Free : The Future of a Radical Price

The __New York Times__ bestselling author heralds the future of business in __Free__. In his revolutionary bestseller, __The Long Tail__, Chris Anderson demonstrated how the online marketplace creates niche markets, allowing products and consumers to connect in a way that has never been possible before. Now, in __Free__, he makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them. Far more than a promotional gimmick, Free is a business strategy that may well be essential to a company's survival. The costs associated with the growing online economy 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. Just think that in 1961, a single transistor cost $10; now Intel's latest chip has two billion transistors and sells for $300 (or 0.000015 cents per transistor--effectively too cheap to price). The traditional economics of scarcity just don't apply to bandwidth, processing power, and hard-drive storage. Yet this is just one engine behind the new Free, a reality that goes beyond a marketing gimmick or a cross-subsidy. Anderson also points to the growth of the reputation economy; explains different models for unleashing the power of Free; and shows how to compete when your competitors are giving away what you're trying to sell. In __Free__, Chris Anderson explores this radical idea for the new global economy and demonstrates how this revolutionary price can be harnessed for the benefit of consumers __and__ businesses alike. 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. The Birth Of Free -- What Is Free? -- Free 101 : A Short Course On A Most Misunderstood Word -- The History Of Free : Zero, Lunch, And The Enemies Of Capitalism -- The Psychology Of Free : It Feels Good. Too Good? -- Digital Free -- Too Cheap To Matter : The Web's Lesson : When Something Halves In Price Each Year, Zero Is Inevitable -- Information Wants To Be Free : The History Of A Phrase That Defined The Digital Age -- Competing With Free : Microsoft Learned How To Do It Over Decades, But Yahoo Had Just Months -- De-monetization : Google And The Birth Of A Twenty-first-century Economic Model -- The New Media Models : Free Media Is Nothing New. What Is New Is The Expansion Of That Model To Everything Else Online -- How Big Is The Free Economy? : There's More To It Than Just Dollars And Cents -- Freeconomics And The Free World -- Econ 000 : How A Century-old Joke Became The Law Of Digital Economics -- Nonmonetary Economies : Where Money Doesn't Rule, What Does? -- Waste Is (sometimes) Good : The Best Way To Exploit Abundance Is To Relinquish Control -- Free World : China And Brazil Are The Frontiers Of Free. What Can We Learn From Them? -- Imagining Abundance : Thought Experiments In Post-scarcity Societies, From Science Fiction To Religion -- You Get What You Pay For : And Other Doubts About Free -- Coda : Free In A Time Of Economic Crisis -- Free Rules : The Ten Principles Of Abundance Thinking -- Freemium Tactics -- Fifty Business Models Built On Free. Chris Anderson. Includes Index. What's free? Free 101 : a short course on a most misunderstood word The history of "free" : zero, lunch and the enemies of capitalism The psychology of free : it feels good. Too good? Too cheap to matter : when something halves in price each year, zero is inevitable "Information wants to be free" : the history of a phrase that defined the digital age Competing with free : Microsoft learned how to do it over decades, but Yahoo had just months De-monitization : Google and the birth of a 21st century economic model The new media models : free media is nothing new. What is new is the expansion of that model to everything else How big is the free economy? : There's more to it than just dollars and cents Waste is (sometimes) good : the best way to exploit abundance is to relinquish control Econ 000 : how a century-old joke became the law of digital economics "You get what you pay for" : and other doubts about free Non-monetary economies : where money doesn't rule, what does? Free world : China and Brazil are the frontiers of free. What can we learn from them? Imagining abundance : science fiction as a thought experiment in "post-scarcity" societies Coda Free rules The 10 principles of abundance thinking. Los economistas juran que no existe tal cosa como obtener algo de gratis. Alguien siempre paga. Esto puede ser verdad en el mundo físico de los átomos, pero Chris Anderson explica por qué no aplica en el mundo de los "bits" de Internet, en donde "gratis" es el paradigma regidor. Aunque la idea de regalar cosas a manera de promoción o artículo gancho no es nueva, la perspectiva fresca de Anderson, es que los promocionales se están convirtiendo en un elemento imprescindible en los negocios y que las empresas van a tener que aceptarlo. En realidad, las compañías en línea y fuera de línea, se pueden volver inmensamente rentables cuando entregan productos o servicios de manera gratuita, para atraer a los clientes y para crearles la necesidad de adquirir productos de venta adicionales (en otras palabras, llévese la impresora gratis pero compre la tinta). Anderson, autor de The Long Tail y editor de la revista Wired, le dice cómo ganar dinero ofreciendo gratis la mayor parte de sus productos y cobrando sólo algunos de ellos. getAbstract recomienda este libro perspicaz, innovador e idiosincrático a todos los que practican la mercadotecnia The online economy offers challenges to traditional businesses as well as incredible opportunities. Chris Anderson makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can succeed best by giving away more than they charge for. Known as'Freemium,'this combination of free and paid is emerging as one of the most powerful digital business models. In Free, Chris Anderson explores this radical idea for the new global economy and demonstrates how it can be harnessed for the benefit of consumers and businesses alike. In the twenty-first century, Free is more than just a promotional gimmick: It's a business strategy that is essential to a company's successful future. Reveals how to run an online business profitably in spite of the Internet's inherently free culture, disseminating the principles of a ''priceless economy'' in six categories that pertain to advertising, labor exchange, and advanced-version fees.