It's that time of year again - a day of mindless gluttony and familial discord followed by a day of even more mindless mass consumerism. But we need not succumb to the nonsense - we have a choice.

For the last 20 years or so, Adbusters Magazine has sponsored international Buy Nothing Day - an alternative to Black Friday.

BUY NOTHING DAY / #OCCUPYXMAS

You’ve been sleeping on the streets for two months pleading peacefully for a new spirit in economics. And just as your camps are raided, your eyes pepper sprayed and your head’s knocked in, another group of people are preparing to camp-out. Only these people aren’t here to support occupy Wall Street, they’re here to secure their spot in line for a Black Friday bargain at Super Target and Macy’s.

Occupy gave the world a new way of thinking about the fat cats and financial pirates on Wall Street. Now lets give them a new way of thinking about the holidays, about our own consumption habits. Lets’ use the coming 20th annual Buy Nothing Day to launch an all-out offensive to unseat the corporate kings on the holiday throne.

This year’s Black Friday will be the first campaign of the holiday season where we set the tone for a new type of holiday culminating with #OCCUPYXMAS. As the global protests of the 99% against corporate greed and casino capitalism continues, lets take the opportunity to hit the empire where it really hurts…the wallet.

On Nov 25/26th we escape the mayhem and unease of the biggest shopping day in North America and put the breaks on rabid consumerism for 24 hours. Flash mobs, consumer fasts, mall sit-ins, community events, credit card-ups, whirly-marts and jams, jams, jams! We don’t camp on the sidewalk for a reduced price tag on a flat screen TV or psycho-killer video game. Instead, we occupy the very paradigm that is fueling our eco, social and political decline.

Historically, Buy Nothing Day has been about fasting from hyper consumerism – a break from the cash register and reflecting on how dependent we really are on conspicuous consumption. On this 20th anniversary of Buy Nothing Day, we take it to the next level, marrying it with the message of #occupy…

We #OCCUPYXMAS.

Shenanigans begin November 25!

TEDxSydney - Rachel Botsman: The case for collaborative consumption

Rachel Botsman is the co-author of What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption - a newish book that outlines many ideas familiar to those who have been following the rise of P2P/Commons thinking. I didn't realize she was a former director at the William J. Clinton Foundation - that's cool - I hope she brought some of these ideas to that organization.

About this talk

At TEDxSydney, Rachel Botsman says we're "wired to share" -- and shows how websites like Zipcar and Swaptree are changing the rules of human behavior.

About Rachel Botsman

Rachel Botsman writes and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing through network technologies, and on how it will transform business, consumerism and the way we live. She is the co-author of the book What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. She is a social innovator who writes, consults, and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing through network technologies, and on how it will transform business, consumerism and the way we live.

She is the founder of CCLab, an innovation incubator that works with startups, big businesses and local governments to deliver innovative solutions based on the ideas of Collaborative Consumption. She has consulted to Fortune 500 companies and leading nonprofit organizations around the world on brand and innovation strategy, and was a former director at the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Tags: collaboration, conscious consumption, society, P2P, Commons, TEDx, Sydney, Rachel Botsman, The case for collaborative consumption, What's Mine Is Yours, The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, sharing, network technologies

Authors@Google: Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers on Collaborative Consumption

Another excellent presentation from Google's author series.

What is Collaborative Consumption? And who is doing it? Collaborative Consumption is the organized sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping through online and real-world communities. From social lending (Zopa) to car sharing (Zipcar) and co-working (HubCulture), from peer-to-peer rental (Zilok) to collaborative travel (Air BnB) and neighborhood sharing schemes (WeCommune)... people are already using the principles and dynamics of Collaborative Consumption—without even knowing it. Along the way, they are getting the same fulfillment and benefits of actual ownership while saving money and lowering their environmental impact. Today, more and more consumers are opting for access over ownership, and use over possession.

