Free Thought

I can't do any better than recommend to everyone the article by Chris Anderson in the latest edition of Wired.

Chris is famously the creator (or populiser if you prefer) of The Long Tail theory and this new contribution takes things one step further, looking at free distribution as the basis of business models.

Free ! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business.

From an archive and content perspective it has long been a common concept.

Getty makes certain material available to students knowing that they are the art directors of the future. And free television has always made money from merchandising and other activities, though sadly many producers didn't see past the commission cheques.

That's not to say there aren't issues around it. If it costs you money to make things free (through nasty things like rights and digitisation) then you have to think carefully, but it's a problem to be solved not an immovable barrier.