Eliminating the middleman: Using social media to create direct markets
Social media is fueled by the internet giants, facebook, google, ect. These large corporations make their money through advertising products from around the world. Many of these products are low quality ‘eye candy’ this essentially increases waste and allows them to continue selling the individuals more of the same product. Most of these products go through a chain of ownership, a company in China creates the product, it’s sold to a middle man and then on to amazon where we purchase it. Many of the products we purchase are sold and bought multiple times before they get to our door. Especially in the case of commodities, such as coffee and food in general.
What if we eliminated the middle man?
Social media and the internet of things allow us a chance to transcend international barriers, for example, a coffee farmer in Columbia can sell his beans directly to a shop owner in Maine. By eliminating the middleman’s cut the farmer and shop owner both get a better price and value.
Another great example of this is Etsy, a storefront for anyone who wants to sell their creations online. By essentially eliminating the middleman, in this case, the storefront or larger retailer, the individual is able to get the best price for their items.
I propose creating a social media site, or transforming current social media to advertise products that are sustainable rather than wasteful. This could also be implemented as a browser add on which verifies the products you are purchasing as sustainable and economically feasible.
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