Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Hyperion (2009), Hardcover, 288 pages
Description
Author Chris Anderson makes the compelling case that in many instances, businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them. Traditional economics operates under fundamental assumptions of scarcity--there's only so much oil, iron, and gold in the world. But the online economy is built upon three cornerstones: processing power, hard drive storage, and bandwidth--and the costs of all these elements are trending toward zero at an incredible rate. Never in the course of human history have the primary inputs to an industrial economy fallen in price so fast and for so long. This is the engine behind the new Free, the one that goes beyond a marketing gimmick or a cross-subsidy. Anderson explores this radical idea for the new economy, and demonstrates how this revolutionary price can be harnessed for the benefit of both consumers and business alike.--From publisher description.… (more)
Media reviews
There's plenty in our world that lives outside of the marketplace: it's a rare family that uses spot-auctions to determine the dinner menu or where to go for holidays.
Anderson capitalizes Free into a concept whose meaning sometimes crumples under his sweeping pronouncements.
Chris Anderson's Free Sparks Debate
User reviews
LibraryThing member TheLiveSoundGuy
This book is about how “free” services are changing the business model of the future. The most popular free model I guess is Google with free search, free email, free word/spreadsheet software, free photo album etc. I’m also using the popular free Wordpress engine to power my blog at
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shanglee.com. You can get the book for free as an e-book or as an audio download. Just google it Show Less
LibraryThing member AJBraithwaite
Given the subject matter (making stuff free online), it seemed entirely appropriate to read this book in its free, online, incarnation.
It's not a heavy read - the pages are small and there aren't too many of them. There are fun anecdotes about how successful marketing campaigns of the past have
There are a number of cultural heritage institutions that I can think of which would benefit from taking several leaves out of this book (if that wouldn't involve vandalising library materials, that is).
It's not a heavy read - the pages are small and there aren't too many of them. There are fun anecdotes about how successful marketing campaigns of the past have
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been successful by giving things away (recipe books for Jell-O, disposable razors for Gillette etc.). There is also very interesting material about how monetary gain isn't always the thing that drives the sharing of material on the Internet. Reputation and attention can be just as significant.There are a number of cultural heritage institutions that I can think of which would benefit from taking several leaves out of this book (if that wouldn't involve vandalising library materials, that is).
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LibraryThing member blackjacket
A thorough explanation and championing of "freeconomics", though lacking in solid evidence as to its long-term viability and completely devoid of case studies of failures (of which there must be many).
Even if you are one who sides more with sceptic Andrew Keen than enthusiast Chris Anderson, at the
However, any book about free and the internet must seriously address the issue of piracy, whether it is for or against it. Anderson does not provide evidence to support his claim that piracy generates more audience dollars than it forgoes.
Even if you are one who sides more with sceptic Andrew Keen than enthusiast Chris Anderson, at the
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very least you will come away from this book with a better understanding of how all that free stuff on the net generates income elsewhere, and that free does not necessarily mean of no value.However, any book about free and the internet must seriously address the issue of piracy, whether it is for or against it. Anderson does not provide evidence to support his claim that piracy generates more audience dollars than it forgoes.
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LibraryThing member tronella
I got this as a free audiobook. I don't really know much about economics so I can't speak as to how accurate this guy's predictions will be, but the historical anecdotes about companies giving things away for free as a marketing strategy (free razors + expensive razor blades, for example) were
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pretty interesting. (Irrelevant thought: It sort of bothers me that "free-conomics" sounds so much like "Freakonomics".) Show Less
LibraryThing member GShuk
When I hear something is free my guard goes up, however this book changed that prejudice. If you liked The Long Tail then you will love this book. He goes further into exploring the economy of abundance by focusing on free in detail. Free is not new and he explores its history, the many new ways it
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is used, in what salutations it works best, what all parties gain from it, how it changes industry and how you can use it. One of the best books I read this year. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazybatcow
The price was right!
haha, just kidding. I'd have paid for this book, even though I did get it for free (gratis, not libre).
It's quite an interesting look at the nature of digital economies (and is not too technical/complicated for a dummy like me to follow).
