The collaborative power of "The Mesh"

I finished Lisa Gansky's "The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing" earlier this year and have been struck by how many great "mesh" ideas mentioned in the book are starting to pick up steam. 

ZipCar, Kickstarter and time-sensitive group-buying services like Bakersfield Daily Deal are just a few examples of relatively new collaborative business models that have gained widespread growth over the past year. The concept of sharing a business with others is a tough one to grasp. But when the mix is right -- like private owners renting out their cars when they're otherwise sitting idle -- blinders come off traditional business models.

I've been tossing around a few ideas on how a newspaper company might play in a "mesh" environment but haven't come up with something worth pursuing. But I'm thinking. 

To get your brain churning, check out a fun outgrowth of Gasnky's book called Meshing It, an ever-growing list of businesses that fit the book's theme. You'll be amazed to find hundreds of creative business models that once were right under our noses.