Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Social Lending is Catching on

Beyond Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn loads of people are using social network to find friends with money that will help them pay off their bills or build their businesses. A year ago I would have thought this was just crazy talk, but as the ecomomy kept sliding social lending has gone wild.

It's call Peer-to-Peer Lending or P2P Lending. Sites like the Lending Club, Prosper or Zopa have been at it for several years. Borrowers post their needs for anything from fixing broken appliances to raising capital for their small business. Lenders are more like investors. As a lender you can shop for a cause that you consider worthy, pledge the money and eventually collect your loan with interest. Some lenders enjoy the goodwill of helping others. And some are in it to make themselves some cash.

If David Bowie needed cash now he might try social networking rather than using Bowie Bonds and being blamed for bringing down the global economy.

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