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Free: The Future of a Radical Price
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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.
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Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
July 7th 2009
by Hachette Books
(first published 2009)
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Goodreads says that I'm "finished with Free", but I disagree. I love Free, and while listening to this audiobook (which was free), I was surprised by how much Free I'd taken advantage of in my life without even giving it a thought.
Chris Anderson says that my generation inherently understands (and to a point, expects) Free, and I'm proof of that. Hotmail, Yahoo!, Google, oh my! The internet is like the Free capital of the universe. I've never given a single thought to how these companies could g ...more
Chris Anderson says that my generation inherently understands (and to a point, expects) Free, and I'm proof of that. Hotmail, Yahoo!, Google, oh my! The internet is like the Free capital of the universe. I've never given a single thought to how these companies could g ...more
Disclaimer: I won a free copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads.
Free is a pretty comprehensive overview of the free business model. Anderson first outlines the history of free, the economic and psychological reasons behind free, the reason that free can exist in today's digital world, and the ways it differs from so-called "20th century free."
Anderson's points are well made, complete, and interesting to read. However, I do believe that he ignores and/or understates the full implications o ...more
Free is a pretty comprehensive overview of the free business model. Anderson first outlines the history of free, the economic and psychological reasons behind free, the reason that free can exist in today's digital world, and the ways it differs from so-called "20th century free."
Anderson's points are well made, complete, and interesting to read. However, I do believe that he ignores and/or understates the full implications o ...more
A business classic that everyone should read. Explains 20th century and 21st century economics from a big picture perspective. The basic thesis is that while in the physical world (atoms), products have cost and thus companies can afford to give away small amounts of free samples (5%), or give away cheaper loss-leader related products in order to maintain profits. In the digital world things are reversed as products have little to no marginal cost and companies can afford to give away 95% of the
...more
Dec 06, 2009
Kelley
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Business analysts, product developers, people who like to point & laugh at new economy b.s.
Shelves:
economics,
it-busines-and-management
In Free: The Future of a Radical Price Anderson insists that the way to profit online is to give products away. Of course, the intent of such a proclamation is to startle people unfamiliar with online dynamics -- which makes you wonder what tiny portion of his audience is actually startled. Even people from established industries such as newspapers and network television already know that their products only *appeared* to be free or nearly free to the consuming public. Their product certainly di
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At the beginning of Free, Chris Anderson presents a generalized dichotomy toward "Free." Some—mostly the older users—are suspicious of Free and insist they will have to pay somewhere down the line. Many younger users, on the other hand, think that Free, on the Internet at least, is a truism. Anderson says his goal is to convince us that neither camp has it completely right and that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
This is an attitude that we can apply to the Internet in general. As newspap ...more
This is an attitude that we can apply to the Internet in general. As newspap ...more
The gist of it is that the price of almost everything will gradually be driven towards being free (in its various forms). Considering this book was released in 2009, in the eight years since, we can already see how much of it turned out to be true. An informative read overall.
We've heard that information wants to be free. We're all for it as long as we are on the receiving rather than the giving end. The value of Chris Anderson's work is in showing us exactly how "free" can work. It turns out it's not a new idea: think radio and television in the days of antennas. Most Google services are free (paid for by ads). On-line textbooks can be free by selling add-ons such as the right to print chapters, study guides, audio summaries of chapters, downloads to electronic book
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Great Book !! I love the way that he explained things by using the concept of economics.
I read this book primarily because it was, well, free, and because Chris Anderson is a well known author due to The Long Tail (which I never read but heard a lot about). In the introduction he describes how as he researched the book he encountered two different reactions to it - the younger crowd (under-30 I think it was) thought that the ideas were basically self-evident while the older crowd thought that there was no such thing as free and that there is no way you could build a business model
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Obviously this is written by someone who barely passed Econ 101 or Media/Marketing History core coursework for his bach's degree. Its a shame that so few journalist today have received a decent classical education in order to understand what is research, what is analysis and what is valuable literature. I almost expect to find a "free" copy of this book in the waiting room when I go in for my very costly root canal. This book tries to convince you not to fear the free. If you just came off readi
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This was one of the most interesting books I have read in a while that makes one consider advantages in marketability. I appreciated the historical references and have enjoyed telling people about these stories, especially Jello. Definitely a must-read.
Jun 20, 2017
Joseph Schwabauer
added it
Loved this book. Some of the ideas may seem self-evident but taken as a whole, Anderson is pointing out some very relevant and often looked-over economics of the digital age. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in marketing.
Breezy, accessible, and generous. I came away with a truckload of new ideas and some interesting new viewpoints about Internet economics.
