"Raw information will become not just a commodity, it will be a nuisance"

Chris and Malcolm are both wrong...

The title says.

Once in a while I come across smart people (online only, since you know, we moms are notoriously boring and mundane in real life, and many may even suspect that we have few braincells left so we don't get engaged in intelligent conversations, in real life - AND that, my friend, was said with a sarcastic tone through gritted teeth, so don't you mommy police out there flame me!) who I really really want to meet in real life. I found one today

Brad Burnham at Union Square Ventures.

His latest post on the Union Square Ventures blog, Chris and Malcolm are both wrong, is the most elucidating, thought-provoking, argument against both Chris Anderson's glossy, wrapped-nicely-in-a-package theory of "Freeconomics" and Malcolm Gladwell's critique of Anderson's book, Free, in which the theory was mapped out, supported with anecdotal examples (a la Gladwell's own books?!), packaged, and sold, NOT for free, not any more.

I enjoyed reading Gladwell's books, but am always wary that easy reading and interesting stories that make you go "A-Ha" do not rigorous research/theorization made. Although I have not had a chance to read Anderson's book, Free, I have read enough articles summarizing the thesis, AND his previous book, The Long Tail, to also be wary of the same thing.

So, thank you indeed to Mr. Burnham for the article in which his critique of both is summarized in this, ok, granted, nicely-packaged and highly quotable, paragraph

My frustration with the debate about Free is that it seems like a last ditch effort to fit the internet economy into the familiar framework of the industrial economy. That isn't going to work. Free is not a pricing strategy, a marketing strategy, or the inevitable consequence of a market with low variable costs. It's a symptom of a much more fundamental economic shift. Until we agree on what resources are scarce and have a framework for how they will be allocated in the future we are not just talking past each other, we are talking about the wrong things.

Mr. Burnham's argument is that the new currency is ATTENTION (and participation), and it does not come free. Hence the "fundamental shift of economy".

There is an exchange of value between users, the creators of the raw material - data, content, and meta-data, and the network where that data is converted into insight. This exchange is still governed by the basic laws of economics but the currency is not dollars, it's attention. The network that takes attention and converts it into insight is also quite different than a traditional firm.

Once again, per my usual excitable nature, I would quote the entire post if I could. Probably better if you take the time and check out the entire post on the Union Square Ventures blog.

AND the last but the not the least, at least in my book

NEVER once did he mention "paradigm shift". THANK YOU MY GOOD SIR!

***Another great, and very useful, quote, that is absolutely t-Shirt Worthy!***

"Raw information will become not just a commodity, it will be a nuisance."

(Thanks to @leftunderbooks)

Goodies! A debate!! Timeline of the chain of debate between He said, He said:

Chris Anderson finally published his book, after he pre-released it to reviewers, Free: The Future of a Radical Price, this summer. (It costs $26.99 on Amazon! WTH?!)

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a review for New Yorker, debunking Mr. Anderson's entire thesis, using, for example, YouTube's failure to make a profit as fodder, titled: "Price to Sell: Is Free the Future?" Mr. Gladwell's answer is not surprisingly, NO.

The Business Insider immediately posted a long article, praising Mr. Gladwell's critique of the hole-ly thesis, "It's about time."

Finally, a smart person who is widely considered cool calls b.s. on Chris Anderson's popular argument that everything should be free.

The glee, oh, the glee.

Mr. Anderson also started engaging Mr. Gladwell in a friendly intellectual debate on his blog: "Dear Malcolm, Why So Threatened?" (If you ask me: the title itself is not very friendly at all...)

"Congratulation, Neil Gaiman!"

Came upon this blog entry on Geed Dad (part of the Wired blogosphere). Was surprised to see that Neil Gaiman's book won the Newberry Medal. Well, not really surprised. Actually was surprised that Gaiman was surprised.

My 5th grader couldn't put this book down. True to Gaiman's fashion, the book is dark (judging by the cover of the book... yeah...): it starts out with a little boy's family being murdered and with the little boy being abandoned in a graveyard (hence the title) and raised by ghosts... Kids nowadays are so much more mature than when we were growing up so I was not concerned that my son was reading about the subject of death and murder at the age of 10. Glad to know that the judges (and many teachers and parents) feel the same way. We should never talk down to our children as if they live in a cocoon. I believe that's a main reason why Gaiman is so popular with kids with a good head on their shoulder - he treats them like adults and speak to them truthfully about unpleasant subjects.

