[ba-unrev-talk] The Economics of Information Goods
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/5/12/04037/2022 (01)
""Information Rules" (1999, Harvard Business Press, $29.95) was written at
the height of the dotcom craze as an antidote to the IT industry's
hyperbolic declarations and muddled thinking. Clearly, not enough people
read it. Authors Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian, distinguished professors in
both economics and business at Berkeley, set forth the key economic
principles that underpin the exchange of information goods. This is a not a
dense economics text however. It is a practical guide to the information
economy written for the business leaders and MBA graduates who were to
revolutionize society. As such they use clear examples, short sentences and
small words. " (02)
"The authors are on sympathetic ground in Chapter 4 when they argue that
content owners are too conservative in protecting their intellectual
property rights. Content owners should focus on maximizing the value of
their intellectual property rather than maximizing the protections of it.
They provide an array of interesting case studies from the business world
to support this position. These will no doubt provide useful fodder for
k5ers in their evangelical efforts." (03)