And that idea is this: “Collaborative Consumption describes the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies.” Basically, the social world has created an opportunity for expansion, collaboration, and efficiency. Last week, we were discussing some movies (The Social Network) and TV shows (Six Feet Under) at the office, and decided to just swap out titles out amongst each other, rather than renting them elsewhere. Ultimately, collaborative consumption magnifies “what’s mine is yours.”

That said, you should try it out. Here are some sites ready for you to consume, collaboratively:

Need a car ride? http://www.zipcar.com/

Random stuff? http://www.freecycle.org/

Place to stay? http://www.airbnb.com/

Non-bank money? http://uk.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/

So what do you think about it? Let us know. Pass your ideas our way, and let’s hang out next month!

But here are a few links that you’ll hear about:

• Dave’s bar code scanner app: QuickMark.
• Study on social media and sociability.
• Where – the location-based discovery app.
• Quora – a question/answer site we really hope doesn’t get filled with a bunch of trash.
• Blekko – a great new search engine. Try following your search keyword with “/date” to see the most recent results at the top!

Then, you’ll definitely want to check out the video below of the Man with the Golden Voice. As Dave notes on the podcast, this man’s story is a truly great example of how social media can bring about social good. When this video went viral, this man got a second chance at life.

Lastly, come to Twilight Camp on the 20th and to the 48 Hour Launch on January 28th! In the meantime, we’re gonna attempt sticking to our resolutions, which include flossing and remembering to check-in. How bout you?

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

Today’s breakfast had a great crowd, which was fantastic because we crowd-sourced our topic! To kick off the year, we decided to ask Expeditioners for their Predictions for 2011 in social media and technology. It seems many of the members are placing their bets on QR codes and mobile devices. Of course it’s all speculation, but it’s fun. We know the Next Big Thing could come from a completely unpredictable source, but here are a few of the developments we’re looking forward to…

2010 saw mass migration to social media, but 2011 could be a different story. Expeditioner Lorrie predicts that the rate of new adopters will drop in 2011, but that previous adopters will get even more savvy, increasing the quality of their engagement and conversations.

Mary anticipates that (like we did with our topic today) more brands will crowd-source ideas, and then award those who contribute. They won’t have to send out surveys or call for customer feedback, they can just ask for suggestions on their Facebook page. Doritos, Pepsi, Dominoes, and Starbucks are already experimenting with crowd-sourcing their product advertising, and we’re thinking it’s about to boom.

Then, Aaron thinks 2011 will see the rise of mobile. The Verizon iPhone, affordable Android phones, the new iPad, and new tablets will put mobile devices in more hands than ever.

Ansley’s prediction goes hand-in-hand with the popularity of mobile – the decline of the app. In 2010, there was “an app for that.” In 2011, we’re likely to see “a mobile site for that,” where brands turn to HTML5 to create a beautiful, interactive, touch-screen compatible site instead of spending time on a stand-alone application.

Tim thinks there will be no white iPhone in 2011. Joe says Google will dominate the world. Or at least dominate the cloud with their new operating system, Chrome OS. It’s in beta now, but this OS stores all your data from photos to music to documents online (in “the cloud”), so you can access them from anywhere.

On a serious note, net neutrality will become a major issue. It will also be the topic of one of our upcoming breakfasts. We will begin to explore what it means for the Internet to be a truly global community, and we will face censorship conflicts. Privacy will deteriorate even further as what walled gardens are left become translucent, and (we believe) people will continue to share online despite the risks.

Most Expeditioners peg 2011 as “The Year of the QR Code.” These (so far) under-utilized bar codes could be everywhere pretty soon, as more people have the smartphones to read them. Make your own QR code with BeQRious or ScanLife, or with a URL shortener like Goo.gl, Bit.ly, or Budurl. Then, get an app on your smartphone to read them! The ScanLife app is good one.

