P2P File Sharing

Have you ever heard of Dropbox or GoogleDocs?  Well if you're like me and in college, there's no such thing as "I'll email you that file" but rather "I'll share that file" with you.  Dropbox and GoogleDocs have created web-based platforms for users to store and share files via cloud storage.   These "cloud" spaces not only provide space for you to store photos, music, and documents, but  allow users to share and give access to others - hence the term file sharing.  File sharing is the practice of distributing and/or providing access to stored information through a computer program, network, or Internet.  

 

A more sophisticated and advanced version of this technique is known as Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing.  P2P file sharing allows users to access media files using a specialized P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network and locates the desired content.  An excellent example of P2P file sharing is Napster.  As many of you may recall, Napster was originally the pioneer of P2P file sharing of music.  Unfortunately, the company ran into legal issues over copyright infringement and was shut down.  Today, Napster has merged with Rhapsody where you can listen to music for free and if interested in keeping the song on your device, you must pay a fee.

 

P2P file sharing is not just for the music, books, and photo industry, it has made its way to the financial world as seen in an article entitled Peers Find Less Pressure Borrowing From Each Other by Wendy Kaufman.  The article describes Lending Club, a peer to peer lending company that provides a direct funding process between the investors and the borrowers, and provides a prime example of a woman with excellent credit who wanted to consolidate her credit card debt for a reasonable rate.  Guess where she turned to?  Lending Club! While this peer to peer lending is steadily growing it will take a long time for consumers to change their behavior when it comes to banking - conventional banks won't be out of business in my lifetime!