At the global level, there are a growing number of city-based bike-sharing programs, that take advantage of mobile devices to reserve your bike, keep track of it, and collect data that helps to improve the service.

Cities are platforms for sharing.

The Mesh difference is that with GPS-enabled mobile Web devices and social networks, physical goods are now easily located in space and time.

Insurance and funding traditionally drive capital investment. But in a world based on access, not ownership, the duration, value, cost and extent of financial services is distinctly different.

Some of history's cleverest business minds understood the power of share platforms, from the aggressive titans who made fortunes building the nation's railroads, to Conrad Hilton, who created the first premier brand of international hotels.

Our ever-present mobile devices provide the immediate and convenient information necessary to make sharing things truly irresistible.

A new model is starting to take root and grow, one in which consumers have more choices, more tools, more information, and more power to guide these choices. I call this emerging model The Mesh.