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Peer-to-peer 37#

This model is based on a cooperation that specializes in mediating between individuals belonging to an homogeneous group. It is often abbreviated as P2P. The company offers a meeting point, i.e., an online database and communication service that connects these individuals (these could include offering personal objects for rent, providing certain products or services, or the sharing of information and experiences).


Apply this pattern to your own business and create your next innovative business model!

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Examples: Iconic Cases

How they do it: Craigslist doesn’t create any content for its customers but is based on a pure peer-to-peer model. Peers can be both companies as well as private individuals.
Learn more about Craigslist →

How they do it: Dropbox offers to share file hosting space and individual files with other users. This service includes the option to collaboratively work on files at the same time.
Learn more about Dropbox →

How they do it: On the Pinterest platform, users come together in order to share experiences and information, mainly via images. Through ”pinning” articles, users can express their interest and participate in peer-to-peer voting, in turn surfacing the most relevant posts to like-minded users.
Learn more about Pinterest →

How they do it: Napster’s initial offering was to allow users to exchange MP3 files with each other. This was revolutionary as this wasn’t possible with older music formats such as CDs. By allowing users to share their music, they were able to access a greater library of music than they previously owned. It’s ueasy to use software design made it popular.
Learn more about Napster →

How they do it: In Skypes Peer-to-Peer network, individuals can connect via its software and communicate via chat, voice or video calls.
Learn more about Skype →



Apply this pattern to your own business and create your next innovative business model!

Start the ideation