Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Blog Carnival: Cheap Laptops

July: Netizen Blog Carnival Month
  1. Blog Carnival: Internet For The Billions
  2. Blog Carnival: Wimax
Cheap Laptops

new cheap laptops: Popular Cheap Laptops
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade - Best Cheap Laptops
Shocking discovery: Cheap laptops have cheap build quality
CHEAP LAPTOP MEMORY >> Cheap Laptop Memory Tips | CHEAP LAPTOP ...
Daily Gizmo: Buying a Cheap Laptop
Cheap Laptop Computers
Gizmodo - Cheap, Thin Laptops Suffering From Cheapness, Thinness ...
Cheap laptops for sale - Free shipping
wholesalesexpert: Where To Buy Wholesale/dropship Cheap Laptops ...
A Buyer’s Guide to Cheap Laptops
Technology News: Gateway NV: cheap laptops for entertainment
prolozacportal: Cheap Laptops
Cheap, Thin Laptops Suffering From Cheapness, Thinness [Notebooks ...
A Buyer’s Guide to Cheap Laptops
£10 Off All Cheap Laptops Under £200 With This Exclusive Code From ...
Cheap Laptops For What They’re Worth
Cheap Laptops for Sale | UBERflat
Cheap Laptops For Sale (Unbelievable Prices) - A34801 - Ghana ...
A Deeper Insight Into Cheap Laptops - Mobile Computing
Cheap Laptops for Sale | UBERflat
Cheap Laptops For Sale (Unbelievable Prices) - A34801 - Ghana ...
A Deeper Insight Into Cheap Laptops - Mobile Computing
cheap laptops and longevity
Analyst: Cheap ultrathin laptops push design limits; cracked ...
Cheap Laptops Deals Lenovo Y410 Review
Cheap Notebook Computers-Will They do The Job | Computing Success ...
Cheap laptops without Intel Integrated Graphics? | Get Cheap Computer
Cheap Laptops Doesn't Mean Cheap Quality | ABC article directory
Cheap Laptops | Anti Virus Software Review
Dell Vostro 1220: Pretty, cheap, laptop - Crave at CNET UK
Analyst: Thin laptops have design issues | Nanotech - The Circuits ...
Psion relents: 'netbook' ok to describe chubby cheap laptops ...
CHASIDICJEW.COM: 7 Tips For Buying Cheap Laptop
Cheap Laptops Doesn't Mean Cheap Quality - Add An Article
A flood of cheap laptops and gamer PCs
Good cheap laptops (is there any)?
Cheapest Laptops by Toshiba L500 Series with Features and Specs ...
How to Buy a Cheap Laptop
Cheapest Laptops by Toshiba L500 Series with Features and Specs ...
NVIDIA rejects Android and prefers Windows CE - Cheap Laptops
Buy Cheap Laptops
Cheap Laptops
Intel and AMD battle to offer cheap ultra-thin laptops
Smart Consumer: Cheap laptops at Dabs
Used Laptops For Cheap | New and Used Laptops
HP Mini 1035NR | Cheap Laptops For Sale
Cheap Laptops..Any feedback - R2IClubForums
Cheap Laptops Doesn't Mean Cheap Quality
What we craved this week: E3, Palm's Pre plans, and cheap laptops ...
Finding Cheap Laptops
Cheap Laptops: How to Buy the Right One | Superarticle : Article ...
Ultraportable DELL XPS M1330
Looking for a cheap laptop? How's $200 sound? | DVICE
Cheap Laptops
A Guide to Cheap Laptops
Top deals on cheap laptops
Cheap Laptops Doesn't Mean Cheap Quality
Cheap Laptops Doesn’t Mean Cheap Quality
Finding Cheap Laptops
Looking After Cheap Laptops – How to Make Your Laptop Last Longer ...
What we craved this week: E3, Palm's Pre plans, and cheap laptops
While Looking for Cheap Laptops and Computer Accessories
cheap laptops
Cheap Laptops Doesn't Mean Cheap Quality
Cheap Laptops
CHEAP NEW LAPTOPS >> Cheap New Laptop Computers | Cheap Brand New ...
Cheap Laptops and Netbooks - www.buycheapnetbook.co.uk
Used cheap laptops - Buyer Beware
A pictorial guide to the subtle differences between small, cheap ...
Looking After Cheap Laptops – How to Make Your Laptop Last Longer
Buying Guide Laptop Gaming: Cheap Gaming Laptops - Where to Find Them?
A Buyer’s Guide to Cheap Laptops
Cheap Laptops & Netbooks
Shop for Laptops 2009: HP 2133 Mini Note is not cheap laptops for ...
