Digital Lifescapes

Airbnb did it to the hospitality industry. Then, Uber did it to taxi services. Now driverless cars are going to totally disrupt the whole automotive industry, propelling car sharing services forward as the ultimate, mainstream transportation mode. This new car sharing economy is already well in motion. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, they are forecasting that 400 million people will rely on robotic car sharing by 2030. "The new car sharing economy happens in three phases: street rental service, ride sharing service, and robotic service," says Dominique Bonte, vice president at ABI Research . "The automotive industry is in the process of merging phases one and two, with robotic service to become the ultimate form of transportation for its availability, convenience, and affordability." The Sharing Economy in Action Zipcar, the world's largest car sharing and car club service, is a prime example of street rental service. Inte...

Based upon my own observations, as a beta test user of the original Dell IdeaStorm platform four years ago, I witnessed three primary benefits from customer co-creation activity -- new product or service concepts, existing product or service enhancement, and business process or marketing related suggestions. eMarketer reports that those three scenarios are still valid. Customers want to form meaningful relationships with a select few companies that they care most about. Given today's consumer culture of increased online participation, savvy business leaders are rising to the challenge, realizing that customer collaboration can be very rewarding. "Co-creation begins with focusing on customers," said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst. "Companies tend to take an inside-out approach to co-creation, but those that take an outside-in approach -- by listening to and observing customers -- are in a position to discover ways to create mutual value." Cus...