If information is free, what is not free?

by Jeffrey Tucker
Jul. 06, 2010

Stephen Carson alerts me to this very interesting essay that deals on an advanced level with the economics of internet commerce. Fundamentally, the blogger addresses a question that is on everyone’s mind: if information is infinitely copyable and reproduceable, what is there for anyone to buy? The blogger offers a nice list. The list is important for artists, software designers, or anyone trying to make a go of it in a world in which data is free.

When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied.

Well, what can’t be copied?

There are a number of qualities that can’t be copied. Consider “trust.” Trust cannot be copied. You can’t purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you’ll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a copy saturated world.

He continues to offer some very practical help here. Eight Generatives Better Than Free: Immediacy, Personalization, Interpretation, Authenticity, Accessibility, Embodiment, Patronage, and Findability.