[영어/회화] An Assessment of Sharing Economy Services and their Business Models

Vocabulary

Peer-to-peer
involving sharing files or other resources between computers connected through a network, rather than using a central server (= a central computer that stores files):
peer-to-peer file sharing
 
Idle
not working or being used:
Half these factories now stand idle.
 
Subsidize
to pay part of the cost of something:
£50 would help to subsidize the training of an unemployed teenager.
 
Express
moving or being sent fast:
Please send this letter by express delivery.
 
Monetize
to make money from something:
The problem was how to monetize this kind of social networking site.
 
Recoup
to get back money that you have spent or lost:
It takes a while to recoup the initial costs of starting up a business.
 
Reminisce
to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure:
My grandfather used to reminisce about his years in the navy.
 
Hastily
(n. haste) ;fast ;quickly
 
Soar
to rise very quickly to a high level:
All night long fireworks soared into the sky.
 
Troublesome
causing a lot of problems for someone:
Her hip has been troublesome for quite a while, and she'll probably need surgery on it.
 
Entity
something that exists apart from other things, having its own independent existence:
The museums work closely together, but are separate legal entities.
 
Circa
(used especially with years) approximately:
He was born circa 1600.
 
Provision
the act of providing something:
The provision of good public transport will be essential for developing the area.

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Q1

Why did you choose this topic for today’s class discussion?

 
Request

Now and then, sharing economy has become quite popular. I also used some of them like Airbnb, Uber in the very past, maybe when the business just started. However, I apparently noticed that the service they provide now is different from the past. Professional drivers and property owners are the most suppliers on the apps although the concept was not like this when they started. Thus I was curious about why they changed and I chose this topic.

 

Tutor: 
Over the past few years, the sharing economy has grown quite popular. When sharing economy companies, such as Airbnb and Uber, were in their earlier stages, I tried out some of their services. However, I’ve realized that the services that those companies provide are different now. Originally, Uber drivers and Airbnb hosts were individuals who were only casually invested in their respective companies and looking for fun and interesting ways to earn some cash on the side. Now, the majority of people who are employed by Uber and Airbnb are professional drivers and property owners, respectively. This has changed the way that consumers interact with both companies. I chose this topic, because I am  interested in learning more about this transformation. 
 
Another option:
The sharing economy has become quite popular. When sharing economy companies, like Airbnb and Uber, were first introduced to the market, I used some of their services. Years later, I’ve noticed that the quality of service that both companies provide is not the same as it used to be. Whereas most Uber drivers and Airbnb hosts were originally only attracted to the companies for the prospect of earning extra cash, most now treat their positions as careers. I am curious about how this change came about, so I chose this topic for discussion today.

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Check-In: 
 
I envy you, because you are still on the end of the week. 
→ I envy you, because it is the weekend where you are. 
→ I envy you, because it’s still Sunday where you are. 
 
The Monday just started. 
→ My Monday just started. 
 
I just stayed at home for all the weekend. 
→ I stayed at home for the entire weekend. 
 
And I watched Netflix and movies in my bed. 
 
I actually saw a YouTube video where a YouTuber provide her daily life and she told the binge-watching something. 
→ I actually saw a YouTube video where a YouTuber offered viewers a glimpse at her daily life. She announced that she was binge- watching something.
 
She binge watched a TV show or Netflix movie. 
 
The highlight of my past week is - I actually applied to a bunch of companies. 
→ The highlight of my past week was applying to multiple companies. 
 
I got some result - some bad result. 
→ I received some negative results. 
 
I was a little disappointed with the results. I decided to watch some videos to make myself feel better.
 
 
Discussion: 
 
I thought that their business models was very interesting. 
 
It just link the providers who have the idle assets and the customers who need a reasonable service temporarily. 
→ They just link the providers who have the idle assets to the customers who need reasonable services for a temporary period. 
 
The thing which was very unique in the sharing economy application was the service provider was not a professional driver or a professional lodge owner. 
→ One of the unique aspects of these applications was that the service providers were neither professional drivers nor professional landlords. 
 
They are just the neighbors next to my home. 
→ They were just ordinary people looking to make extra cash on the side. 
 
They look like providing the services for fun or slight money. 
→ They were providing the services for fun and extra spending money. 
 
The main reason was not to monetize their assets to a bunch of money. 
→ They were not trying to monetize their assets for a substantial amount of money. 
 
As I said, because their main concept was to link the asset owners to the customers, they can provide the services at a reasonable price. 
 
The providers doesn’t work for professional job - working more than 8 hours a day, so they don’t need a lot of money to process their services. 
→ The service providers weren’t professionals who were working for more than eight hours a day, so they didn’t need to be compensated with a lot of money. 
 
So they just had a reasonable price for the customers. 
→ They were able to offer customers reasonable prices for their services. 
 
Applications provide unique experiences for the customers. 
 
They just sharing their own experience to the customers 
→ They were just sharing their own experiences with the customers. 
 
And somehow to increase the quality of services, they make something unique for the customers. 
→ They tried to cater their services to their customers, so that each individual had a one-of-a-kind experience. 
 
Some house owners provide some meals or the Uber drivers provided something interesting while driving. 
→ Some homeowners provided meals to guests, while Uber drivers tried to entertain their clients while driving. 
 
That’s why those applications have increased tremendously. 
 
In my opinion, they will decline in the near future. 
 
It’s basically because they already lose their own concept when they start the operation. 
→ They lost sight of their original company values when they monetized their operations. 
 
It’s actually relevant to the increasing number of professional providers. 
→ Their decline is related to the increasing number of professional providers that work for their companies. 
 
The wage has to fulfill the minimum wage in the legislation. 
→ The companies had to ensure that their employees were at least receiving the minimum wage. 
→ They had to abide by local and regional laws to ensure that their employees were at least receiving a minimum wage. 
 
The reason why the prices of the applications are increasing. They actually started with linking the local people to the customers, but now its just the presentation of professional providers. 
→ The prices of the applications have increased, because the applications now employ professionals. 
 
It is different from the past. 
 
They lose their advantage for sharing economy. 
→ They have lost their advantages as sharing economy companies. 
 
The similar competitor occurred in many countries. 
→ They have many competitors in different countries all over the world. 
 
Especially in South Eastern Asian. There is an app - hailing car applications. 
→ There are apps that allow you to hail cars. 
→ “ride-hailing application”
 
Reasonable price - lower price than Uber. 
 
Why do they use Uber anymore?  
 
Uber and Airbnb  confronted the limitation of government. 
→ Uber and Airbnb have also been limited by government authority. 
 
Korean society is quite conservative. 
 
The government is trying to protect local job owners. 
Uber and Airbnb are new. 
 
They just influenced the prices for local providers and current government didn’t allow Uber to operate their services. 
→ The current government hasn’t allowed Uber to operate their services. 
 
It was a very sensitive issue between Uber and taxi drivers. 
The local taxi drivers won their case in Korea.