NationStates

You and your significant other both had a long day at work and neither of you feels like cooking anything. The thought of eating frozen dinners really doesn't sound very appealing or healthy but the only restaurants that are still open are fast food restaurants. You both have a rule that you can only eat at KFC once a year... and it's only been 3 months!

What if there was an app that gave you the opportunity to eat at a random person's home in your area? The app would list what dishes were available within a certain distance from your home. Rather than prices being listed... you could simply enter your willingness to pay (WTP) for the dish that you were most interested in. The seller would receive a notification and enter how much they were willing to accept (WTA). If your WTP was greater than or equal to their WTA... then voila! The money would be exchanged and you and your significant other would drive over and eat at a random person's home! Yum!??

Of course there would be a rating system for both buyers and sellers.

A quick google search reveals that this isn't a new idea *gasp*... Why No Dining App Is the ‘Airbnb of Food’ (Yet). According to the article, the problem with the previous attempts was inadequate demand? It looks like with the previous and/or current attempts... they used the one-price-fits-all (OPFA) approach rather than the approach that I described (linvoid?).

Personally, I think it's pretty stupid to try and use the OPFA approach because... if your WTP was high enough... I'd certainly wake up at 2 in the morning and get started preparing my world famous BBQ. Ok, my BBQ isn't world famous (yet). Uh, in order to avoid being constantly woken up by notifications... the app would give the following option... "Don't notify me for anything less than $ ________"

Clearly lots of you have no problem driving in a random person's car (uber) and staying in a random person's home (airbnb)... but what about eating at a random person's home? Are there logical limits to the sharing economy? Or is the sky (or your imagination) the limit?

I'm sure that most of you have heard some concern that smarter robots are going to take all our jobs. But I'm pretty sure that the real problem isn't smarter robots! The real problem is that so many of our demands are latent. The solution is to clarify demand. Once demand is clarified... then there will never be a shortage of opportunities (see my signature for another example).

This so-called sharing economy is a side effect of the new economic cliff towards which the first world is hurtling, and over which the developing nations will be dragged as well. Namely, it is a model without the massive work force that has been required in the past, and thus people's energies are already being redirected towards activities more directly interactive with their peers in the economy. Thus, the phenomenon of enterprises such as Uber and Airbnb.

What we will see in the near future is that middle management will go the way of the blue-collar worker, and gradually the more generic executive positions will be whittled down as well. Such change will be indicative of new societal constructs being forged, with the devising of novel methods for sharing resources. For the most part, the only jobs in the abstract future of which I am speaking that can be compared to what we have now will be very specialized, niche positions.

Sharing will be an even more integral component of the new resource distribution network, something that communism foresaw but failed to implement through its own techniques.

Xerographica wrote:You and your significant other both had a long day at work and neither of you feels like cooking anything. The thought of eating frozen dinners really doesn't sound very appealing or healthy but the only restaurants that are still open are fast food restaurants.

Open a can of tuna, open a can of beans. Mix. Season with salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil (in the order).
Dinner.

More seriously, "clarifying demand" really looks like a way of saying "my model can't cope with the complexity of reality, so screw that".

I'd shrug and not eat.

I don't understand why the fact that we have a rule about KFC prevents us from eating anywhere else. I'd just go to Cane's.

Maurepas wrote:I don't understand why the fact that we have a rule about KFC prevents us from eating anywhere else. I'd just go to Cane's.

I was eating leftover KFC when I was writing the OP.

Maurepas wrote:I don't understand why the fact that we have a rule about KFC prevents us from eating anywhere else. I'd just go to Cane's.

Only an exclusive group of states is blessed with Cane's.

Risottia wrote:

Xerographica wrote:You and your significant other both had a long day at work and neither of you feels like cooking anything. The thought of eating frozen dinners really doesn't sound very appealing or healthy but the only restaurants that are still open are fast food restaurants.

Open a can of tuna, open a can of beans. Mix. Season with salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil (in the order).
Dinner.

Sounds like a hard times dinner. What kinda beans?

Risottia wrote:More seriously, "clarifying demand" really looks like a way of saying "my model can't cope with the complexity of reality, so screw that".

