姜昊騫

You may have heard people tossing around1） the phrase "sharing economy" these days. Essentially a general term to describe new age social and economic activity， the meanings of this phrase relate to online market places and people-to-people "sharing". While services relating to the sharing economy are proving to be profitable these days， they are also helping users live their lives in ways that they have only dreamed of. How exactly？ Well ...

It's Providing Convenience

When everyday tasks and necessities are inconvenient， it wastes a whole lot of time and sometimes money. People who are trying to achieve their dreams， reach their goals and make accomplishments are often set back2） by time wasted or the exhaustion3） that comes along with daily chores4）. With the rise of the sharing economy， more services are on the market that are making everyday life easier and freeing up5） more time for users. Uber and Lyft6） are two of the most well-known as they are making it easier and quicker for users to get around. Instead of wasting time on public transit7）， worrying about who will be the designated driver8） on a night out or waiting unnecessarily for a taxi to stop， people can get instant access to rides. As of September， 2016， Uber reported having 8 million users， 160，000 drivers， use in 70 different countries and more than 62 million total trips. According to Lyft， in 2016 there are over 315，000 drivers， use in more than 65 cities and over 25，000 daily downloads.

There Are More Work Opportunities

This whole sharing economy phenomena is not one sided. In fact， the people involved are benefiting all around. During an age， especially in places like the US and some places in Europe， when people have been finding the job market quite dismal9）， sharing economy services have been providing opportunities. Speaking to many Uber drivers myself， I've found that many of them have taken the jobs because of losing their jobs or trying to overcome financial hardships like medical bills.

There Is an Ease of Entry into Entrepreneurship10）

Becoming an entrepreneur is a dream for many but one that can often seem a bit unachievable or difficult to get started with. With platforms like Uber and Lyft as well as Airbnb11）， where people can rent out their homes for a profit， there is an easy entryway to start making money on your own terms12）. While the extent of some peoples' entrepreneurial ventures13） may stay along these lines14）， others may gain the confidence to move on to other ideas and start making things happen for themselves.

People Can Have Things That They Ordinarily Couldn't Afford

"You can have your cake and eat too" is a saying that's become a lot more real recently. While not everyone can afford to own all of the items of their dreams， the sharing economy system allows them to borrow them. Luxury items are now becoming more accessible with services like ExtendMyCloset， an online fashion portal15） that allows people to rent luxury designer dresses， gowns， prom16） dresses， top-of-the-line17） footwear and expensive accessories18） that they otherwise could never afford. Lenders are typically in close proximity19） to the users so that they can get their hands on what they need in time for their big events. Another service offering this kind of luxury is DriveNow， a car sharing service from BMW that allows people to easily get a hold of luxury cars for a short amount of time without having to purchase their own.

Travel Is Made Cheaper

Tons of people dream of exotic20） trips and lives filled with travel and adventure but few are able to actually afford that kind of lifestyle. With platforms that involve sharing skills and properties21）， the options for travel have expanded as things become cheaper and even free. Websites like Airbnb allow travelers to stay in full-sized22） and well equipped homes where other sites like WWOOF allow users to trade farm work for free room and board. HelpEx is another platform that allows travelers to trade skills for room and board while sites like Couchsurfing allow people to stay on the couches of generous hosts for free in different destinations.

除了共享單車，如今還能共享汽車、共享住房、共享辦公區(qū)域……無論共享的內(nèi)容是什么，它們都是“共享經(jīng)濟(jì)”的一個方面。共享經(jīng)濟(jì)給我們的生活帶來了很多便利，讓許多人都過上了夢想中的生活。為什么這么說呢？一起來隨本文了解一下吧。

1. toss around： （指未經(jīng)認(rèn)真考慮而）濫用（詞語）

近來，你可能聽過人們到處在用“共享經(jīng)濟(jì)”這個詞。從本質(zhì)上來說，這個詞是用來描述新時代的社會和經(jīng)濟(jì)活動的一種泛稱，其意義與線上市場和人與人之間的“共享”有關(guān)。事實證明，與共享經(jīng)濟(jì)相關(guān)的服務(wù)如今是有利可圖的，而與此同時，它們也正在幫助用戶過上只在夢想中才有的那種生活。究竟是如何做到的呢？這個嘛……

