"As an academic researcher, I am continually impressed by the excellent online databases that are (according to the email marketing, sometimes highly accurate) available for $2,995.00. C’mon guys. I’m a scholar. And what happened to “openness” and “community”?"
writes Professor Thomas W. Hazlett.
In is Financial Times article "The global village and the madness of e-crowds"below, he warns us of the overhype of web 2.0, user generated content and open source is crowding out part of the real story.
Just like with wireless tech. "While 2.5bn people were subscribing to mobile networks, the tech spotlight was on … WiFi. While a handy way to make a DSL connection cordless, the disruptive technology claims were wrong. Not many folks dropping their mobile subscription to talk from their “hotspot.”"
The real revolution is in Proprietary Content."Proprietary content is growing like a Paris Hilton video gone viral, with firms like Gartner, Forrester, Yankee Group, IDC and McKinsey & Co. charging fat fees for specialised content of keen interest to deep-pocket customers(...)Yes, the dramatic lowering of distribution costs allows information to travel on a budget. That is an oomph for markets, and perhaps a double-oomph for democracy.
It is a good reminder to look a the whole picture and not to get carried away by the "e-crowd hype" that could blind us to other important opportunities.
The point is not that “closed” beats “open,” but that capitalism accommodates both. Rules need not be changed to embrace the revolution. Markets thrust revolutions upon us, boldly and magnificently, far more often than we care to remember."
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ee544356-b522-11db-a5a5-0000779e2340.html
No comments:
Post a Comment