Cheap Laptops Guide - How to Buy Brand New Laptop Computers for Cheap
Cheap Laptops USA
Tips on Buying Cheap Laptops
Looking After Cheap Laptops – How to Make Your Laptop Last Longer
Tech2.com India > Cheap Laptops Arrive for Tryout in India > News ...
Psion relents: 'netbook' ok to describe chubby cheap laptops ...
Psion relents: ‘netbook’ ok to describe chubby cheap laptops ...
Pretty Thin, Pretty Light Laptops Turn Pretty Cheap - Bits Blog ...
Watercraft & Cheap Laptops
Lenovo Announcing Two Cheap Laptops and One AIO
Cheap Laptops: How to Buy the Right One
Branded laptops at reasonable prices | Digital Trend Blog
A notebook miracle! - Cheap Laptops for $100?
What to Consider Before Paying For Cheap Laptops
Inexpensive laptop computers
Laptop Power Adapter Repair Cheap Acer Laptops
Cheap Laptops Big and Small
Very Cheap Laptops! And I Mean Very Cheap!
Pretty Thin, Pretty Light Laptops Turn Pretty Cheap - Le blog de ...
Lenovo ThinkPad T400s : High Performance Laptop in a 0.83 inch ...
Psion relents: "netbook" ok to describe chubby cheap laptops ...
Shaping Youth » One Laptop Per Child: Give One, Get One Goin' Fast!
Cheap Laptops Get With Price Comparison Shopping
Obama should look to Portugal on how to fix schools (Don Tapscott ...
Cheap Laptops
Lenovo U350 Is Pretty Thin, Pretty Light, and Pretty Cheap ...
Intel: Kinda Thin, Kinda Cheap Laptops Are the Next Big Thing ...
Cheap Electronics: Cheap Digital Cameras - Cheap Laptops
Cheap Open Source Laptops Immediately Present
Cheap laptops will drive growth of web and cloud | The Equity Kicker
Intel pushes thin, low-voltage, but cheap, laptops
Rick's World - Find best deals, cheap laptops and all...: How to ...
Apple Not Offering Cheap Laptops
Gawker - Venezuela orders 1 million cheap laptops for kids, but ...
Cheap laptops ≠ netbooks
Make Your Work Easy by Saving Your Pocket with Cheap Laptops
Laptop for 10 dollars? | TechToggle - Its All About Technology
Cheap Laptop Replacement Battery Alternative | Laptops Blog
Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog: Shrinking the gap with cheap laptops
Sleek laptops at low prices a threat to high-end processors
suspicious laptop deals | TuxWire : The Linux Blog
Laptop: Analyst: Cheap ultrathin laptops push design limits ...
Cheap Laptops
Who moved my 'Delete' key? Lenovo did | Stuff.co.nz
Illustration of the subtle differences between small, cheap laptops
Cheap Laptops - Making Mobile Computing Affordable to Everybody
Avail Cheap Laptops to Enjoy Great Facilities
Rick's World - Find best deals, cheap laptops and all...: What is ...
Features to be Looked Into in a Cheap Laptop
A pictorial guide to the subtle differences between small, cheap ...
delicious robots blog - Fast and Cheap : The Compaq Presario CQ60 ...
A guide to the differences between small, cheap laptops
High Color Quality in Cheap Laptops
Is the term “Netbook” generic for small cheap laptops?
Cheap mini laptops from AT&T | Laptop Pimp Blog - Laptop Reviews ...
Cheap Laptops Offer Solid Value
Linux on Cheap Laptops
Cheap laptops will drive growth of web and cloud
Alan Stutts on Cheap Laptops
Very Cheap Laptops ! And I Mean Very Cheap !
Comment on Mary Lou Jepsen on Low-cost, Low-power Computing
BRAND NEW ORIGINAL SONY VAIO LAPTOPS FOR SALE AT CHEAP PRICES ...
KLCC Travel n Shopping Paradise: Laptops and Mini Computers
Global Me - Cellphone, Laptop: Nokia N82
HP Compaq Presario Laptop Computer v6210us AMD Turion 64 MK-36 2.0 ...
Things that run.: The alternative electoral analysis
Debate.org | Laptops are better than desktops.
Cheap laptops symbolize a new era
Cheap Laptops Offer Solid Value
Verizon Wireless to Offer $199 Laptop | GigabyteFan
Toshiba Satellite A355-S6931 16.0-Inch Laptop | Reviews | Features ...
Cheap laptops?
Acer TravelMate 240 battery | cheap laptop battery blog
Consumer Reports » Refurbished Laptops – Are They For You?