If you're not looking into the
I must fall in the last category 'cause I liked learning this stuff, even though it's completely useless knowledge since I don't own a business, don't pirate or buy pirated items, and don't spend much time on the internet other than to write some book reviews.
haha, just kidding. I'd have paid for this book, even though I did get it for free (gratis, not libre).
It's quite an interesting look at the nature of digital economies (and is not too technical/complicated for a dummy like me to follow).
If you're not looking into the
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mass-production of items in the digital world, or you're not a small business owner heading out into the internet realm, and you're not a geek-head who likes to know stuff about the economics of the internet... you might not really find any "use" out of this information.I must fall in the last category 'cause I liked learning this stuff, even though it's completely useless knowledge since I don't own a business, don't pirate or buy pirated items, and don't spend much time on the internet other than to write some book reviews.
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LibraryThing member lizzybeans11
I only got this book because it was free and I like to listen to audiobooks on my commute. I would not have otherwise purchased it, because it is not in my usual realm of interest.
Overall I thought this was a good overview of the concept of Free in a capitalist society. There are some nice
This would be a good book for Econ and Business oriented people.
Overall I thought this was a good overview of the concept of Free in a capitalist society. There are some nice
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case-studies of different products and corporations that have either succeeded or failed in offering things for "free" (or apparently free).This would be a good book for Econ and Business oriented people.
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LibraryThing member lorenz347
This is one easy book that explain the difference from old economy matters & new business surviving models. It is written by Chris Anderson the former author of "The long tail" a must of technology books. Google example is reported in some aspects as microsoft declining in O.S. market. The Moore's
The book (257 pages) has three section for 16 chapters. In the last chapter I look one idea of reading: The High Cost of Free Parking - Donald Shoup that explain the value of nature in relation to man.
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law is another reference for understanding the actual situation & the future, that will provide more possibility than impossibility. Many others example treated into the book are: wikipedia, NYT, nestcape, google docs etc..The book (257 pages) has three section for 16 chapters. In the last chapter I look one idea of reading: The High Cost of Free Parking - Donald Shoup that explain the value of nature in relation to man.
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LibraryThing member DannyGudz
A fantastic look at the past and the future of FREE. Totally agree with the changes the digital world and "FREE" is bringing to music.
LibraryThing member ironicqueery
Chris Anderson presents a complete overview of the concept of free consumer goods. While not a fan of non-fiction economics books, I found Free to be interesting. Anderson uses a multitude of examples, gives one a lot of facts to contemplate. Anderson is also practical and doesn't laud the idea of
Overall, I was very impressed by this book. It was quite outside the realm of my preferred reading, but after being given the free audiobook, took the opportunity to listen, and was very happy I spent the time listening to his ideas.
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Free for every consumer good. He clearly talks about in which instances it makes sense, and when it doesn't. He also delves into the ramifications of various scenarios of free goods. Overall, I was very impressed by this book. It was quite outside the realm of my preferred reading, but after being given the free audiobook, took the opportunity to listen, and was very happy I spent the time listening to his ideas.
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LibraryThing member gsatell
Much better than "The Long Tail," which I felt was good, but overrated.
LibraryThing member lrbhat
Providing goods and services free is not just an innovative business model, but a revolution. Chris from his close and years of experience brilliantly captures the essence of this revolution. The book interested me, because I was working a articulating a very similar Business Model for a new
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“Managed Network Service”, and wanted to hear Chris views on the same. I must admit that for most examples provided in the book, I had this “I already know this!” kind of feeling, but it did help me to structure my thoughts. I am great believer of the fact that the next generation disruptive innovations would in business models, and service delivery to dramatically change the way customers feel and use the product, far moved from discoveries of disruptive basic sciences. May be the day is not far, when I can just order a refrigerator for free and would get charged based on what and how much I stock, and how much beer I drink. Show Less
LibraryThing member gigi86
This book, and the case it presents for Free, is overdue and might be a little too obvious for people who work in interactive or digital. It goes a long way in explaining how the Free economy came to be, where it's headed and how companies can still make money. Worth a read.
