Course Instructor: Matthew Ferguson, Department of American Studies - Rutgers University
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Free Blog: Collaborative Consumption
Rachel Botsman's TED Talk about Collaborative Consumption
Rachel Botsman has coined the term "collaborative consumption" which she describes as a new consumer behavior. She states that the Me Culture of the past is now turning into the Gen Y culture of We and sharing. Ms Botsman indicates that the technology of the Internet is creating new business markets of shared interests and trusts. The internet is being used to match people's haves with other people's wants and needs. Technology is enabling trust between strangers and the economy of what's mine is yours. I think that is a good thing. However, as always, there is positives and negatives to everything. The collaborative consumption fosters trust and sharing and curtails excess but the internet is removing the middle man and destroying the brick and mortar stores so how many people will be unemployed as a result? Also, the idea of too much trust and sharing with strangers translates to a predator's dream when it comes to the social network.
Rachel Botsman has coined the term "collaborative consumption" which she describes as a new consumer behavior. She states that the Me Culture of the past is now turning into the Gen Y culture of We and sharing. Ms Botsman indicates that the technology of the Internet is creating new business markets of shared interests and trusts. The internet is being used to match people's haves with other people's wants and needs. Technology is enabling trust between strangers and the economy of what's mine is yours. I think that is a good thing. However, as always, there is positives and negatives to everything. The collaborative consumption fosters trust and sharing and curtails excess but the internet is removing the middle man and destroying the brick and mortar stores so how many people will be unemployed as a result? Also, the idea of too much trust and sharing with strangers translates to a predator's dream when it comes to the social network.
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