World's Cheapest Laptops are: Alpha 400, Razorbook, HiVision ...
Cheap laptops - EEE Series
Cheap Laptops are on the Rise
Notebook Computer Lock and Steel Security Cable for PC [Misc.]
Cheap Laptops
What is the best and most reasonable DELL laptop I can get ...
The Cheapest Laptops: The sub-25k Round-Up | YugaTech ...
They just don't get it | Theodicius
Laptops : An Essential Accessory For All
Laptops for the business traveller | Gulliver | Economist.com
Cheap Laptop & Fashionable: Toshiba Satellite L305-S5924 15.4-Inch ...
super cheap laptops
Cheap Laptop & Fashionable: Toshiba Satellite L305-S5924 15.4-Inch ...
Acer Aspire Laptop Review: Serious Firepower for Around $500
Notebooks and Laptops
Capacity LLC www.CapacityLLC.com: Free Advice
cheap laptops of 2008
Finding Cheap Laptop Computers
How To: Run A Mobile Office » Matt Singley | Social Media Optimization
clicksmart shop: Case Logic 13" Blue Student Laptop Shuttle
IdeaPad S10-2 Review Verdict: No Match for the Competion
clicksmart shop: Case Logic 13" Blue Student Laptop Shuttle
IdeaPad S10-2 Review Verdict: No Match for the Competion
Gizmodo - Gadget Deals of the Day - Gadget deals of the day
Finding Cheap Laptop Computers | BatteryReviewz.com
ACER Timeline Launch: The Ultrathin Battle is Joined | Jayvee ...
Cheap laptops for £400 and under
clicksmart shop: Case Logic 13" Blue Student Laptop Shuttle
ACER Timeline Launch: The Ultrathin Battle is Joined | Jayvee ...
Cheap Laptops ‘N’ Notebooks
Macbook buying resources : know before you go. | Cheap Laptops Blog
Cheap Laptops, Rich Experience
Top 5 Best Very Cheap Laptops Under 500 Dollars
Cheap Refurbished Laptops - 5 Daily Deals
Cheap Laptops - An Increasing Trend of Suppliers
My STORY: In My Dreams
Cheap Laptops: How to Buy a Cheap Laptop Computer
Laptop for 10 dollars? | TechToggle - Its All About Technology
Dell Laptop & Notebook Discounts, Coupon Codes, Sepcial Offers ...
Lenovo considering OLED Laptops? | VizWorld.com
Top three Cheap laptops
Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog: Shrinking the gap with cheap laptops
Acer Aspire One Netbook Review
Cheap Laptop: Choices, Pointers and Pitfalls of Buying Cheap Laptops
bit-tech.net | Blog - Does Sony Still Matter?
Notes on Creative Writing and Publishing: E-Books, Boom or Bust?
Virginians Pee Themselves Over Cheap Laptops
machima - Acer AS4530-6823 14.1-Inch Blue Laptop
Things to Consider When Purchasing a Laptop For Home
Cheap HP Pavilion G60t 16" Laptop with Core 2 Duo T6400 $479.99
Netbook Is Nothing But a Cheap PC
Lenovo Goes For Cheap Laptops
Technology Review: $100 Laptop Becomes a $5 PC
Playing the Slots on Apple's New Laptops - Gadgetwise Blog ...
thirdworldgamer: Save your old laptops! Try Windows 7!
The case against buying cheap laptops
cheap laptops: is it time for an old dream coming true?
Lenovo X300 Ultra Thin Laptop | Free Macbook Air Blog
cheap laptops
Hints of a New Market for Cheap, Power-Sipping Servers - Digits - WSJ
Cheap laptops, the new trend?
Packing Question: Should you take your laptop on your trip ...
Cheap Laptops Getting Tryouts in Small Pilot Projects
panic ensues in rush for cheap laptops
Where Cory Doctorow is Wrong – You won't Make Money Selling Books ...
how to buy cheap laptops
Acer Aspire One AOA150-1447 8.9-Inch Netbook Sapphire Blue ...
Get the best of computer technology with the cheap laptops
cheap laptops for students in developing countries.
Cheap Laptops Doesn't Mean Cheap Quality
2007/07/24 slashdot: are cheap laptops a roadblock for moore’s law?
how to buy cheap laptops
Get the best of computer technology with the cheap laptops
Pixmania Summer Sale - Cheap Laptops Galore + Discount Codes
Mobile phones, cheap laptops, Open Source and ODR - The killer trio
Cheap Laptop: Choices, Pointers and Pitfalls of Buying Cheap Laptops
cheap laptops: come and be a part of digital world
the slow learner's cheap laptops
Intel's Strategy Won't Change Despite Antitrust Charges - Bits ...