"On Monday Neil Gaiman was awarded the most prestigious award in children’s literature, a Newbery Medal, for his new book, The Graveyard Book. The news rocked the world of kid’s literature and was a surprise to Gaiman himself. Neil Gaiman is a beloved author for many GeekDads for his children’s literature. The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Walls have been bedtime storybooks for my daughter since she was tiny. But Gaiman is also famous among GeekDads for his more adult literature, such as Sandman and American Gods; his movie adaptations, such as Stardust and the upcoming Coraline; and he is also a GeekDad in his own right, often relinquishing his blog to his daughter Maddy." (Jan. 31, 2009)

Hulu - the best kept secert? Best of SNL clips I saw, tonight...

Am I out of the loop? Hulu truly is a much better way to watch TV and movie clips. The quality is a lot higher, never grainy. And you never have to worry about clicking on something that turns out to be not what you expected...

Thanks to Hulu, I can follow SNL again, and just in time for a better, much improved SNL as well. I don't remember when it started, but for a while SNL sucked big time: it was turning into Mad TV. But now, it is actually funny again. To be absolutely honest, and I cannot believe I am admitting this! I never quite got the humor of Will Farrell. I mean, Will Farrell on SNL. I loved him in quite a few movies, Old School being one of them. (A classic in my book!) And the Anchor Man is not bad at all. (Another classic in my book!) But Will Farrell on SNL I didn't quite get. I did laugh like hell, but I didn't know why. More Cowbell being a case in point... (Is this blasphemy?) I felt guilty laughing so hard, worried that any second someone would ask me point blank, "Ok, it is funny, but why?" Worse yet, what if the question were, "It's not funny. Explain to me."

The boys and I did some Youtubing on Hulu tonight. We laughed out loud at the SNL Digital Short, "People Getting Punched Right Before Eating". I laughed till tears came out of my eyes, but somehow I didn't feel guilty. It was funny because it was random. As my 11 year-old said, "It is so totally random. It is awesome!" I guess that is this generation's standard for humor now...



Another great piece is the SNL commercial for Taco Town. It is funny because it has a grain of truth to it, and it sort of makes you look at reality, and go, "Yeah, that's kind of ridiculous what Taco Bells passes for food..." Watch this, it is funny!



p.s. The boys and I thought the 2 SNL clips were so funny that later when we chatted with Dad who's away on business via Gmail Video Chat, we showed him the clips by pointing the webcam at the monitor (because Hulu does not work in China...)

By the way, Video Chat right from inside Gmail is truly awesome, and super easy to set up. Thumbs up!

USAir crashed into Hudson River; Twitter received the first picture of the scene

This is the title of the blog entry: "U.S. Airways Crash Rescue Picture: Citizen Journalism, Twitter At Work". A Twitterer sent a photo from his iPhone.

This sort of illustrated what I talked about yesterday. I guess THIS itself is a great reason for Twitter... Instead of coming to my blog, or emailing everybody I know, or updating my Facebook status, the first thing I did when I got an email about the news was to log into Twitter and read the messages there. I also Tweeted myself.

(All of this, I think, is made ok by the fact that all passengers are safe and accounted for, otherwise it would be heartless to talk about the role of social media in the face of a tragedy...)

What amazed me is the cause of the crash: Birds!

A flock of birds apparently hit the engine of the plane. Wow. Apparently this happened more often than we think.

ABC news coverage: The plane is completely submerged under the water now other than the tail. Extremely scary to think of, "What if..."

The hero pilot's name is Chesley Sullenberger, and according to the news report, he even searched the aircraft before he himself left. Lots of people are saying now that this is NOT a plane crash, but a well-executed emergency landing based on an experienced pilot's intelligent split-second decision which turned out to save all the lives on board. It is refreshing to hear of news where people are praising the airlines rather than complaining about the fees they are charging. On the other hand, I am so glad that Mr. Sullenberger did not leave the airline industry because of the financial difficulties felt by all major airlines.

New Website I dig (this morning): Just Hear It (great search interface for random songs...)

Thanks to ReadWriteWeb this morning, I am in the know for a brand new website for searching random songs on the interweb: Just Hear It.  Their tag line is:

 

Any Song. Legal. Free.

 

Legal is definitely a plus.  Free is a must!

 

This will be a great tool for when you need to show junior that great song in your youth.  When I searched for "I've Never Been to Me" (don't ask me why...) though, the results shown included a few YouTube clips.  I don't really mind since the one clip turned out to be quite funny.  Ah, nostalgia.