LibraryThing member ThorneStaff
One of the best books on the economics of FREE.
LibraryThing member timtom
In a clear an concise way, Wired editor Chris Anderson efficiently summarizes the various economical models behind Free content and services. The concepts are easy to understand and very well illustrated with relevant real-life examples. Ever wondered how Ryanair manages to sell flights at 0.99£
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and yet make money? How come Google Earth is free and yet profits Google even though there is no advertisement? How can a newspaper offer all its content for free online and simultaneously gaining new subscribers for its print version? What is the business model behind Flickr.com? Anderson offers insights in all these questions and more! Show Less
LibraryThing member shanglee
This book is about how “free” services are changing the business model of the future. The most popular free model I guess is Google with free search, free email, free word/spreadsheet software, free photo album etc. I’m also using the popular free Wordpress engine to power my blog at
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shanglee.com. You can get the book for free as an e-book or as an audio download. Just google it. Show Less
LibraryThing member mvleeuwen
Just finished reading the book. Although I do think I am one of the generation that Anderson describes as being familiar with the concept of free, I found the book giving me great insights and new leads on how current Information Initiatives can, and should, be altered for the good of many. Much
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too often do I see examples of "digital atom businesses" being turned into a business model that has it roots in the early 1900's. Great work by Anderson explaining how - and why - no to do so. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dangraham
Another good book by Anderson. This walks you through the various 'Free' business models that are rising across the Internet and examines trends for products where marginal cost is nearly $0.
LibraryThing member StefanNijenhuis
I really like this book. I listened to it in my car, but did not read a hard-copy version. and yes... it was the free versionIt was inspriring to find out that a 'free' model can work for a lot of products. The book re-introduced me to marketing and economics theory I had studied in the past. The
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anecdotes and background stories from the history of marketing and business models was really good. I will listen to this one at least one other time and I have recommendeid it to several other people. A must read for anyone who is working in marketing or is interested in how a price of 0 totally makes sense. Show Less
LibraryThing member dougcornelius
I just finished reading Chris Anderson's new book: Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Given that I am a lawyer, I kept thinking about how his concepts apply to law firms.
Let me say a few things up front.
First, this is an excellent book that will make you think about how these concepts apply to
Second, I am part of an example that Chris uses to defend his hypothesis: GeekDad. Chris started GeekDad as the parenting blog for Wired magazine. The blog is led by Ken Denmead as editor who gets a nominal retainer. The rest of the contributors are unpaid volunteers writing for a magazine conglomerate that makes good money selling ads on GeekDad. I am one of those volunteer contributors. (You can see my name in the list of core contributors in left-hand column.)
Third, Chris does not take the position that everything should be free. He merely points out that more things now can be, thanks to the reduced costs of computer power, storage and networking.
Fourth, I paid for the book out of my own pocket. Free, the book is not free. Free, an abridged audio version is free online.
The Long Tail
Free is an extension of his previous book: The Long Tail. In that book he showed how the sale of large quantity of less popular titles can collectively sell as much as the few popular titles. You can make this work when you have cheap storage. Free takes the next step of what happens when your marginal production costs get close to zero.
There are many studies that show there is a big difference between something costing very little and something costing zero. Therefore you will attract a bigger audience if you round down. With electronic distribution, the marginal cost for adding the next customer is close to zero. So Chris says round down.
How Do You Make Money?
Chris outlines 50 different ways that you can make money even when you are giving away some of your product. Chris does not advocate giving away everything, just some of the things when the marginal cost is close to zero. One of the big distinctions is whether your product is atoms or bits. Atoms are expensive to produce and distribute. Bits are not.
He divides the idea of Free into four categories: cross-subsidies (give away the razor, sell the blade); advertising-supported services (from radio and television to websites); freemium (a small subset of users pay for a premium version of something, supporting a free version for the rest); and non-monetary markets (in which participants motivated by non-financial considerations develop things like Wikipedia and GeekDad).
