tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975983.post3448743628996054013..comments2023-09-18T01:22:11.655-07:00Comments on Build and Break: Free: The Future of a Radical PriceRichard Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14036876973506495788noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975983.post-58997577208112061962009-07-07T22:38:03.108-07:002009-07-07T22:38:03.108-07:00Jim has a good review on his site and an explanati...Jim has a good review on his site and an explanation that he got an early copy the book for free! I got word today from Amazon that my dead tree copy of the book just shipped.Richard Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14036876973506495788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975983.post-59995351252415506652009-07-07T09:01:38.011-07:002009-07-07T09:01:38.011-07:00The central question of Free is essentially how ar...The central question of Free is essentially how are people able to make lots of money charging nothing? “Free is not new, but it is changing.” Overall, I believe that Free does an admirable job of simultaneously admitting that the underlying idea of giving away something to make money somewhere is not new, and demonstrating that the way it is now being done is becoming entirely and unavoidably disruptive.<br /><br />“All forms of Free boil down to variations of the same thing: shifting money around from product to product, person to person, between now and later, or into nonmonetary markets and back out again.” Free breaks this down to four types: Direct Cross-Subsidies (razors and blades), Three Party Markets (advertising), Freemium (Flickr vs. Flickr Pro) and NonMonetary Markets where participants expect things to be free, like gifts and, largely, music, but often giving something back that can be used to make more money.<br /><br />The hazards of the change are worth considering. There are examples in the book where free has decimated entire industries. Google gives virtually everything away for free. Not counting, of course, its extraordinarily profitable advertising service. But the flip side is that Google gets extraordinary amounts of information back, to use as it pleases.<br /><br />And yes, for a short time, the book itself is free at http://www.thelongtail.com <br /><br />So how do you make money when what you create is free? You can see how, and a thorough review, at http://JimRea.blogspot.comJim Reahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06564078599074992482noreply@blogger.com