Some people call it the gig economy. Some people call it the sharing economy. Whatever you choose to call it, more and more people are participating in it either as customers or as service providers. Numerous platforms have popped up in recent years where regular individuals can effectively operate as small-time business owners with remarkably minimal barriers to entry.
For some of the service providers in the sharing economy, it may have already grown into a full-time gig that completely replaces their day job. For many more, it's a means of generating a little bit of extra income on the side, all while connecting with regular folks all around the world. This bypasses the traditional corporate structure of much larger organizations, resulting in what some call a people-to-people economy.
But it's not without its issues and that's where ShareRing hopes to provide an even better solution and system.
You've likely heard of many of the world's most popular sharing economy platforms. If you're looking for a place to stay while visiting a new city, you might look up apartment rentals on Airbnb. If you want to get around that city once you get there, you might hook up with Uber or Lyft. But there are several challenges that arise from the way things work right now.
Each time you decide to try out one of these new services, you have to sign up for a new account, go through the whole verification process, grow your reputation on the platform, fund your account, and so on. There's a reason why Airbnb hosts who have zero reviews struggle to get their first customers. What's more, you might visit a country where a big player like Uber doesn't exist yet, but there is a similar type of service. Do you really want to sign up for a new service that you might only use once or twice?
Another frustration that you'll likely encounter is that these services typically operate in the local currency. If you're American and you're traveling through Japan, you'll need to pay in yen and not dollars. That means being at the mercy of foreign exchange rates, international banking fees, and all the rest of it.
And then there is the issue of trust. When you decide to use one of these platforms, either as a customer or as a service provider, how can you be certain that the other party is ethical and legitimate? And for that matter, how can you be certain that the platform itself is legitimate. These are very real concerns.
There are several reasons why a platform like ShareRing can be so compelling in this evolving world of the sharing economy. For starters, it works to eliminate this fragmented approach to the types of products and services that are being shared in this economy. Instead of signing up for dozens of different services, each with their own hoops and conditions, you use ShareRing and access just about everything.
Unified under this one umbrella, you've got the sharing of everything from apartments to vehicles, camping equipment to meals, storage space to information services. What this means is that the kind of reputation you build on this platform spans across all of these different scenarios and situations. If you're a good host with your apartment rental, there's a good chance that you're pretty good as a ride sharer too.
This simplicity has the added benefit that you no longer have to login and share your personal details with several different corporations. It's all unified under an all-in-one login that is safe and secure. ShareRing is actively working to bring more partners onto the platform for their launch in late 2018. These include Keaz for car rental sharing, Yoogo Share, DJI and more. The ultimate goal is to offer such a broad and inclusive range that all you'll need is ShareRing. They're working to partner with big brands like Uber, Airbnb and HomeXchange too.
To facilitate this kind of sharing economy ecosystem, ShareRing utilizes two tokens that operate on blockchain technology. If you're familiar with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, then you'll have some sense of how this works. The transactions are nearly instantaneously and they are all validated through the distributed ledger. This greatly helps to improve transparency, while simultaneously providing the security and trust that you want, especially when dealing with unknown entities.
The first token is called SharePay (SHRP) and it's the base currency that users will utilize in the ShareRing platform to pay for products and services. The other token is called the ShareToken (SHR) and that's the "digital utility token" that is used to drive transactions to be written to the ShareRing ledger. Together, they help to avoid price fluctuations for users of the blockchain and users can also use their credit card to access the ecosystem.
Because of the common cryptocurrency being used, this means several things for the end user and service provider. First, it means that you don't have to deal with foreign exchange and having to pay in the local currency. That whole side of it is at arm's reach, so if you're the Lithuanian traveling in Peru, the transaction is completely seamless for both parties. It also means that fees are drastically minimized, intermediaries are effectively eliminated, and everyone can feel safe and secure with the whole process.
With a sharing token that's accepted across borders, security baked in with blockchain technology, convenient mobile apps for anywhere access, and seamless connectivity across a myriad of potential sharing services, ShareRing is striving to make it even easier and more convenient to participate in the new sharing economy. This goes beyond cars and apartments to include anything from tools to clothes.
The ShareRing token presale is currently underway if you want to get in on the ground floor. These tokens are what will help to fuel the economy within the ShareRing platform. If you're interested in digging a little deeper into the whole system, check out the whitepaper for more information.
Zac Johnson is an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the world of online marketing and branding. Follow his blogs at ZacJohnson.com and Blogging.org.