Free: The Future of a Radical Price is an enjoyable listen on Audible. It's a great value at the sticker price of $0.00. Chris Anderson does a great job of covering the history of free offerings to generate business. He also covers all the ways we take advantage of free services today without a second thought.
It was a fascinating take on the economics of specific business models. For a business owner, there were a few great ideas interspersed throughout the text. There were also a number of exa ...more
It was a fascinating take on the economics of specific business models. For a business owner, there were a few great ideas interspersed throughout the text. There were also a number of exa ...more
Great book and even a better price... Free! Chris Anderson does a great job explaining multiple ways to make money by giving away products/services for free. He does an even better job explaining the difference between giving it away and charging $0.01.
While reading this book, I came up with several ideas to give away products & services and hopefully increase market share and profits. Unfortunately, due to conventional thinking, pulling the trigger on these ideas may be tough. However, I would ...more
While reading this book, I came up with several ideas to give away products & services and hopefully increase market share and profits. Unfortunately, due to conventional thinking, pulling the trigger on these ideas may be tough. However, I would ...more
This was a pretty good book detailing a business method to increase profits; as much of an oxymoron as it seems, to increase business profits, give some products away for free (but only small amounts or some loss making products). This was obviously an example, as this audiobook was free on Audible.
That being said, this is a well known tactic so devoting an entire book to explaining it seemed pretty pointless.
That being said, this is a well known tactic so devoting an entire book to explaining it seemed pretty pointless.
Posted on my book blog.
I bought this book hoping it would help me understand a little better the economics of the internet world. There's no doubt that the internet was built around the concept of Free, but like with every other topic I'm interested in, I missed reading a systematic study about what (if anything) had changed, and how. This book does a decent job at it, but it wasn't perfect.
It gives a historical account of Free, the different meanings it can have, and how people react to it. It ...more
I bought this book hoping it would help me understand a little better the economics of the internet world. There's no doubt that the internet was built around the concept of Free, but like with every other topic I'm interested in, I missed reading a systematic study about what (if anything) had changed, and how. This book does a decent job at it, but it wasn't perfect.
It gives a historical account of Free, the different meanings it can have, and how people react to it. It ...more
Aug 03, 2011
Bill
added it
The great clash documented in this book is between the atom economy, which is in the business of selling stuff, such as food, clothing, cars, CDs and the byte economy, which is the business of selling knowledge, image, access and convenience through products that have no physical presence.
As a late-stage baby boomer myself, I have had my own difficulties wrapping my brain around ways of thinking that come naturally to the generation that has never known a non-digital world. How to proceed with ...more
As a late-stage baby boomer myself, I have had my own difficulties wrapping my brain around ways of thinking that come naturally to the generation that has never known a non-digital world. How to proceed with ...more
I'm almost finished with the book (note: the free Kindle version seems to have a lot of typographical errors) and have highlighted some of the thought-provoking quotes. FREE: The Future of a Radical Price It's a bit stodgy and slow to read -- however, the author writes about behavorial economics as it relates to "free" and I think that big business would find this book compelling.
Only thirty-two of the Top 100 companies today make things you can hold, from aerospace and motor vehicles to chemica...more
This book examines the free economy, focusing on the changes to business and society caused by the ease and availability of free digital services and products. For a topic that might seem like it might be dry, it's explored in a very interesting way in this book.
The book starts by discussing free products and services that have been around for a long time, such as "buy one get one free" deals at stores. The author discusses the psychology of receiving things for free -- a topic that is fascinati ...more
The book starts by discussing free products and services that have been around for a long time, such as "buy one get one free" deals at stores. The author discusses the psychology of receiving things for free -- a topic that is fascinati ...more
I listened to Chris Anderson narrate this book for free (he made the MP3s available on his website), which made my commutes fly by. And I guess I'm proving him right by writing this review, but I can't help notice that I'm not buying a copy of his book now, whereas I otherwise would have. But Anderson's larger point is that digital goods inexorably fall to free, so it's time to get over it and use it to your advantage. As in The Long Tail, he does a good job of laying out the phenomena, explaini
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The author talks about free business models and how they work such as Google free services that make money from ads. I would suppose the book will be very useful to those who want to make start-ups as it should enlighten them of what business model they should follow. It's also useful but to a lesser extent to those who just want to know how several so-called "free" services make money. Some of the author's sayings I still remember :) (every new abundance makes a new scarcity) so a business mode
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This was not exactly what I expected it to be, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. This is a look back at how "free" has played into so many markets over the years and where it may take us from here. Not really a "how to" book, but more of a history of the free price point.
