The FREE debate

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Does "Free" make sense

This lens is a watercooler and discussion hub for the debate about Chris Anderson's new book. All proceeds go to charity.

Check below for the chronology of some of the posts, then chime in with your own take. It helps if you read the book at some point.

Part of what Chris, Malcolm and I do for a living is make sweeping, provocative statements that don't always include every nuance. It's the only way to make a point effectively in a short window of time. I don't think anyone (including Chris) believes that we're about to enter an era where everything (even everything digital) is going to be free. My take is that this is one of those moments when things change, and fast, and this change represents an opportunity.

The sad thing is that the people best prepared to take advantage of this opportunity (those that create digitizable content already) are not only ignoring the opportunity, they're fighting it.

Their intransigence is your opportunity...

Free by Chris Anderson

Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Amazon Price: $1.50 (as of 02/11/2012)Buy Now

Chris, editor of Wired and author of the "Long Tail" is back with a new book that goes deeply into the economics and marketing of free.

The argument is complex, but I summarize it as a price that has marketing built in. Free leads to virality, to trial and to attention.

In a marketplace with low marginal costs and many competitors, it feels inevitable for most digital goods.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Amazon Price: $5.49 (as of 02/11/2012)Buy Now

You know what this book is about, but have you read it? You should.

Not overrated. Not one bit.

What do you think?

What's the future of 'Free'?

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I don't need to like it to know that it's happening

cheech1981 says:

I disagree with some of the comments about free having no value. I have gotten a ton of free information off the Internet in general. I've also gotten onto my fair share of business and marketing lists, and of course they try to sell you stuff, but most good list-owners will give you 3-5 free messages for every 1 sales message...I've learned so much from the free reports and you get better over time of filtering out the crap and getting off the lists that are not valuable.

Plus, even if free does lead to buying something, if what you buy is valuable then the free thing that got you on the list served the extra purpose of leading you to something useful that you might not have found otherwise. I'm a pretty cheap guy and I love to save but at the same time if something is worth it, it's worth it. :)

georgeqq20 says:

Free is bait and one has to be smart enough to eat the bait an not get trapped. If you can't read the fine prints and well organized to cancel the paid goodies attached with freebies , stay away from bait. But why not be smart and enjoy freebies !

gblask says:

The irony is that "free" is the fuel of this argument... with out all the free blogging etc this argument would hardly exist, let alone have any coverage.
And you have to wonder how all this FREE coverage is helping the sales of Malcom Gladwell's books (for sale above).

oxenrider says:

Mr. Godin does not "disprove" any of Gladwell's arguments. Reading and re-reading both articles it seems as if they work in almost a parallel fashioin--never quite meeting up, but never contradicting. I believe that by framing the article "Gladwell is wrong" was merely a gimmick to get me to read Mr. Godin's work. No real problem there, except that I was hoping for a well constructed argument. The only thing of interest is that he states that all information already is free--which it isn't. I believe that Godin tries to rephrase Anderson's argument to disprove Gladwell's. Unfortunately, it doesn't work because Gladwell already addressed this in his article.
Free will never be "free" no matter how much we want it to be, this doesn't mean that it isn't an important discussion, or trend, but the newspapers won't die out anymore than the radio did when t.v. came to be. They will simply change. I've yet to hear Cassandra accurately depict what it will be.

BigGreenSpace says:

Free is good. People have passed on vegetarian recipes to me (which I've enjoyed) without the expectation of payment or reward. The payback comes when I can pass something their way.
In this way they are rewarded for their initial contribution. If people offer useful information for free then they build more meaningful relationships with the people they interact with, which will lead to greater opportunities for both parties. But they have to have the courage to put themselves out there first and free is the way forward.

The laws of physics don't change

cwimmer77 says:

the same as the past, there is no real FREE.

access2 says:

Free Mp3 Downloads

magicmakereview says:

Free is the gateway to the priced ones where every body will like to enter. Free establishes an initial repo. and trust which can be cashed in later.

Benedict_Roff-Marsh says:

The waters are muddied by the misuse of Free:

Here is my whitepaper valued at $79 for free if you give me your email address (so I can bully you with spam) is not the essence of free at all.

That is just a grubby payware transaction.

Sugar says:

Other than donating to a cause and feeling good about the idea of giving. It didn't take long to understand that FREE means "absolutely no value" to the recipient. Especially in the corporate world.
The more you give the more people expect. It's only when you stop giving for free that you realize you've created a monster. How unfortunate that the two very small words of "Thank You" are becoming a thing of the past. Maybe with this universal cleansing, things will come around.

 
view all 37 comments

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Chime in!

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  • Reply
    Dreamzanstuff Mar 24, 2010 @ 5:12 pm | delete
    Life is not free, it costs breath. Love is not free, it costs kisses. I wear my eyes out blinking. I wear my ass out thinking.
    .ti fo ekas eht rof tsuj, woc elprup a si ecnetnes siht
  • Reply
    themerchant Aug 19, 2009 @ 4:44 am | delete
    You know whats funny, powerful people, specially the ones in politics always use the word FREE... but it never ends up how the word really means.
  • Reply
    Benedict_Roff-Marsh Aug 14, 2009 @ 11:27 pm | delete
    Many things have always been free and always will be. Water itself is free. It falls out of the sky that way (which of course means it isn't free of gravity!) but we pay for the service that makes it clean and pipes it into our houses.

    To the traditional Industrial Revolution business, water in nature is a non-thing. Water running out a tap is thing. However the Industrial Revolution period is passing. Digital gives us another age where non-things are equal to or more important than things.

    There is fear and misuse as we transition, just as in the early days people were treated as things, cogs to use, break and replace. The old boss doesn't like change. The new boss needs the power. The old boss calls it stealing, the new boss calls it his by right. The new boss is really the old boss trying to take advantage.

    I give all my information free (on my site and now a lens) because my expertise in action is what I can say is mine.

    :-)
  • Reply
    neca Jul 27, 2009 @ 8:50 pm | delete
    There are free electronic versions of 'Free' available free that might be useful to add to this lense.
    I recommend audio.
  • Reply
    Kazooli Jul 27, 2009 @ 9:56 am | delete
    Take it for free...when you give something back. That can be your details to an opt in list or...your mother in law depending on the bargain. Perhaps mother in laws can be given away for free...have to look into it but then again who would have them?

    Sincerely
    Kazooli
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sethgodin

Seth Godin is the bestselling author of 13 books. He writes about marketing, the spread of ideas and managing both customers and employees with respec... more »

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