The rise of the collaborative economy goes hand in hand with the rise in social media. I think most people have seen without a doubt that social media is here to stay. Others, however, may need a little convincing to say the same thing about the collaborative economy. The people that are getting disrupted by the collaborative economy can either see it for what it is and join it, or be left behind.

Industry analyst Jeremiah Owyang argues in this inspiring report, that the collaborative economy is the evolution of the Internet-based economy of the past two decades. People love the convenience of using common technologies to get the goods and services they need from each other, peer-to-peer, instead of buying from established corporations. Social media is fueling the collaborative economy. Smartphones and social media have made it possible for us to easily connect with someone who may want what we no longer need or have limited use of.

Technology is now facilitating the collaborative economy and social media is instrumental in opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs with their next big idea. Entrepreneurs need to find a way to benefit from the digital transformation and harness the information that comes from it in order to thrive in the collaborative economy. In order to facilitate and profit from the interactions between customers, companies have to truly understand their customers by listening to them and acting upon their feedback. Through this data, companies can predict future trends and adapt their business models accordingly, before customers take their business elsewhere.