Around the Apocalyptic Web: The sharing economy and getting paid for your work

I find the whole idea of a "sharing economy" where people barter and exchange and free up excess capacity in their own lives and situations to make others' lives a little easier and cheaper an interesting notion. And worthwhile. After all broadly speaking the open access and open source movements do partake of this same spirit. Libraries too, in that we pool the resources of a community to acquire stuff for the benefit of all the members, so that everyone can share the wealth.

But is there a dark side to sharing?

With the advent of companies like AirBnB and it's ilk not to mention the whole idea of the "reputation economy" sucking up the "gift economy" for it's own devices, well, let's just say I'm a bit more skeptical of the big money players than the little gals and guys.

So this Around the Web explores a long set of readings about more the new, more corporatized side of sharing, some pro, most con. After all, even the open access movement has it's share of big publishers and small startups diving in.

In no particular order:

• Rich People Want You to Work for Free
• Op-Ed: Uber loves teachers
• Don't buy the 'sharing economy' hype: Airbnb and Uber are facilitating rip-offs
• Silicon Valley Is Ruining "Sharing" for Everybody
• Vexed in the city: The 'sharing' economy's hidden toll on San Francisco
• Uber and Airbnb: Elitist, Possibly Racist and Designed to Circumvent the Law
• The Sharing Economy on the Collaborative Commons
• Take Back Sharing: Why #Uber , #Lyft and #AirBnB are not part of the sharing economy
• What the Republican Love Affair with Uber Is About
• Not Everyone Is a Fan of the Sharing Economy
• As Uber and its ilk expand, cities like Anchorage struggle to regulate the 'sharing economy'
• Analysis: Sharing economy and business travel
• The secret libertarianism of Uber & Airbnb
• Airbnb and Uber Face Some Harsh Realities
• Uber and Airbnb Leave Disabled People Behind
• How Uber and the Sharing Economy Can Win Over Regulators
• A Note to You, Should You Be Thinking of Asking Me to Write For You For Free
• After “fuck you, pay me’ – Art, Marxism, Reproduction, and Capital
• Other professionals don't work for free. So why are writers expected to?
• Yes, Young Writers Should Give Their Work Away for Free
• When People Write for Free, Who Pays?
• Should you work for free?
• How to decide when to work for free
• Why The Collaborative Economy Is Changing Everything
• Is the new sharing economy in travel a democracy or a republic?
• Sharing Economy Series: Insights from a sharing-marketplace CEO after year 1
• Never Mind the Sharing Economy: Here’s Platform Capitalism
• How the Sharing Economy Is Changing Your Halloween Costume Search
• Timeline: Corporations in the Collaborative Economy
• The Sharing Economy In The Big City

Add your own favourite example of rich people asking not-so-rich-people to kick in to their profits in the comments.