The Future of Free: T-SHirts

Proper update coming tomorrow. In the meantime, a comic:

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(Thanks to Peter Kohan for the find)

Comments

[Peter Kohan]

De nada Chris.

[Fede]

I think "The long tail" is one of the more striking book I've ever read. Some years ago, I was studing in depth the spreading of social networks, when I found this title in a library. I read the introduction and I definitely felt in love. I'm a student in Information and Communication Technologies at Turin Politecnic (Italy), but I never found such a sharp form of writing, such a deep thought and farsighted vision. I hope that my generation can develop with Anderson's words, like the best fruits develop with sun.

[Eben Carlson]

I wrote a book about this but the t-shirts were free in it too. T-shirts and jeans--everything was given away as promo, because they were so cheap to make.

The truth is that all tangibles (products) and intangibles (information, knowledge, design) are falling in price. And falling in profit and ability to differentiate themselves meaningfully from other tangibles and intangibles.

This doesn't mean the end of the world, though, far from it.

It just means the rise of UNtangibles, which are in radical demand but no one knows it.

If tangibles answer the question "what?", and intangibles the question "how?", then untangibles answer the question "why?".

We've always thought this question should stay outside the realm of commerce, but this only makes its answers old and stale--uncompetitive, unconvincing and irrelevant.

Think about it--most people have an overabundance of what and how and almost no why.

The deep dark secret, though, is that untangibles all have socialized prices. TV shows, music, magazines, books, movies--all are sold at fixed prices, with no ability to profit from a higher quality product, just a more widely appealing one. So the 18-34s are overserved and everyone else underserved. And everyone has to watch ads.

Once we pay market rates for untangibles like content, it will compete with everything else we have. In fact, since so many people are dying to make it, it will likely compete quite favorably.

Until that time, life will look stupidly like this comic--and your life will be a joke. Because it has a severe lack of untangible meaning.

[Eben Carlson]

By the way, I fervently disagree with the premise of The Long Tail. It may be the next nanosecond of business to become warehouses with increasingly dated products, but after that business will be all about selling fewer higher quality goods and services for more. (With more why.)

In your words, instead of longer tail, it will be more beautiful face--which appeals to you more personally. Do we choose mates based more on ass size or face appeal? Why should what we want in business be any different? The only ones talking about long tails will be the harried rats who compete to manufacture and ship the produce of the new, relaxed, untangible, fat cats.

[منتديات]

it is nice book

thank you

[kabin]

thanks...
Kabin
Konteyner