When my daughter told me she was going to moonlight as a driver for Lyft, I was horrified. “How could you know you are safe picking up STRANGERS?”
We had this same conversation at least 3 times as she went through the process to get approved as a driver. She had an interview that included an inspection of her Prius, her driving and her personality. They had already looked at her on Facebook.
Passengers have to link their Lyft account to their Facebook profile so the driver can get an idea of who this person is. And, they pay by credit card. Drivers can choose to pick up passengers based on previous ratings and if they look unsafe or intoxicated as drivers approach, they can pass them by. A week later, my daughter said she earned $100 on that Saturday and met some really nice people.
How did we get in two generations from my mother’s caution “Don’t trust strangers! People have to earn your trust!” to this low trust threshold where technology saves you from the weirdos and increases your access to greater connection and amazing experiences?
On Friday, I listened to Take 2 on KPCC where Alex Cohen interviewed Jason Tanz, the Executive Editor of WIRED Magazine. He talked about his article, “How Airbnb and Lyft Finally Got Americans to Trust Each Other.” Jason Tanz says it started with transactions on E-bay. It has been a step by step process of creating a new trust proxy. It didn’t require people to trust one another. They could rely on E-bay to protect their interests. Then, Facebook gave us a new way to make “friends”. We “connect” on LinkedIn. Now, your trust score, in essence, is an algorithm. Every time you complete a transaction you are rated electronically. Think of Yelp. Not only do we read restaurant reviews, we look up car mechanics, dry cleaners, and manicurists. We rent out our houses on AirBNB, and our cars on RelayRides. Well some people do.
How do your perceptions of trust need to change to take advantage of the new economy?