A recent  front page feature story ( 17 July 2009)  in The Washington Post – one of Americas, highest distribution Daily Newspapers, is entitled “Recession Lesson: Share and Swap Replaces Grab and Buy”  (available online but free membership required).  The article highlights that throughout the US, people are looking at ways to cope with the recession and are increasingly swapping and sharing all sorts of things including tools, books, cars, time, talent and many other resources and services.

When they need something, rather than going out and buying it, people are talking to their friends, colleagues and neighbours and increasingly, swapping and sharing the things that they need. According to the article,

“A car-sharing service has had a 70 percent membership increase since the recession set in. Governments are putting bikes on the street for public use. How-to-swap Web sites are proliferating.”

Obviously the services offered by SpaceOut fall right into the realms of the Washington Post article… and it’s not just in the US, or Australia – it is world-wide that people are getting smarter and maximising the benefits they can get out of everything they own (not just their space).