Once we’ve got all these QR codes, and people are scanning everything, we’re also likely to see a rise in push notifications for coupons. Someday soon, your phone may know you’re on the grocery store aisle with the tomato sauce, and send you a coupon! Read up on this new trend on Dave’s blog.

A few other resources (not really predictions, per se) that were mentioned during the breakfast:

• Quora – a Question/Answer site that hasn’t been loaded up with a lot of junk (like Yahoo Answers).
• New Facebook Messages – Get the new Facebook messaging system that will integrate your texts and email.

Our final predictions come from Dave, who anticipates a rise in apps geared towards cutting down on technological distractions. For instance, there could be an app to collect your new message notifications and consolidate them into a single digest that comes to you ever hour, or every five. More vitally, perhaps we’ll see better apps to cut down on texting while driving, an issue AT&T takes up in a compelling ad. Find more of Dave’s predictions here.

Don’t forget about Twilight Camp on the 20th. Plus, get ready for the 48 Hour Launch – a great chance for any entrepreneurs and skilled collaborators to give life to the Next Big Idea!

In our social media news, you’ll hear a little of this, a little of that, a little of Twitter, and, as always, a lot of Facebook. In this case, Facebook Questions, which the Social Expedition hopes will eventually become a great compendium of knowledge, and not a forum for silly questions. And don’t be too disturbed if that link takes you to a page that says “We’re not ready for you yet.” The feature is being rolled out slowly.

Android has viruses, Google has multiple account sign-in, and Rdio sounds cool but simply isn’t as free as Pandora. Companies and brands who are having trouble keeping up with all their location-based presences (on the ever-growing number of platforms) will be excited for Geotoko.

Don’t miss the chance to ask questions or have lengthy app-filled conversations on these topics at our Twilight Camp on August 19th! It’s 5:30 at Davis Kidd in the Bronte Bistro. Come chat with us and enjoy a cup of something iced!

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

In the remainder of the podcast, the Social Expedition grants ‘Yays’ to the new Bump application for iPhone and Android, Amazon and Facebook’s integration,*** and (of all things) MySpace. Emphatic ‘Boos’ must be given however, including to Google’s backlash at Yelp and Facebook’s deletion of the “Most Recent” news feed option for some accounts. Check out the other Yay’s and Boo’s by downloading the podcast below!

Then join us next Wednesday (August 4) for our monthly breakfast at the U of M Holiday Inn to hear more from Elizabeth! It’s at 7:30 in the morning, and we promise the delicious buffet is so worth getting up a little early! RSVP here.

***At the time of this posting, this feature seems to have disappeared. Boo.

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

We also talked a little bit about AT&T’s recent launch of Buzz.com, at the very least an unfortunately named site that also probably was unfortunately timed. It’s a recommendation service that pulls in information from location based applications and the comments of your friends and connections on social networking sites. While it might’ve been pretty cool a year and a half ago when it was initially in beta, now it seems a bit passe and its name makes AT&T look a bit out of the loop.

And since it wouldn’t be a podcast unless we harped about Facebook, we spend a little time talking again about the implications of the new “like” feature versus the now old-school “fan” feature.

Don’t forget TribeCamp this weekend, happening at the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering from 8 a.m. til about 5 p.m. on Saturday. We’re giving away an iPad, there will be cupcakes and we have interesting sessions and speakers coming out of our ears. You don’t want to miss it. Check out TribeCamp.com for more information.

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

Eric Mathews, co-founder of Mercury Technology Labs and LaunchMemphis, introduced the Expeditionaries to what he called the new digital divide. Currently we use the term to refer to the haves and have-nots of basic web access; the “new” digital divide would refer to the split between the haves and have-nots in the social media realm. The tweeters and the non-tweeters, the Facebookers and, well, surely there’s someone out there who’s not on Facebook.

