I think it's like we've almost forgotten that happened in that phase. Every entrepreneur had this vision that we could essentially change human relationships through technology. That was coming from the fact that these systems work surprisingly well. Yes, of course there are issues with eBay sellers and Airbnb hosts but the fact that you can transact with a stranger and stand a stranger stranger's home is very exciting.
We are in the middle of a global trust crisis. Neighbors are strangers and local news sources are becoming scarcer; institutions that used to symbolize prestige, honor and a sense of societal security are ridiculed for being antiquated and out of touch. To replace the void, we turn to sharing economy companies and social media, which come up short, or worse. Our guest on this episode, academic and business advisor Rachel Botsman, guides us through how we got here, and how to recover. Botsman is the Trust Fellow at Oxford University, and the author of two books, including “Who Can You Trust?” The intangibility of trust makes it difficult to pin down, she explains, and she speaks directly to technology leaders about fostering communities and creating products the public is willing to put faith in. “The efficiency of technology is the enemy of trust,” she says.