- Hardcover: 274 pages
- Publisher: Hyperion Books (7 July 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1401322905
- ISBN-13: 978-1401322908
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 15.4 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 177,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The next morning I woke up after I had finished the book I had breakfast made of ingredients I paid for and then I commuted paying some real money for the tickets and somehow I could not find a lot of "free" around me. I'm skeptical about the concept, not about the book though, as it seems to aspire to have much broader approach then the famous "Long Tail". I've read both and as far as Long Tail narrative tends to concentrate on internet based business models in Free Anderson tries to dialogue with classic economy and it gets quite entertaining even for those (or rather especially for those) who do not have academic background in economy. The motive of abundance ousting scarcity and the influence it has on economics is well reasoned and convincing. How the radio actually turned out to operate in free-to-air model as we know it today is another interesting and well researched episode. It did not seem that obvious at the start in 1920s.
At the end of the day though it's not easy to share authors' enthusiasm for new, free-based economy as when it comes down to reviewing some examples they are all dominated by dotcoms of different kind. Rarely if ever he leaves his dotcom kingdom, which is not a drawback of the book, unless you expected it to be of a more general approach which first few chapters seem to be suggesting not mentioning the title: "Free. How today's smartest businesses profit by giving something for nothing". Seems like you have to operate online to earn the "smartest" grade. Seems unfair, as there are quite a lot of successful enterprises in retail (Ikea, Tesco) or telco (O2, Vodafone) or automotive (Toyota) or... well, you name it, and they are not giving away anything for free (in a new, modern meaning Anderson is pursuing) yet yielding impressive cash flows. It would not be fair to blame Anderson for not writing about every possible business model existing on planet Earth. Isn't it tempting however to ask not only why and how some businesses move into "freemium" zone, but also why others deliberately do not even seem to be considering it? It's left for the readers to ponder.
The book has a nice surprise for those skeptical about "free" concept in a form of last chapter nicely summarizing in 14 points key arguments against it which obviously are not left without a comment. It might just be the most inspiring part of the book.
At the end of the day though it's not easy to share authors' enthusiasm for new, free-based economy as when it comes down to reviewing some examples they are all dominated by dotcoms of different kind. Rarely if ever he leaves his dotcom kingdom, which is not a drawback of the book, unless you expected it to be of a more general approach which first few chapters seem to be suggesting not mentioning the title: "Free. How today's smartest businesses profit by giving something for nothing". Seems like you have to operate online to earn the "smartest" grade. Seems unfair, as there are quite a lot of successful enterprises in retail (Ikea, Tesco) or telco (O2, Vodafone) or automotive (Toyota) or... well, you name it, and they are not giving away anything for free (in a new, modern meaning Anderson is pursuing) yet yielding impressive cash flows. It would not be fair to blame Anderson for not writing about every possible business model existing on planet Earth. Isn't it tempting however to ask not only why and how some businesses move into "freemium" zone, but also why others deliberately do not even seem to be considering it? It's left for the readers to ponder.
The book has a nice surprise for those skeptical about "free" concept in a form of last chapter nicely summarizing in 14 points key arguments against it which obviously are not left without a comment. It might just be the most inspiring part of the book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Economists swear there is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone always pays. That may be true in the "atoms" world of physical things, but Chris Anderson explains why it does not apply in the "bits" world of the Internet, where "free" is the ruling paradigm. If, as Stewart Brand (founder of the Whole Earth Catalogue and the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link) said, "Information wants to be free," now it is, at least in many instances, particularly online. While the idea of giving things away as a promotion or loss leader isn't new, Anderson's fresh insight is that giveaways are becoming a business imperative that companies are going to have to accept and use. Actually, companies online and off can become immensely profitable when they give products or services away for free to bring customers in and to create the need for future ancillary product sales (in other words, take the printer and buy the ink). Anderson, author of The Long Tail and editor of Wired magazine, tells you how to make money by providing most of your offerings for free and charging for just a few of them. getAbstract recommends this perceptive, innovative, idiosyncratic book to all marketers.
Format:Paperback
Great read. As a fan of the Long Tail I wasn't disappointed. A must read for online marketers, any marketer in fact.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointed
This Book was recommended but I found it very disappointing. I thought it was going to outline various methods of giving away something for free instead of the general idea of... Read more
Published 11 months ago by khime
Decent book, a bit one-sided
I bought this book hoping it would help me understand a little better the economics of the internet world. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sofia Romualdo
Great Book
Great book that really takes time to explain how we can all see the world a little differently. Reading this book had a remarkably positive effect on my outlook not just of... Read more
Published 11 months ago by TassieTiger
If you want to know the future of marketing...
The marketing bullies wont like this book, because it tells them that they have to give things away for free. But, they're missing the point: there is method to the madness. Read more
Published on 14 April 2010 by net_efekt
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