Читать книгу Information Wants to Be Shared - Joshua Gans - Страница 8

The title of this book is a slight modification of a now famous saying, “Information wants to be free.” For information sellers, that notion has loomed as a threat as well as a warning against giving in to what information may want. For information consumers, that notion seems to encourage them to release information widely. The digital revolution, it suggests, has permitted information to be closer to its essence, posing a challenge for businesses going forward.

In actuality, the saying has several interpretations, each with a different implication. The first interpretation involves a set of predictions regarding what the price of information will be. The second, a statement regarding what the price of information ought to be. The third, a set of beliefs regarding the constraints on information’s use. In each case, there are implications for those who have information to sell and the business models they can utilize to do so. However, each is dressed up in certain presumptions that can obscure what digital technologies now allow in terms of sustainable business models for information.