[Gasification] Fwd: Kevin Kelly: Better Than Free (or: what would aworld of free power look like?)

Mon Feb 4 16:01:59 CST 2008

 Hi Jim, and list.

 Ya know, I just "handed" the "woodgasbuilders" list on yahoo, an entire set
of plans for automation electronics that I personally designed and
tested.... all for "free" (simply asking for acknowledgement of design).

 Now, should I dare ask, "Did I do a stupid thing" ???

Greg

-----Original Message-----
From: gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org]On Behalf Of jim mason
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 2:05 PM
To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification
Cc: crispinpigott at gmail.com; kmbryden at iastate.edu
Subject: [Gasification] Fwd: Kevin Kelly: Better Than Free (or: what would
aworld of free power look like?)

this is a very perceptive article/post by kevin.  it tries to
"formalize" where monetizable value is found in a digital world where
copies are free.

i'm trying to figure out how and to what degree these models might be
relevant in the physical world of power.  copies are not free in
power, as is the case in most physical realms.  but then again, some
manufacturing in the physical world is near free, with most of the
cost external to the physical thing.

gasifiers have the potential to be nearly free to make.  they are
simply metal tanks.  what is costly is the design expertise.  even the
indian gasifier manufacturers are selling 10kw gasifiers for between
5,000 and 10,000 dollars.  which in the end, are cut up propane tanks.
 the related ic engines are nearly free too.  pv is very unfree.  veg
oil, wind, solar thermal, micro-hydro are all on the towards free side
of commodity manufacturing and somewhat easy to acquire through diy
reuse.

for realms of power where near free copies are possible, what might be
the manners in which to make money after giving away the copies?  i
can repeat all the principles and platitudes here.  but the actual
transactions on the ground/online seem less clear, other than selling
information.  physical stuff needs to be distributed too.  after the
fact consulting is much more difficult to structure, and has travel
realities that tech support usually does not have.

this is a question that pokes me daily.  the answers are not yet
clear.  any ideas and musings much appreciated.

(and read kevin's article.  it is really good)

j

Better Than Free
Kevin Kelly Posted on January 31, 2008 at 6:21 PM
<http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/01/better_than_fre.php>

The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it
copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we
ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the
internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the
whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make
a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless
copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied
somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies.
Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these
copies are not just cheap, they are free.

Our digital communication network has been engineered so that copies
flow with as little friction as possible. Indeed, copies flow so
freely we could think of the internet as a super-distribution system,
where once a copy is introduced it will continue to flow through the
network forever, much like electricity in a superconductive wire. We
see evidence of this in real life. Once anything that can be copied is
brought into contact with internet, it will be copied, and those
copies never leave. Even a dog knows you can't erase something once
its flowed on the internet.

This super-distribution system has become the foundation of our
economy and wealth. The instant reduplication of data, ideas, and
media underpins all the major economic sectors in our economy,
particularly those involved with exports -- that is, those industries
where the US has a competitive advantage. Our wealth sits upon a very
large device that copies promiscuously and constantly.

Yet the previous round of wealth in this economy was built on selling
precious copies, so the free flow of free copies tends to undermine
the established order. If reproductions of our best efforts are free,
how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money
selling free copies?

I have an answer. The simplest way I can put it is thus:

When copies are super abundant, they become worthless.
When copies are super abundant, stuff which can't be copied becomes
scarce and valuable.
When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied.

Well, what can't be copied?

There are a number of qualities that can't be copied. Consider
"trust." Trust cannot be copied. You can't purchase it. Trust must be
earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited
(at least for long). If everything else is equal, you'll always prefer
to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has
increasing value in a copy saturated world.

There are a number of other qualities similar to trust that are
difficult to copy, and thus become valuable in this network economy.
I think the best way to examine them is not from the eye of the
producer, manufacturer, or creator, but from the eye of the user. We
can start with a simple user question:  why would we ever pay for
anything that we could get for free? When anyone buys a version of
something they could get for free, what are they purchasing?

 From my study of the network economy I see roughly eight categories
of intangible value that we buy when we pay for something that could
be free.

In a real sense, these are eight things that are better than free.
Eight uncopyable values.  I call them "generatives." A generative
value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown,
cultivated, nurtured. A generative thing can not be copied, cloned,
faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced. It is generated
uniquely, in place, over time. In the digital arena, generative
qualities add value to free copies, and therefore are something that
can be sold.

[snip]

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jim mason
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jim mason
website: www.whatiamupto.com
current project: mechabolic (http://www.mechabolic.org)
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