Uh, what? I don't understand what's going on here. You're hungry... so you go out and buy food. That's you clarifying your demand for food. Of course you don't go out and by ALL food... you buy specific food. Do you and I buy the same exact food? Of course not... we are different people in different circumstances. This is why demand is diverse. Because demand is diverse... clarifying demand creates diverse opportunities.

Since you already participate in the clarification of demand... in order to critique the greater clarification of demand... you need to articulate/defend/justify where and why you think the line should be drawn.

Go to a 24-hour diner, problem solved.

And if it's so late that only fast food establishments are open, I doubt you're going to find some stranger willing to cook you a meal at that time...

You're saying that I could go to a place where they'll serve me food if I pay them? We have those. They're called restaurants.

The Two Jerseys wrote:Go to a 24-hour diner, problem solved.

And if it's so late that only fast food establishments are open, I doubt you're going to find some stranger willing to cook you a meal at that time...

Damn guess we reached the logical limit of this hypothetical :/

Ifreann wrote:You're saying that I could go to a place where they'll serve me food if I pay them? We have those. They're called restaurants.

Yeah but instead of the resturant being open when no one is there it can only be open when there are customers. When there are few customer few contractors would be on the clock, and more customers more contractors.

I could see huge savings by not paying people when there are few or no customers.

Southerly Gentleman wrote:

Maurepas wrote:I don't understand why the fact that we have a rule about KFC prevents us from eating anywhere else. I'd just go to Cane's.

Only an exclusive group of states is blessed with Cane's.

The horror of being in a state without Cane's,

greed and death wrote:

Ifreann wrote:You're saying that I could go to a place where they'll serve me food if I pay them? We have those. They're called restaurants.

Yeah but instead of the resturant being open when no one is there it can only be open when there are customers. When there are few customer few contractors would be on the clock, and more customers more contractors.

I could see huge savings by not paying people when there are few or no customers.

Restaurant Esty serves Aki noodles and lukewarm beer at all hours of the day.

Logic?What is this insanity!

wouldn't something like UBER Dinner be better - an app that sends out my request for food and then has someone in the neighbourhood text me back an offer to deliver?

I'll have a chicken curry please

Who the fuck only eats KFC once a year?

You do realize there are a myriad of restaurants in any given metropolitan area, even in the wee hours of the morning.

Also, if for some reason, both you and your partner have work patterns that make you work very late, dinner would probably be earn either at work or before you left for your job.

Kelinfort wrote:Who the fuck only eats KFC once a year?

You do realize there are a myriad of restaurants in any given metropolitan area, even in the wee hours of the morning.

Also, if for some reason, both you and your partner have work patterns that make you work very late, dinner would probably be earn either at work or before you left for your job.

I live in a town where the only shop open after 8pm is the gas station

as such a late night dinner tends to involve a peanut butter sandwich

The sharing economy is largely just an excuse to go around the hard-fought for workers' rights and consumer regulations we've fought for for over a hundred years.

So it's the priceline.com model of eating food at other peoples' houses?

Ok, I guess that's fine, as long as you don't start putting insane shit like "if you bid less than the person selling the food, that person has to pay YOU" or something.

Kelinfort wrote:Who the fuck only eats KFC once a year?

Someone who eats it one too many times a year.

'nuff said.

Sharing is such a misnomer.

Atlanticatia wrote:The sharing economy is largely just an excuse to go around the hard-fought for workers' rights and consumer regulations we've fought for for over a hundred years.

I'd have to agree. This "sharing economy" model which is being pushed by globalists/neo-liberals sucks! If capitalism is incapable of delivering full time jobs to most people, it is time to abandon it.

Kelinfort wrote:Who the fuck only eats KFC once a year?

You do realize there are a myriad of restaurants in any given metropolitan area, even in the wee hours of the morning.

Also, if for some reason, both you and your partner have work patterns that make you work very late, dinner would probably be earn either at work or before you left for your job.

But when I get the drunk munchies I want Filet Mignon and Foie gras.

greed and death wrote:

Kelinfort wrote:Who the fuck only eats KFC once a year?

You do realize there are a myriad of restaurants in any given metropolitan area, even in the wee hours of the morning.

Also, if for some reason, both you and your partner have work patterns that make you work very late, dinner would probably be earn either at work or before you left for your job.

But when I get the drunk munchies I want Filet Mignon and Foie gras.

Would sir like some caviar and champagne with that?