Reading Between the Lines: Blueprints for a Worker Support Infrastructure in the Peer Economy by Denise Fung Cheng B.Phil., Interdisciplinary Studies Miami University of Ohio, 2007 Submitted to the Department of Comparative Media Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASSACHUSETTS INSTTTU'rE OF TECHNOLOGY Master of Science MAY 2 7 2014 at the LIBRARIES MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2014 @ 2014 Denise Fung Cheng. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature redacted Signature of the author.............................................. .......... Department of Comparative ed Studies ay 8, 2014 Signature redacted C ertified by............................................................ 4V... A. Edward Schiappa Professor of Comparative Media Studies, Section Head of Comparative Media Studies Accepted by..................................................... Signature redacted Heather Hendershot Professor of Comparative Media Studies, Director of Graduate Education of Comparative Media Studies Reading Between the Lines: Blueprints for a Worker Support Infrastructure in the Peer Economy by Denise Fung Cheng Submitted to the Department of Comparative Media Studies on May 8, 2014 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies ABSTRACT Look around you. What unassuming skills or assets are just bursting with potential? Meet the peer economy, where people monetize skills and assets they already have using online, peer-to-peer marketplaces. Lyft, Shapeways, Etsy, Skillshare... these platforms enable strangers to transact confidently. Instead of education, reskilling or being network rich, new marketplaces emerge everyday to reconfigure people's existing assets and skills into income generating opportunities. Airbnb, TaskRabbit, KitchenSurfing, Postmates... From small-scale manufacturing to space sharing to personal services, amateurs and professionals alike can easily jump in. As an alternative to full-time employment with benefits-a 20 century model worn thin-the peer economy (sometimes called the "sharing economy") is setting imaginations on fire. At its best, the peer economy can reintegrate people who are defined out of the traditional workplace and, therefore, the traditional economy (the elderly, homemakers, those with varying physical and mental ableness, those at risk for human trafficking, etc.). At its worst, it exploits human labor and degrades human dignity. Between positive and negative speculations, I have identified five particularly sticky issues: 1. Can peer economy opportunities comprise a livable work lifestyle? 2. Who is accountable when something goes wrong? 3. Do legal classifications override social relationships? 4. Can providers cultivate a collective voice? 5. How do peer economy actors historically contextualize the model? The thesis begins with a historical overview of how we have arrived at this moment of possibility. The second act brings readers up to speed on conversation among investors, startups, cities, policy makers, entrenched interests, media, scholars and critics, and labor advocates. As antecedents to the peer economy, I introduce marginalized movements in the third chapter that could inform how the peer economy develops; I believe that this space can be a distributed network that matchmakces providers' needs with capacity across the sector. From 2013-2014, I conducted ethnographic field research to suss 3 out emergent needs among peer economy providers, and I summarize the results in chapter four before finally tying together why the peer economy-regardless of speculation-has been so captivating. This thesis is a confluence of historical analysis, economic theory, sociology, rhetorical analysis, qualitative and ethnographic fieldwork, and legal precedents that culminates in interventions for the peer economy. First and foremost, it considers whether the peer economy is a livable work lifestyle. The peer economy is a charismatic and rapidly spreading concept that is fundamentally transforming the way many people think about employment. Thesis Supervisor: A. Edward Schiappa Title: Professor of Comparative Media Studies, Section Head of Comparative Media Studies 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It's odd to think that I'm on this side of the thesis now. Two years ago, I was deeply immersed in the future of journalism. I was all about helping others experience media creation as a path to deeper civic engagement. But to me, it makes sense that I've come to this point. In pursuit of my journalism career, I moved from one place to the next, and as I did, it occurred to me that there was an even deeper structural problem than what I was trying to address (or at least more urgent). And so, I want to thank all of the magnificent people who have stuck with me through these years. First, to Comparative Media Studies at MIT for giving me an intellectual home. And in particular, thanks so much to Andrew Whitacre, who has always been happy to nerd out over Arduino projects and to share updates on his experiments in crowdlending. Thanks to Heather Hendershot for her emotional support, to TL Taylor for helping me come into my own as an ethnographic researcher. Thanks to Fox Harrell, who epitomized applied research (artificial intelligence for identity politics, executed through interactive media such as games and storytelling portals). Thank you to Shannon Larkin; no doubt her unwavering support for the CMS14 cohort is why we have made it to the finish line. To my family at the MIT Center for Civic Media, I'd especially like to thank Lorrie Lejeune, who made my research adventures in San Francisco and New York City financially possible. Nick Grossman was invaluable in getting me started: connecting me with folks in the sector, pointing out new considerations, and brainstorming together about the peer economy's civic applications. Thanks to Rahul Bhargava, who acted as my emotional support on the other side of E15. The sassiest lassy, the magical Ms. Jessica Goldfin who is the definition of a "soul twin." And to my Media Lab family, I have learned so much from you. Meriting their own paragraph, thank you, thank you, thank you to my thesis advisors, Edward Schiappa and Cesar Hidalgo. Ed probably took one look at me and knew I was a neurotic, perfectionist copy editor, and so he took on a metered advising approach. One of my lasting memories of CMS will be my defense on May Day. In the month leading up to the defense and after I had handed in a full thesis draft, I continued to fine-tune the thesis. Ed said, "I want to pick at this point in chapter one. Now, it's on page six of my copy. What page is it on yours?" I answered with a sheepish "eight." Meanwhile, C6sar gave me a home with his Media Lab group and took on the hefty role of thesis co-advisor. He knew that I'd be doing different work from his other Macros (the MacroConnections posse), who are deep into quantitative research, but he gave me the same attention and care as with his other students. And because of Cesar, I am on to a fascinating way of understanding human dynamics: economic sociology. I can't tell you how excited I am about that as a journalist-anthropologist who once considered studying economics. 5 On another personal note, thanks to my friends and family, who have been urging me for years on two points: 1. Go to grad school! 2. Move back to California already! And of course, a mighty thank you to my cohort- Rodrigo Davies, Erica Deahl, Julie Fischer, Alexandre Gongalves, Jason Lipshin, Eduardo Marisca, Chris Petey Peterson, and Lingyuxiu Zhong- which I love very much. CMS14 4 EVA! 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS INT R O D U C T IO N ....................................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 Setting the stage - The great recession and the emerging peer economy .................................. 16 Henry Ford's template: The three assemblages of gainful employment ........................................... 16 Stepping out of the decline: The peer economy picks up steam....................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2 A charismatic solution? Rhetoric, criticisms, and known problems in the peer economy ......... 34 K now n problem s ................................................................................................................................... 46 Problem #1 - The many facets of taxes ....................................................................................... 47 Problem #2 - Who is responsible for insurance and liability?....................................................... 50 Problem #3 - Overhead and supply chain costs .......................................................................... 52 Problem #4 - The mismatch between company structure and a human-centered economic model 53 CHAPTER 3 Platform-worker co-evolution - Borrowing pages from antecedents of the peer economy...... 58 Domestic workers and peer economy providers as vulnerable workforces ...................................... 59 Strategy #1 - Recognize emergent needs that the domestic workers' bill of rights already outlines.64 Strategy #2 - Leverage prominent figures for media attention. ................................................... 65 Strategy #3 - Recruit diverse partners