Textual Analysis Draft One

Learning to Share, Thanks to the Web  (Draft One)

Alex Burns

Wrd 103

As children, some of us never were able to grasp the concept of sharing. In the article, Learning to Share, Thanks to the Web, Goodman discusses the start of the Capital Bikeshare program beginning in Washington DC and the possible problems that may hinder its success. The idea of sharing goods and services has been around for many years, Goodman explores the past success and failures of other service sharing programs including those based on the Internet. The idea that sharing goods and services may be an important step in our future economy, is another idea that is discussed often throughout. Goodman debates weather or not access to goods and services rather than ownership changes the way people care for things, in the case, bicycles.

Goodman demonstrates skepticism in Americans and their ability to maintain the bike sharing program. Trust is always a difficult idea, especially when dealing with a large population. The author questions weather consumers are even interested in the idea of spending money on something they will not personally own. The author states the opinions of a gubernatorial candidate in Colorado who called Denver’s bike sharing program, “un-American.”  Goodman also gives the opinions of several scholars who argue that the Internet has changed the way Americans view sharing and ownership. The Internet is a place that forms communities of groups interested in similar things, in this case sharing bikes. It makes people feel as though they are apart of something and therefore makes them more likely to participate. The author notes Paris, and China as places that use an electronic trafficking system to detour theft. There are already cities with successful programs and Washington has modeled its program after some of these techniques. The idea of access rather than ownership is appealing because the responsibility that comes with ownership is a hassle for some.

The author gains the trust of his readers by citing several different educated opinions on the issue. For example, Goodman quotes Parry Burnap, the executive director of Denver bike sharing who says, “ Sharing takes away all the headaches of ownership.” This explains that for many people the idea of not being in charge of the maintenance and other responsibilities that come with ownership is attractive.  Goodman also explores the findings of political science professor Elinor Ostrom who researched the reasons groups of people turned to sharing resources. Americans have never been good at sharing or managing limited resources. Goodman gives a history of sharing programs and the problems that caused some to collapse. For example he cites Canada’s bike share program, which after three years had lost 95% of its bikes due to theft. This gives the reader knowledge in which to use when thinking about the success or failure of the new project in Washington.

Goodman appears to be directing his article towards America’s businessmen, particularly those who work with businesses such as Capital Bikeshare. He appears to do this by discussing business tactics that have worked and those that have failed when running past share programs. He also gives them opinions from actual consumers. It also seems that Goodman writes towards the everyday consumer. He does this by explaining in detail how some share programs work. He lists many different companies to give the consumers an idea of the past successes of programs in order to boost the confidence people have in the new bike-sharing program. Goodman keeps a distance from his distance. Rather than taking a particular side he writes from a distance. He is reporting the information that has and he does not try to side with any particular group.

Sharing is something we learn as children and it is interesting that it is now being applied to life in the economic world. The idea of sharing in America has always been looked down upon. People would rather buy things that have are brand new than spend money on something other people have also used. American’s are so concerned with how other people view them. They believe your status decreases if you borrow things because it makes you look lower in society. The article discusses how the Internet has changed the way America looks at sharing. By building a community of people willing to share, it becomes an acceptable thing in the eyes of people. The success of all share-based programs depends solely upon the people participating in it. A community must form in order to operate and maintain the service being shared.

works cited

Goodman, J. David, “Learning to Share, Thanks to the Web.” The New York Times26 Sept.2010, National ed., Sunday Opinion sec.:2.print.