Trusting Strangers

In a discussion on D2L, we will explore The Economy of Trust.  What happens when we've stopped trusting institutions and started trusting strangers?  Here is a video that explores this topic.  The link above reveals many Ted Talks on this topic.

A related topic from Wired in 2014 discusses "How Airbnb and Lyft finally got Americans to trust each other."

The sharing economy has come on so quickly and powerfully that regulators and economists are still grappling to understand its impact. But one consequence is already clear: Many of these companies have us engaging in behaviors that would have seemed unthinkably foolhardy as recently as five years ago. We are hopping into strangers’ cars (Lyft, Sidecar, Uber), welcoming them into our spare rooms (Airbnb), dropping our dogs off at their houses (DogVacay, Rover), and eating food in their dining rooms (Feastly). We are letting them rent our cars (RelayRides, Getaround), our boats (Boatbound), our houses (HomeAway), and our power tools (Zilok). We are entrusting complete strangers with our most valuable possessions, our personal experiences—and our very lives.

We will continue this discussion on D2L, but feel free to comment below on your thoughts about this sharing economy.

Bitcoin Basics

I know we talked about Blockchain, but the question is always asked about why bitcoin prices fluctuate so much.  I found this link helpful to understanding digital currency basics at Coinbase.  You can also ask a question there, if these links are not helpful.

Blockchain

At the talk during the IT Summit, of which many of you participated, I thought I would share with you other events and videos.  A video and articles helps to get your head around this process.

First, here is a brief 2-minute intro to Blockchain.

 

The speaker mentioned the MIT Media Lab.  Of course, there are many labs around the world working on this.  With that said, here is a link to an event on "The Business of Blockchain" at the MIT Media Lab and published (with videos) in the MIT Technology Review.  We can continue the discussion in class, but feel free to comment here, or ask questions.

John Oliver's Attempt to Explain Cryptocurrency

Some of you have posted blogs about Bitcoin, or are interested in the topic.  I'll explore this further on this blog, but John Oliver does a pretty good job explaining it - with irreverent humor - and also Blockchain.  We have read about scams in this field, even though it is a legitimate way of doing business - Blockchain is based on bitcoin, but not quite the same.

Anyway, watch this and comment below.  Provide your own links and opinions, too.

P.S. See the comments below about Brock Peters, EOS guy, and "Why the Cofounder of This Hot Crytocurrency Startup Is Out After John Oliver Criticized Him on 'Last Week Tonight'"