{"id":78436,"date":"2014-10-23T15:30:28","date_gmt":"2014-10-23T19:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=78436"},"modified":"2014-10-23T14:30:34","modified_gmt":"2014-10-23T18:30:34","slug":"sharing-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/10\/23\/sharing-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"tools\"<\/a>

From a Dutch election poster, 1981.<\/p><\/div>\n

I had never used one of those Web sites in which you list an odd job and ordinary people vie to do it for you. The arrangement seems almost too good to be true. So when I was faced with a household repair, I decided to make a go of it: I started a profile and posted a request.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall Welding Job\u201d I titled it. \u201cI have an old brass bed with a shaky frame that needs to be soldered. I think it will be a straightforward job if you have a welding machine\/iron. Thanks so much!\u201d<\/p>\n

Within minutes, I had received a notification: I had a match! The young woman in question looked omnicompetent and had a bunch of glowing reviews. We arranged a time and I gave her my address, feeling very pleased with the whole business.<\/p>\n

That night, I got a message. \u201cPlease call me by 10:30 P.M.<\/small> or this task will be canceled,\u201d it said ominously. I called. We reconfirmed our appointment. I gave her my apartment number.<\/p>\n

At five A.M.<\/small>, I was awakened by an incoming text message. It was my handywoman. \u201cThere is no trace of the existence of your apartment online,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI do not feel safe with this situation. Thank you for understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t sure how to defend myself against this. \u201cI swear it\u2019s real,\u201d I wrote back lamely. <\/p>\n

The next person to respond to the ad seemed less neurotic. His listed skills ran the gamut from computer repairs to holiday decoration. \u201cI imagine your bed just needs some screws tightened,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt needs to be welded,\u201d I wrote back, \u201cI\u2019m sure.\u201d We settled on a time.<\/p>\n

In due course, on a cold and rainy day, the guy\u2014a teenager\u2014arrived on my doorstep. He told me he had traveled from deep in Queens. He had a large backpack and was wearing one of those back-support belts. I led him to the bed frame.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re right. It needs to be welded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There was a silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d I said, \u201cas long as you\u2019re here, maybe you can take a look at my computer. I can\u2019t install any QuickTime players and I\u2019m not sure why.\u201d<\/p>\n

I led him to the laptop. He sat and stared at it for a second. He pressed a few buttons.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, I don\u2019t really know Macs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s okay,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ll take it to the Genius Bar. I know\u2014the other day I did something to my TV. I think it\u2019s just a question of changing the channel or the settings, but I can\u2019t seem to get it to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at the TV. He pressed a few buttons.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. This is beyond me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There was another silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything else you need done?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

I had an inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes!\u201d I said. \u201cCan you close the window in the kitchen? It\u2019s sticking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, this is pretty stuck,\u201d he said after fiddling with it for a moment. But finally he got it closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a relief!\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s been making the apartment really cold! Thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t really feel comfortable charging you for your time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be silly!\u201d I said heartily. \u201cYou came all this way, in the rain …\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t fix anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot true. You closed my window, and there is no way I could have done that. It was really<\/em> stuck, and really<\/em> high up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m wearing a coat and a scarf in the house. I mean, this has really improved my quality of life. A lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, if you get a welding iron, I could maybe try to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely,\u201d I said. \u201cIf I get my hands on one, I\u2019ll definitely be in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said again. \u201cWell, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you<\/em>!\u201d I said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had never used one of those Web sites in which you list an odd job and ordinary people vie to do it for you. The arrangement seems almost too good to be true. So when I was faced with a household repair, I decided to make a go of it: I started a profile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13115],"tags":[1180,15764,15763,15760,14437,15169,15762,15761,15759,12807],"class_list":["post-78436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-our-daily-correspondent","tag-apartments","tag-electronics","tag-handymen","tag-home-improvement","tag-odd-jobs-2","tag-strangers","tag-taskrabbit","tag-visits","tag-welding","tag-work"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSharing Economy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sadie Stein on odd-job outsourcing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/10\/23\/sharing-economy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharing Economy by Sadie Stein\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 23, 2014 \u2013 I had never used one of those Web sites in which you list an odd job and ordinary people vie to do it for you. 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