From Code Re-use to Stuff Re-use

One of the strengths of open source is that you don't have to re-invent the wheel; instead, you can re-use what others have done. A key element of this is the existence of the Net to make the operation frictionless. It's harder to do this kind of thing in other spheres, but it seems that the Chinese are trying - once again, thanks to the Net:

huan ke (literally the person who exchanges) is very hot in cyberspace in China where people are famous for their thrift and known for not throwing anything away. This means there are closets full of unwanted stuff that can be traded for others' unwanted stuff.

(Via Smart Mobs.)