This book, although it may appear to be a single book, is in fact two. On the one hand, this is a book about labor exchange in the gig economy masquerading as a book about the value of qualitative empirical data for law and policy development. On the other hand, this is also a book about the value of qualitative empirical data masquerading as a book about the buying, selling, and performance of labor via gig companies like Uber and Airbnb. Since a reader may find it difficult to tell which of these two she is reading at any given moment this introduction will sketch the contours and purpose of each book.