The philosophy behind this idea is not new—carpooling, staying with friends and relatives when traveling, checking a book out from library—are age-old examples of Collaborative Consumption. But today, propelled by web-enabled technologies and economic and environmental imperatives, a surge is taking place with new sharing models and business opportunities emerging every day. The authors explore this phenomenon with numerous examples, and by dividing companies and organizations into three systems (see a detailed list on the following page and on their site):

Producer service systems:

* Pay for the benefit of using a product without needing to own the product outright. Disrupting traditional industries based on models of individual private ownership (examples include Zipcar and Netflix)

Redistribution markets:

* Redistribute used or pre-owned goods from where they are not needed to somewhere or someone where they are. (examples include Craigslist, eBay, and SwapStyle)

Collaborative lifestyles:

* It's not just physical goods that can be shared, swapped, and bartered. People with similar interests are banding together to share and exchange less tangible assets such as time, space, skills, and money. (examples include: Coachsurfing, Urban Garden Share, and LendClub)

Rachel Botsman writes, consults, and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing, and on how it can transform the way we live. She received her BFA (Honors) from the University of Oxford, and undertook her postgraduate studies at Harvard University. She has consulted to businesses around the world on brand and innovation strategy. As a former director at the William J. Clinton Foundation, she spearheaded major public-private partnerships with Nickelodeon, Rachael Ray, and the NBA.

Roo Rogers is a serial entrepreneur with five successful startups currently in the marketplace. He is currently the director of Redscout Ventures. He has a combination of operational and venture capital expertise and works across multiple consumer sectors, including media, transportation, and beverages. Roo has a BA from Columbia College and a Masters in Economics from University College London. Roo sits on the board of two nonprofits: Médecins du Monde UK and The Bronx Community Charter School. He currently resides in New York City.

Tags: Authors@Google, Rachel Botsman, Roo Rogers, Collaborative Consumption, collaboration, consumers, conscious consumption, society, culture, Redistribution markets, collaborative lifestyles

Anna Davies - Collaborative Consumption with Rachel Botsman

Anna Davies is the research manager and blogger for the Institute for the Future - in this post she briefly looks at the idea of collaborative consumption, an idea discussed by Rachel Botsman, who is co-author of the new book What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. You can read the collaborative consumption blog here.

Collaborative Consumption with Rachel Botsman

Collaborative consumption is a concept we've been following with interest at the Institute. Yesterday we were lucky enough to enjoy a visit from Rachel Botsman, who has documented the movement in her new book What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, co-authored with Roo Rogers. Rachel is at the end of a worldwide tour for the book, during which she's been taking her ideas to diverse audiences including Microsoft, The Feast Conference and No 10 Downing Street.

The book explores how the reduced cost of collaboration afforded by social technology is enabling people to put assets with "high idling capacity" to use. Sites such as AirB&B and ParkatmyHouse allow individuals to make smart use of resources like a driveway or a spare room that go unused most of the time. These contributions to what she terms "collaborative lifestyles" are not only providing people with new income sources, but also an outlet for creativity.

The movement has also driven some innovative solutions to tough social challenges. Take Good Gym, a scheme which is currently being piloted in Tower Hamlets, London. Good Gym starts from the premise that the very idea of gyms as a place to exercise are symptomatic of a sick society. As an alternative to the treadmill, participants sign up to run a set number of miles in their neighborhood, and on their way, they drop in to visit an elderly person who might struggle to get out and about. Participants might drop off a library book or some grocercies, or they might just stay for a chat. The motivation to stick to a running schedule is hugley increased with the knowledge that there is someone waiting for a visit. And the elderly participants in the scheme go from being passive recipients of a volunteering project to much needed "coaches," helping someone to achieve their fitness goals.

It was fantastic to hear so many great examples of this exciting movement, not least since it resonates so strongly with much of our recent thinking at the Institute (Marina's piece on crowdsourcing ambundance is just one example). We'll be following Rachel's progress closely over the next few months - thank you Rachel for dropping by!

Tags: Anna Davies, Collaborative Consumption, Rachel Botsman, Institute for the Future, What's Mine is Yours, The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, Roo Rogers, culture, consumerism, economics, conscious consumption, collaboration, collaborative lifestyles