“You Are What You Share”

In the article we read for this week ­­­­You are what you can access: Sharing and Collaborative Consumption Online by Russell Belk, the author discusses the possibility that the old adage “you are what you own” is moving instead to “you are what you share”.  Belk argues, that due to the emersion on Web 2.0 (which is different from Web 1.0 in that in this newer ‘internet’ the relationship goes between the user and creator, and not just one way) and it’s ability to encourage and facilitate sharing, consumer focus is shifting away from ownership.  He gives several legal examples, including Wikipedia, Zipcar, Airbnb, and Napster, and several currently illegal examples, such as PirateBay or Napster before it was forced to change.  He argues that these different enterprises amount to a form of collaborative consumption, which is “Collaborative consumption is people coordinating the

acquisition and distribution of a resource for a fee or other compensation” BUT there has to be some sort of compensation to earn this definition.  Sites like couchsurfing.org are thus prohibited.

I really liked this article because it felt like something I could really relate to.  As a media major, consuming and creating media are always on the forefront of my mind.  I fall asleep watching TV, and I wake up watching it.  Half of the time it’s for pleasure, the other half of the time I’m hoping to study it.  It’s an expensive hobby if done through purely legal means all the time.  It’s a line myself and most other college students in the school walk all the time.  We want to go in the field, so we hope TV and movies can still stay popular and not succumb to the problems due to piracy.  At the same time—we’re constantly trying to get it through cheaper channels.  I like the way this article discusses the direction it seems like the internet is flowing some industries in.  Especially after hearing about student, medical, and mortgage debt, who knows if I’ll ever even want to buy my own car.  Hearing that entrepreneurs are moving in this direction is actually pretty comforting.