Why Buy When You Can Borrow?

One of my favorite parts of the weekend is getting to sit and read the NYTimes. And one of my favorite parts of The New York Times (other than the Travel Section now that I'm in the travel business - Playa Viva) are all the great coverage of green and sustainable practices that make it into the paper. Yes, I'm actually reading paper, not on my iPad or iTouch or computer screen.

So this past Sunday were two articles back to back. The first about the movement, and use of technology to enable that movement, of sharing or renting goods needed between neighbors. This might be renting rooms to vacationers or renting your power tools to a neighbor working on a home improvement project (not everyone needs a drill press) or a mountain bike for a little test ride excursion.

Companies listed included SnapGoods, NeighborGoods, ShareSomeSugar (love what the name invokes) and Airbnb.com (for the spare room or couch rental). Initial reaction: SnapGoods takes the prize, the site automatically recognizes your zip so you filter for only true locals (you have a chance to change zip if needed). Although the details of finding and lending need some work. Bottomline: it can't take you $10 of time to rent a product for $10 - why bother - so interface and simplicity are key.

Interestingly the same factors apply as in the normal transaction between neighbors - Trust and Reputation. But the key here is social interaction, getting folks out from behind their keyboards and into face-to-face interactions with their neighbors. That reminds me, got to go pick up my son at the neighbor's house. No the kids are not for rent.