Peer to Peer, often shortened to P2P, has been an online word that was coined almost 20 years ago. It was used to indicate a direct link between two people, senders and receivers, who were mutually benefiting from one another’s services. This included sharing files, testing online systems, doing quality assurance checks and so on. Today, P2P services are being used for bigger and greater things but most interesting of all, you might have been using them without you knowing.
They’re More Familiar Than You Think
Also known as the Sharing Economy, P2P services are those that connect people with goods and services to those who need them without a middleman. Forbes recently ran an insightful article on some fantastic P2P services, some of which you mightn’t have used and some of which you might be interested in. At first, some people may have their reservations but the reviews speak for themselves.
Take AirBNB for example, what started as an idea not unlike glorified couch surfing has become an international success and accommodation juggernaut. Just take some of their users’ reviews for example, as people in their thousands post amazing reviews and it’s moments like these that we can’t help but realise we’re in a pretty amazing societal turning point.
An Uber Way of Feeding You
People don’t live the same lives today as we did 10 to 20 years ago as, increasingly, we become more time poor. Instead of predicting that gadgets and trends like social media might make us more antisocial, peer to peer services have proven quite the opposite. Today, people are harnessing their skills to turn them into money-making avenues in addition to their day job.
Home-made food delivery is allowing amateur and professional chefs alike to connect with more people than ever thanks to apps like EatMade. Before that we’ve had services that have allowed total strangers to come into your home for you to feed them at a nominal fee. Things are definitely different today, but you may be wondering why people do it? Is it safe? Is it the normal thing to do? Why would I want to? You’re not alone.
We have now seen P2P services expand into all manners of areas reaching from dog-sitting, to house cleaning, and any small task you’d like done. Of course, one of the major players, Uber started from humble beginnings but is now worth billions of dollars. You may find yourself asking, “How did we get here?”
There are a lot of answers to that question and they will differ from person to person. Some might say ‘trust’, others might say ‘convenience’, others then might claim ‘curiosity’ is the reason why they tried out these applications. But it might be a combination of these why they keep coming back.
Products and Services On Your Terms
Many of these services allow people to work when it suits them. They can use their leisure time to turn their hobbies like crafting, cooking, or driving into a paid avenue to support or reward themselves. And it’s working.
Go People is a revolutionary new parcel delivery service that will get your parcel to where it needs to go in Sydney by one of many different couriers that we call Runners. Our Runners are available 24/7 which is another beautiful aspect of peer to peer services, operation hours are built to mutually benefit both the user and the provider.
P2P services work because they serve a purpose. These are things that we all want satisfied and at a good price. Accommodation, food, travel, deliveries, recommendations and so much more can all be satisfied by the Sharing Economy and the P2P services that fuel it. P2P services also have a low barrier to entry and the minimum for most is an online account and a smartphone. In today’s technologically minded society, you would be hard pressed to find someone without both of those things so it’s easy to see where the numbers come from.
P2P services will continue to grow and people will continue to find value in their abilities to make someone else’s life easier for a small fee. The Economist was quick and correct to point that because technology lowers transaction costs, sharing assets is both cheaper and easier than ever before. Because of this, small start up business can find themselves growing their business to a much larger scale than traditional business.
There’s More Than Just an App For That
Apple once successfully ran early marketing campaigns for the iPhone by showing users the benefits of the device. “There’s an app for that” they used to say. Now we know this to be true. There really is an app for almost everything. And if there isn’t? It would have us asking aloud, “Why isn’t there an app for that?”
We did the same when we wanted a package delivered outside of regular business hours. We asked ourselves why there wasn’t an app for that. Now there is and our P2P service is ready to work for you. Try Go People today!
Have you used a P2P service in the past? Do you use them to make your life easier or do you provide services as well? Let us know below, we’d love to hear from you!