better than free

From
there
Kevin
goes
on
to
list
eight
"generatives,"
or
features,
that
he
argues
are
"better
than
free."
These
are
the
building
blocks
of
new
products
and
services
and
they're
worth
studying,
sharing,
memorizing,
drilling
your
team
on:

-
immediacy
(getting
the
bits
now)
-
personalization
(bits
tailored
to
your
own
preferences)
-
interpretation
(for-pay
services
that
operate
on
the
free
bits)
-
authenticity
(any
hint
of
"realness"
in
the
virtual
world)
-
accessibility
(getting
to
the
bits
on
any
device)
-
embodiment
(higher-resolution
bits)
-
patronage
(feel-good
process
of
supporting
the
bits'
creators)
-
findability
(the
new
version
of
distribution:
drawing
users'
attention)

I'd
add
one
other
feature,
simplicity,
which
allows
users
to
engage
the
bits
with
a
minimum
of
user
interface
annoyances
interfering
with
the
experience.
(For
example,
this
is
a
major
reason
why
Google
took
an
early
commanding
lead
in
the
search
business:
Yahoo
and
the
other
search
engines
packed
too
many
distractions
in
the
search
experience.
By
the
time
they
realized
the
strategic
importance
of
a
good
customer
experience,
it
was
too
late
-
Google
had
won.)

The
only
other
thing
missing
from
Kevin's
outstanding
colunm
is
that
nagging
downside
of
the
digital
economy:
the
sheer
amount
of
information
that
is
overloading
people
today.
Most
people
don't
know
even
how
to
manage
their
email
today;
how
they'll
survive
these
other
bitstreams,
as
valuable
as
they
may
be,
will
be
interesting
to
watch.

Finally,
Kevin
accurately
points
out
that
all
these
"better
than
free"
patterns
will
apply
beyond
the
digital
world:

>
Even
material
industries
are
finding
that
the
costs
of
duplication
>
near
zero,
so
they
too
will
behave
like
digital
copies.
Maps
just
>
crossed
that
threshold.
Genetics
is
about
to.
Gadgets
and
small
>
appliances
(like
cell
phones)
are
sliding
that
way.
>
Pharmaceuticals
are
already
there,
but
they
don't
want
anyone
to
>
know.
It
costs
nothing
to
make
a
pill.
We
pay
for
Authenticity
and
>
Immediacy
in
drugs.
Someday
we'll
pay
for
Personalization.

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