Freemium is the model that Chris seems most in favor of. You give away a limited version of the product, but charge for the full version, add-ons and enhancements. SocialText just adopted that model for their wiki product: Free for 50. You can use a limited version of the product with up to fifty people at no charge. That freemium model got me using it.
Information is Expensive but Wants to be Free
Chris quotes Stewart Brand:
On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.
What about law firms?
Let's look at the most extreme examples, Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe's free business formation contracts and Wilson Sonsini's Term Sheet Generator. There's no cost to use the forms and no registration required to download them. Businesses can use them free. Other lawyers can use the forms as if they were their own and use them to serve their own clients. But the free product may help capture business. There are big segments of the legal market that can't afford to hire these firms. Now, a business using these may be more likely to use the firm because some of the work has already been done. The firms could charge far less to review a completed form than if the firm were to begin the incorporation from scratch. It may offer them a competitive advantage if opposing counsel presents them with one of their own forms.
But those examples are new and few.
There is an incredibly common freemium model adopted by almost every law firm: Client Alerts.
When you had to mail these alerts there was a dollar cost associated with that distribution. To better phrase that, there was a stamp cost associated with distribution. Now distribution are costs are minimal. The costs are the same whether you email it to 500 people or 50,000 people. The same is true with viewing it on the law firm's website.
I think it is quaint that some law firms still use the "client alert" label. I get more alerts from firms that do not represent me, than I do from the firms that do represent me.
Lawyers and their firms are giving away this valuable legal insight in the hopes that you will hire them to represent you in a matter related to the information in their publication. They use the publications to showcase their expertise, but in the process give away some of their substantive knowledge.
Let me say a few things up front.
First, this is an excellent book that will make you think about how these concepts apply to
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your business. For my real estate company, I saw little in the book that directly affects us. For my prior employer, a large law firm I saw lots of trends.Second, I am part of an example that Chris uses to defend his hypothesis: GeekDad. Chris started GeekDad as the parenting blog for Wired magazine. The blog is led by Ken Denmead as editor who gets a nominal retainer. The rest of the contributors are unpaid volunteers writing for a magazine conglomerate that makes good money selling ads on GeekDad. I am one of those volunteer contributors. (You can see my name in the list of core contributors in left-hand column.)
Third, Chris does not take the position that everything should be free. He merely points out that more things now can be, thanks to the reduced costs of computer power, storage and networking.
Fourth, I paid for the book out of my own pocket. Free, the book is not free. Free, an abridged audio version is free online.
The Long Tail
Free is an extension of his previous book: The Long Tail. In that book he showed how the sale of large quantity of less popular titles can collectively sell as much as the few popular titles. You can make this work when you have cheap storage. Free takes the next step of what happens when your marginal production costs get close to zero.
There are many studies that show there is a big difference between something costing very little and something costing zero. Therefore you will attract a bigger audience if you round down. With electronic distribution, the marginal cost for adding the next customer is close to zero. So Chris says round down.
How Do You Make Money?
Chris outlines 50 different ways that you can make money even when you are giving away some of your product. Chris does not advocate giving away everything, just some of the things when the marginal cost is close to zero. One of the big distinctions is whether your product is atoms or bits. Atoms are expensive to produce and distribute. Bits are not.
He divides the idea of Free into four categories: cross-subsidies (give away the razor, sell the blade); advertising-supported services (from radio and television to websites); freemium (a small subset of users pay for a premium version of something, supporting a free version for the rest); and non-monetary markets (in which participants motivated by non-financial considerations develop things like Wikipedia and GeekDad).
Freemium is the model that Chris seems most in favor of. You give away a limited version of the product, but charge for the full version, add-ons and enhancements. SocialText just adopted that model for their wiki product: Free for 50. You can use a limited version of the product with up to fifty people at no charge. That freemium model got me using it.
Information is Expensive but Wants to be Free
Chris quotes Stewart Brand:
On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.
What about law firms?