共享經(jīng)濟(jì)帶來了便利

當(dāng)完成日常工作、獲取生活必需品不方便時，就會浪費大量的時間，有時還會浪費金錢。那些正努力去實現(xiàn)夢想、達(dá)到目標(biāo)、取得成就的人往往會被耽擱，因為做這些日?，嵤聲速M時間或讓人變得筋疲力盡。隨著共享經(jīng)濟(jì)的興起，市場上出現(xiàn)了更多這樣的服務(wù)——它們正在使日常生活變得更加便利，并為用戶騰出更多的時間。優(yōu)步和Lyft就是那些最知名的服務(wù)中的兩個，因為它們正在使用戶去往各處變得更加便捷。人們可以即時乘車，而不必把時間浪費在公共交通上，夜晚外出活動時不必操心指定誰來駕車，也沒有必要等待某輛出租車停下來。截至2016年9月，優(yōu)步公布其已擁有800萬用戶和16萬名司機(jī)，在70個不同的國家提供服務(wù)，總行程已超過6200萬次。據(jù)Lyft表示，在2016年，其擁有超過31.5萬名司機(jī)，在超過65座城市提供服務(wù)，app日下載量超過2.5萬次。

共享經(jīng)濟(jì)帶來了更多的工作機(jī)會

整個共享經(jīng)濟(jì)現(xiàn)象并不是單方面的。實際上，參與其中的人正在從各個方面受益。在這樣一個人們一直覺得求職市場很不景氣（尤其是在像美國和歐洲某些地區(qū)等地方）的時代，共享經(jīng)濟(jì)服務(wù)一直都在為人們提供機(jī)遇。我自己和許多優(yōu)步司機(jī)交談時，發(fā)現(xiàn)他們當(dāng)中的很多人之所以干起了這份工作，是因為他們失業(yè)了或是想要解決財務(wù)方面的困難，比如支付醫(yī)療賬單。

共享經(jīng)濟(jì)使創(chuàng)業(yè)的門檻變低了

成為老板是許多人的夢想，但這個夢想往往會看起來有點難以實現(xiàn)，或是難以著手。有了優(yōu)步、Lyft以及Airbnb （人們可以在這個平臺上把自家的房子租出去，來賺取收入）這樣的平臺，你就擁有了自己當(dāng)老板開始賺錢的一條便捷通道。雖然有些人的創(chuàng)業(yè)活動范圍可能會一直停留在這些行當(dāng)中，但有的人可能會獲得轉(zhuǎn)而實現(xiàn)其他創(chuàng)業(yè)點子的自信，并著手實現(xiàn)這些新的創(chuàng)業(yè)點子。

那些你通常買不起的東西，

共享經(jīng)濟(jì)可以幫你擁有

近來，“魚和熊掌可以兼得”這句俗語正在越發(fā)變成現(xiàn)實。不是每個人都能買得起所有自己夢寐以求的東西，但共享經(jīng)濟(jì)體系卻讓人們可以把它們借到手。有了像ExtendMyCloset這樣的服務(wù)，如今，奢侈品正變得更加觸手可及。ExtendMyCloset是一個在線時尚門戶網(wǎng)站，它讓人們可以租借奢華的名牌連衣裙、禮服、舞會禮服、最棒的鞋子和昂貴的配飾，這些都是人們除此途徑之外永遠(yuǎn)都可能買不起的東西。租借者與用戶的空間距離一般都特別近，這樣用戶就能及時拿到他們參加重大活動所需的物件了。另一個提供此類奢侈品的服務(wù)是DriveNow，它是由寶馬公司推出的一個共享汽車服務(wù)，讓人們得以輕松獲得豪華轎車的短期使用權(quán)，而不必購買屬于自己的豪車。

共享經(jīng)濟(jì)讓旅行變得更便宜

很多人都夢想著異國之旅和到處旅行、四處探險的生活，但很少有人真的能負(fù)擔(dān)得起這樣的生活方式。有了涉及共享旅行技能與共享房屋這方面業(yè)務(wù)的平臺，旅行的選擇范圍就擴(kuò)大了，因為很多東西都變得更便宜甚至免費了。Airbnb等網(wǎng)站讓旅行者得以住在標(biāo)準(zhǔn)配置、設(shè)施齊全的房子里，WWOOF等其他網(wǎng)站則讓用戶可以通過干農(nóng)活來換取免費食宿。HelpEx是另一個讓旅行者可以用技能來換取食宿的平臺，而像Couchsurfing這樣的網(wǎng)站則讓旅行者前往不同的旅行目的地時可以免費睡在慷慨大方的主人家的長沙發(fā)上。