There is good coverage of the different meanings of "free", including buy-one-get-one-free, free with purchase, free basic versions that have paid premium versions, and many others. There is great information about how o ...more
There is good coverage of the different meanings of "free", including buy-one-get-one-free, free with purchase, free basic versions that have paid premium versions, and many others. There is great information about how o ...more
Doesn't seem to say anything I haven't already read on Wikipedia and various news stories/blog posts. This book doesn't contain any special knowledge from the author and appears to be completely sourced from the internet. The free research part part goes along with his thesis I suppose, but it also means that this book is something anybody who spends a lot of time online could have produced today, given an editor and 40 hours a week to work on it.
If you like reading blogs and wished you could re ...more
If you like reading blogs and wished you could re ...more
This is definitely the best book I have read in a LONG time! I didn't want it to end!
Unless you have been living in a cave for the past two decades, you are well aware that the business models of several different industries have gone through a dramatic change. Chris goes into detail and presents it in a very interesting way. Not just the ones we have heard the most about, like how music piracy has decimated the music labels income or how Craigslist has taken over the newspaper's classified ad ...more
Unless you have been living in a cave for the past two decades, you are well aware that the business models of several different industries have gone through a dramatic change. Chris goes into detail and presents it in a very interesting way. Not just the ones we have heard the most about, like how music piracy has decimated the music labels income or how Craigslist has taken over the newspaper's classified ad ...more
A great read about the economics of free. It covers the history of free in the "atom" realm and how it is different in the "digital" realm where zero marginal cost reigns and resource are abundant and often "too cheap to meter". It has plenty of examples of the different strategies companies have used to be successful and make a profit even when giving away products for free or competing with free products. There is even a catalog in the back listing all the free business models the author disco
...more
I'm not even half way through and already I think the book's too long.
As with The Long Tail, he's taken what would have been sufficient as an article or blog post and expanded it ad nauseam into a book!
Fine. He makes a good case for free. But here's the thing. By making things "free", it's making consumers wonder, "Okay, what's the catch?". Coz' seriously, no one wants to give up anything for free. Something's got to give.
The problem here is consumers are left to figure out what. And some times ...more
As with The Long Tail, he's taken what would have been sufficient as an article or blog post and expanded it ad nauseam into a book!
Fine. He makes a good case for free. But here's the thing. By making things "free", it's making consumers wonder, "Okay, what's the catch?". Coz' seriously, no one wants to give up anything for free. Something's got to give.
The problem here is consumers are left to figure out what. And some times ...more
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Economics, particularly the Economics of the Internet. Anderson does an amazing job describing the evolution of payment and profit, and how so many legacy systems of payment are dying. If you have ever wondered how Google can be so profitable, or why the RIAA and broadcast television hate the Internet, Anderson answers these questions. Don't let the fact that Anderson's book is available as a FREE download from ITunes dissuade you, I'd have gladly
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This book is eye popping in that the stuff he presents and the way he presents it is first class. He has done his homework and saying it's food for thought is an understatment. I have not stopped thinking about what he has just said to me because it has turned conventional business thinking on its head.
It's not often you finish a book and it resonates and leaves you thinking. This book did that for me. Top marks and recommended to anyone in business. There is a fortune to be made giving stuff aw ...more
It's not often you finish a book and it resonates and leaves you thinking. This book did that for me. Top marks and recommended to anyone in business. There is a fortune to be made giving stuff aw ...more
FREE! is a good book to read, rather then saying good book to read it’s better to read and get to know what the author,Anderson, want’s to say about the word FREE!!! and What FREE means and is it really FREE!!!. It was quite interesting to know about how the business modules have emerged in marketing the products with the trick FREE, as the author says “Free always has a hidden cost for free is a trick”. Simply to say Chris anderson brought out the process of money making business behind the wor
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Chris Anderson was named in April 2007 to the "Time 100," the newsmagazine's list of the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world. He is Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine, a position he took in 2001, and he has led the magazine to six National Magazine Award nominations, winning the prestigious top prize for General Excellence in 2005 and 2007. He is the aut
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“But our tendency to give scarcity more attention than abundance has caused us to ignore the many examples of abundance that have arisen in our own lifetime, like corn, for starters. The problem is that once something becomes abundant, we tend to ignore it,”
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“But when you want to mark a number on an abacus, what do you do if there are no stones in a column? The number 60 is one wedge in the sixties column and no wedges in the ones column. How do you write “no wedges”? The Babylonians needed a placeholder that represented nothing. They had to, in effect, invent zero. And so they created a new character, with no value, to signify an empty column. They denoted it with two slanted wedges.”
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