Ravenweb Blog

We're approaching a point with collaboration technologies where users can opt out of traditional consumer models and use alternatives to acquire, borrow, trade, and give away just about anything. Need a car? Instead of buying or renting, you can use Zipcar  or RelayRides . Want to buy or sell old possessions? Try Ebay or Craigslist . Need a loan but want an alternative to a bank? Try Zopa . Staying overnight in another city? Sure, you can rent a hotel, but now you can also use Airbnb  or Couchsurfing . What's Mine is Yours sums up the new universe of what authors Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers term "collaborative consumption". The book, like the movement it describes, is a game changer, as the authors connect the dots and show how key systems (like redistribution markets and collaborative lifestyles), principles (like critical mass and belief in the commons), and drivers (like environmental and cost concerns) have all matured to the point where collaborative consu...

I was in the bookstore this evening, and there were a number of displays featuring famous works by prominent black authors. The spread included titles by Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. While all of these writers are great -- and I encourage you to read them all -- it got me thinking about which black authors and titles by black authors I would recommend. After some deliberation and a decision to focus on lesser-known and genre writers, I came up with the following short list of recommended titles by black authors. Happy reading. The Chaneysville Incident by John Bradley The Chaneysville Incident is a well-honed and affecting story of historian John Washington's attempt to discover what happened to thirteen runaway slaves in Chaneysville, Pennsylvania. The protagonist's efforts to reconstruct the past elevate the narrative, through various rhetorical devices and an interesting contrast that plays out thr...