An even closer look at the divide reveals more distinctions in levels of access or activity, Mathews said, with smart phone users landing at the high end of the spectrum, non-users at the opposite end and levels of involvement in between, from the person who is always attached to social media to the person who uses social tools occasionally through other web platforms. That idea — the integration of social elements in non-social web presences — is what Mathews called “social light.” The concept, alongside location-based services and niche social networks, is where Mathews predicts the money-making will be for web entrepreneurs in the immediate future.

To illustrate the point, Mathews introduced the group to four Memphis-area start-ups: Mark’s Menus, Into Outdoors, Xtrant and NRange. Each company is using one of the tools he mentioned, whether light social, LBS or niche networks, and the results are measurable and impressive. Into Outdoors, a niche network for hunters and anglers, is just peeking out of beta and already has more than 1,200 fans on Facebook and six advertisers who want to get on board, site unseen.

Another of the start-ups, Xtrant, is a social network for the enterprise, a topic that was explored further during the core conversations following Mathew’s presentation, along with WordPress and Facebook in 2010. If you’re interested in learning more about start-ups and technology/entrepreneurship in Memphis, check out Mathews’ Mercury Tech Coffee, happening every Monday at 7:30 a.m. at Republic Coffee.

You can also hear more from Mathews later this month when he’ll be appearing on the Expedition podcast (in the meantime be sure to check out this week’s episode featuring Thom Rigsby — you can find it here later today). In other podcasting news, our first Core Conversation of the year happens tomorrow, so join us at 11:30 a.m. to talk about the mobile web in 2010. You can listen here or call and weigh in at  (646) 721-9429.

And don’t forget to check out our Wave to find or post helpful links and continue on conversations you started at a breakfast or tweet-up. For now, just search “Social Expedition” in Wave or contact @SMExpedition on Twitter for an invitation — we’re working on a way to make it more easily accessible to all interested Expeditionaries soon!

Matthew Crawford Trisler, Rick Tarrant, Dave Barger

So that’s it for 2009, huh? We’re marking the end of the decade with a new face voice in your ear, some makeshift electronic repair, and a look back at the year’s trending topics on Twitter.

While it seems that social news has kind of drifted out of focus until the end of the year, with favor being given to the traditional end of the year list, there has been word about the very likely Google Phone – the Nexus One – and Google’s press event coming up on Jan. 5.

We also introduce our new intern, Shannon. She’s cool, knowledgeable, and most importantly, shares our expeditionary spirit.

We got so caught up in talking to Shannon, about the requirements for being a social media expert, the concept of 1000 true fans, and what she’s studying, that it ended up taking up almost half of the episode.

We brought in Rick Tarrant of Rick Tarrant Productions for the second half of the episode, and Rick’s trying to find his place in social media and podcasting after a career in radio – just listening to his voice, you can tell that he earned his keep as a radio guy.

He shares with us what he’s been learning, and how. There’s a great wealth of recommended reading and listening to be gleaned from Rick’s interview, from Leo Laporte to Gary Vaynerchuk.

As you go about getting your 2010 underway, keep in mind that we’ll have Eric Mathews from Mercury Technology Labs and Launch Memphis as our guest at the Jan. 6 Social Expedition Breakfast.

We’ll also pick up the Core Conversation podcast again on Jan. 8th, after a holiday-enforced break.

And keep your eyes peeled – we’ll be having a tweetup on Jan. 5, welcoming Jeremiah Owyang to Memphis. Details will be announced shortly.

You can, as usual, download the podcast, play it by clicking the the player below, or subscribe in iTunes.

What about all those people you’re friends with on Facebook or follow on Twitter who, years ago, never would’ve appeared on your Christmas card list? Do you feel more pressure to extend your gift-giving based on your extended social media network? Has your holiday party schedule been maxed out by Facebook event invitations?

That’s the topic we’re delving into on this week’s Core Conversation, happening at the usual time (Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) through our friends at Blog Talk Radio. We’d love to hear from you — you can call in and participate at (646) 721-9429, or you can listen to the entire show live here.