A quick look at the sharing economy

The sharing economy is a concept where people rent underused possessions such as bikes, cars, homes, parking spaces and tools from each other. The sharing economy is not a new model; however, it gained momentum in recent years because of social media. Technology has made sharing assets possible on a larger scale along with reduced transaction costs. In addition, as a result of effortless access to data about owners and renters, it is easier for people to trust each other. Anyone can share anything with one-another, at anytime and anywhere.

Many people, myself included, are still apprehensive about the idea of renting a car, taking a ride or staying at someone’s place, just as online purchasing was fifteen years ago. Similarly, I was also hesitant about using my credit card in cyberspace. However, after completing few successful purchases, buying over the Internet became my favorite way to shop for various merchandise.

A popular example, which has proven to be quite controversial, of the sharing economy is Uber. Uber is a mobile app that connects people to a ride. In another words, it is a car-hailing service that is available in many large US cities and is expanding internationally. Uber is a great solution for people who live in areas where it is hard to get a cab or where public transportation is not the best option. According to Uber, their drivers can make $75,000 in San Francisco and $90,000 in New York City a year working 40 hours a week. Not bad for micro-entrepreneurship.

 

Airbnb is the best known example of the “gig economy” where travelers can rent a room or an entire house/apartment for a short term stay. Through the Airbnb site, tourists have access to thousands of rental properties in almost 200 countries.

Personally, I have a little experience with renting assets from people over the internet. Two years ago, I rented a Leica for my vacation. The equipment arrived on time and in perfect condition. I had a chance to use a great and expensive camera without spending thousands of dollars. My rental experience proved to be extremely positive.

This year, I also decided to book an apartment in Paris for my upcoming trip in June. I am especially excited to try this new experience and if I find that it is positive, I may continue to try other offerings or even share my own assets.

Interesting posts about the sharing economy:
What's next for the sharing economy?
Empowering Micro-entrepreneurs Through the Sharing Economy
The sharing economy: A growing force in American business

CRM Open Source options - which one is right for you?

Along with the proprietary CRM software solutions, there are many proven open source applications in the marketplace today.  Some of the most popular are:

Zoho CRM is a form of CRM available to those looking for options that are open source. This software is known for its real-time sales tracking, as well as its opportunity tracking.  Also, Zoho is good for users who deal internationally, as the software can handle up to 10 different currencies. A major downside is the limits put on the open source version, including record limits and charging users for mobile access to the software.

Zurmo is another popular open-source CRM option. The main concept behind Zurmo is a CRM software that is easy to use and customize. This allows users to set up the software as they see fit, which is a major bonus. The downside to this software is that it is relatively new, so there are still quite a few bugs with it. But, for those interested in true personalization of their CRM software, Zurmo is a good choice.

Fat Free CRM was created by Michael Dvorkin, and is a rather slimmed down CRM. This CRM was envisioned as more of a general CRM, with basic features like campaign management and online contact list tracking. But, this CRM lacks add-ons, so those looking for a more complex CRM with more features may want to consider other options.

SugarCRM  is an option for users, and a popular one as it already has over a million users. This software offers options to help with many different aspects of the customer relationship experience, like mobile and social CRM. A downside to this software is that in 2013, the company that creates the software announced that they will not be releasing any new open source versions of the software. This could leave users of Sugar behind as advancements are made in the CRM world.

Other Open Source CRM options:
VTiger, Cream CRM, OpenCRX, EPESI, MyITCRM, CiviCRM

SPDY - Google’s effort to speed up web browsing.

Did you know that Google works to speed up the web?

Google’s Chronium group is working on a new networking protocol called SPDY (SPeeDY).  Google is experimenting with new protocol for almost five years.

Chromium group believes that there are many opportunities to improve latency at the application layer. The original HTTP protocol was invented by Tim Berners-Lee and his team almost twenty five years ago, and it wasn’t designed for latency. Initially it had only one method GET. Over the years, the HTTP was extended with additional features and some of them don’t provide the optimal web performance.

Google’s Chromium group finds room for improvement in the following areas:

·         Allow concurrent streams to run across a single TCP session.

·         Eliminate redundant headers. This can provide 88% reduction in the size of headers.

·         Reduce the complexity of the HTTP protocol.

·         Enable server in addition to client to be able to request a resource.

·         Compress data.

·         Prioritizing and multiplexing the transfer of webpages.

SPDY is not to replace HTTP, but to improve connection management and transfer formats. SPDY protocol enhances the functionality of HTTP SPDY by adding a session layer atop of SSL that allows multiple concurrent bi-directional (can be initiated by the client or server) streams over a single TCP connection.




Google's Chronium group latest lab test results indicate that SPDY can load web pages 64% faster than the HTTP protocol. However Google is not sure how their tests represent the real world. Therefore the company hopes to engage the open source community to provide feedback or submit new ideas. One way to get involved is to participate in the Chronium’s discussion groups: Chronium-discuss  or SPDY-dev.

Useful links:

SPDY: An experimental protocol for a faster web
Not as SPDY as You Thought 

SPDY Best Practices 

Using SPDY on Your Web Server

Making the Web Faster with SPDY