How To Avoid Death By Free

Kevin Kelly has a detailed (and important) piece about the oncoming world of ‘free’ and how businesses can still sell in the environment. Some readers might remember Kelly’s previous essay on copyright that argued that technology will over come any barrier a rights holder will try to use. In this new thought piece, he argues that our new economy is fueled by duplication and sharing and that anything that can be copied will be copied and those copies will forever be available. He says:

The instant reduplication of data, ideas, and media underpins all the major economic sectors in our economy, particularly those involved with exports — that is, those industries where the US has a competitive advantage. Our wealth sits upon a very large device that copies promiscuously and constantly.

Yet the previous round of wealth in this economy was built on selling precious copies, so the free flow of free copies tends to undermine the established order. If reproductions of our best efforts are free, how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money selling free copies?

Good question, Kev. Thankfully he’s got some ideas. In summary:

Immediacy — Sooner or later you can find a free copy of whatever you want, but getting a copy delivered to your inbox the moment it is released — or even better, produced — by its creators is a generative asset.

Personalization — A generic version of a concert recording may be free, but if you want a copy that has been tweaked to sound perfect in your particular living room — as if it were preformed in your room — you may be willing to pay a lot.

Interpretation — As the old joke goes: software, free. The manual, $10,000. But it’s no joke. A couple of high profile companies, like Red Hat, Apache, and others make their living doing exactly that.

Authenticity — You might be able to grab a key software application for free, but even if you don’t need a manual, you might like to be sure it is bug free, reliable, and warranted. You’ll pay for authenticity.

Accessibility — Ownership often sucks. You have to keep your things tidy, up-to-date, and in the case of digital material, backed up.

Embodiment — At its core the digital copy is without a body. You can take a free copy of a work and throw it on a screen.

Patronage — It is my belief that audiences WANT to pay creators. Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect.

Findability — Where as the previous generative qualities reside within creative digital works, findability is an asset that occurs at a higher level in the aggregate of many works.

If you run a business, or have a job, or just need income to keep yourself alive - you need to read this piece.

Kevin Kelly — The Technium

Related PSFK Articles
The Technium (2007)
The Future Of Books, Business & The Web (2006)