Pioneering exchange economy with Julie Osburne

Photo courtesy of Julie Osburne

Julie Osburne traveled all across the country, busking and exchanging goods and skills with all of those she met. When she landed in Asheville in the spring of 2014, she had an idea that she wanted to share — and that idea was, simply, to share.

Osburne started a sharing economy website, ExchangeTree.org, where users can create profiles, much like Facebook. But unlike other social media platforms, Exchange Tree displays offers and needs, connecting users to different skills sets in the area. Need a pet sitter? You can exchange that service for your knitting skills with a homemade scarf.

Though Osburne has since relocated to Portland, Ore., working on starting up Exchange Tree on the West Coast, the Asheville site is still up and running — with some improvements on the horizon.

“We are currently working with a local Ashevillean, Bethany Stafford, who is helping us completely redesign our site so it is a little more user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing and just all-around more advanced and relevant,” Osburne says. “Our updated version should be ready midway through [2015]. When it’s ready, we’ll be jumping back into our outreach to recruit more members to the site, and we can present our new and improved selves to the public.”

New features members can look forward to include a more organized system that shows the most sought-after goods and services in the area; a filtration system that gives priority to the most active members; and a community message board where people can post about classes, groups and desired items.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Hayley Benton
Current freelance journalist and artist. Former culture/entertainment reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times and former news reporter at Mountain Xpress. Also a coffee drinker, bad photographer, teller of stupid jokes and maker-upper of words. I can be reached at hayleyebenton [at] gmail.com. Follow me @HayleyTweeet

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.