Let's look at the most extreme examples, Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe's free business formation contracts and Wilson Sonsini's Term Sheet Generator. There's no cost to use the forms and no registration required to download them. Businesses can use them free. Other lawyers can use the forms as if they were their own and use them to serve their own clients. But the free product may help capture business. There are big segments of the legal market that can't afford to hire these firms. Now, a business using these may be more likely to use the firm because some of the work has already been done. The firms could charge far less to review a completed form than if the firm were to begin the incorporation from scratch. It may offer them a competitive advantage if opposing counsel presents them with one of their own forms.
But those examples are new and few.
There is an incredibly common freemium model adopted by almost every law firm: Client Alerts.
When you had to mail these alerts there was a dollar cost associated with that distribution. To better phrase that, there was a stamp cost associated with distribution. Now distribution are costs are minimal. The costs are the same whether you email it to 500 people or 50,000 people. The same is true with viewing it on the law firm's website.
I think it is quaint that some law firms still use the "client alert" label. I get more alerts from firms that do not represent me, than I do from the firms that do represent me.
Lawyers and their firms are giving away this valuable legal insight in the hopes that you will hire them to represent you in a matter related to the information in their publication. They use the publications to showcase their expertise, but in the process give away some of their substantive knowledge.
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
A nice coda to The Long Tail. Chris Anderson is a journalist, publisher, and someone who can write about economics for a public audience.
I happen to drink the Kool-Aide connected to information abundance and how so much of the existing information distribution business is being disrupted by digital
He's more accessible than Benkler. Even more so that Shirky or Weinberger, but he does so without sacrificing rigor. What Anderson does differently than the scholarly crowd is to take up the argument for information abundance from the business point of view.
Highly recommended, even though I'm late to the party and his examples are starting to get a touch dated.
I happen to drink the Kool-Aide connected to information abundance and how so much of the existing information distribution business is being disrupted by digital
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media and I think Anderson makes a very strong very accessible case that this is happening.He's more accessible than Benkler. Even more so that Shirky or Weinberger, but he does so without sacrificing rigor. What Anderson does differently than the scholarly crowd is to take up the argument for information abundance from the business point of view.
Highly recommended, even though I'm late to the party and his examples are starting to get a touch dated.
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
A nice coda to The Long Tail. Chris Anderson is a journalist, publisher, and someone who can write about economics for a public audience.
I happen to drink the Kool-Aide connected to information abundance and how so much of the existing information distribution business is being disrupted by digital
He's more accessible than Benkler. Even more so that Shirky or Weinberger, but he does so without sacrificing rigor. What Anderson does differently than the scholarly crowd is to take up the argument for information abundance from the business point of view.
Highly recommended, even though I'm late to the party and his examples are starting to get a touch dated.
I happen to drink the Kool-Aide connected to information abundance and how so much of the existing information distribution business is being disrupted by digital
Show More
media and I think Anderson makes a very strong very accessible case that this is happening.He's more accessible than Benkler. Even more so that Shirky or Weinberger, but he does so without sacrificing rigor. What Anderson does differently than the scholarly crowd is to take up the argument for information abundance from the business point of view.
Highly recommended, even though I'm late to the party and his examples are starting to get a touch dated.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ariahfine
This is a fascinating book that explores the concept of free. Not free as in buy one, get one free type schemes of 20th century sales, but truly free in ways that had not been done before, like Wikipedia or Google or all the freemium websites (free with a paid for premium version). It's pretty
It was intriguing especially just in terms of thinking about how I've been doing almost a similar thing in my own "web business", doing a lot of free sites and getting more and more paid jobs as we go.
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interesting just as a new style of marketing and business and primarily built off the idea that in the digital world bytes and bandwidth are becoming cheaper and cheaper almost to the point of not worth counting their cost relative to per person sales or accounts.It was intriguing especially just in terms of thinking about how I've been doing almost a similar thing in my own "web business", doing a lot of free sites and getting more and more paid jobs as we go.
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LibraryThing member bke
A generational and global shift is at play - those below 30 won't pay for information, knowing it will be available somewhere for free.
LibraryThing member danoomistmatiste
The author analyzes the various marketing possibilities of FREE. The various avenues to upsell and crossell while giving away something for free as the teaser.
Awards
Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year (Longlist — 2009)