Cheap Laptop: Choices, Pointers and Pitfalls of Buying Cheap Laptops
cheap laptops: come and be a part of digital world
the slow learner's cheap laptops
What Kind Of Laptop Should I Buy For College? | Laptop resources
where to buy cheap laptops?
get your cheap laptops here - get your cheap notebooks here - get ...
Intel cheap laptops expanding to US, Europe
Cheap laptops for Third World schoolchildren - CNN.com
Cheap Laptops
riot in virginia over cheap laptops
Cheap laptops- Avail them without budgetary constraints.
The Michael Duffy Files: Duffy, the Classics, Luddites, Computers ...
cheap laptops and cherry cola
comment on environment, ipr, and cheap laptops: wsj is on fire! by ...
Cheap Laptops Great Choice
inkia cheap laptops at ifa 2008
laptop.com.au pty ltd - cheap laptops notebooks australia for sale ...
panic ensues in rush for cheap laptops tuesday, au...
BEST LAPTOPS OF 2007 - NOTEBOOK AND LAPTOP REVIEWS
The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time ...
My Little World: Laptop Dilemma
10-Step Guide to Buying a Used Laptop That Works : Sustainablog
Ideas: A Simple Proposal to Make Exam Grading Easier
THE YEN BLOG: Laptops are banned? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!
Dean Bubley's Disruptive Wireless: Is WiMAX losing the battle to ...
cheap laptops on the road
equal opportunity via cheap laptops...
Cheap Laptops Bad for Vista, Good for Linux
india rejects cheap laptops
laptops available at cheap prices
Cheap Laptops + Mobile Broadband = Huge Market, Says Microsoft
Looking for a cheap laptop? The Eee PC revisited | Technology ...
Which Mac Laptop ? | The Big Picture
Should I Buy A Refurbished Laptop? A Used Laptop? Or A Cheap Laptop?
microsoft to limit capabilities of cheap laptops
Almost American!: Windows 7 & my new Dell Studio 17
Buy Cheap Laptops Online
cheap laptops and cheap laptop computers
cheap laptops but not so cheap adsl
microsoft to limit capabilities of cheap laptops
Cheap laptops? HELL YES!
Panic ensues in rush for cheap laptops
Acer targets tightwads with cheap laptops
panic ensues in rush for cheap laptops
intel, asus go for big bucks with cheap laptops
gateway offers many cheap laptops from $550 to $1150 for back-to ...
HOW TO FIND A GOOD CHEAP LAPTOP
The Strange Case of One Laptop per Child
Cheap laptops equal smart salary-packaging
The Slow Learner - Cheap Laptops in the Philippines
Steve van Dulken's Patent blog: One Laptop per Child
An open-source approach to tracking stolen laptops | Geek Gestalt ...
Netbook, Notebook or Laptop Computers — What's the Difference?
Free laptops, Do they Really Exist
Worldchanging: Bright Green: India's $20 Laptop
Lenovo service problems | Lenovo service | Lenovo Laptop | Lenovo ...
Computer Prime Buying a Cheap Laptop
Should You Get The N95? | The Symbian Blog
Commuting 101: Carrying Your Laptop | Commute by Bike
Come and get it: Fedora laptop for $150 | Between the Lines ...
Why Windows 7 Will Fail on Netbooks | WorksWithU
Notebooks Corner: Sony VAIO CR Series
Analyst uses bad economy to predict Apple netbook at Macworld ...
jorge's stompbox: On portable laptops.
pc vs mac: what laptop should i get? « eugene cho
Laptop review: Dell Inspiron 1520 and 1521- Lipstick on a pig
Intel: Netbooks Continue to Cannibalize Notebook Sales
The Serious Games Blog: Mini-laptop sweeps through schools
Laptops & notebooks: Laptop computers, notebook computers
Mini laptop speakers and other netbook accessories
HUMBANG HASUNDUTAN: Dari Sebuah Blog: Careful With Cheap Laptops ...
..Laptop..: Is a Laptop better then a Desktop Computer ?
Why a $100 Color Laser Printer May Not Be the Best Deal - Gearlog
Hard Drives: Laptop Drives
rahulsood: Do $200 Laptops Break a Business Model?
Apple: If you don't "do cheap", let someone else do it instead ...
7 Great Tips for Buying a Good Laptop Computer
No such thing as a free laptop | TechRadar Laptops | TechRadar UK
First five - Top 10 laptops of 2008 - CNET Asia
MIT finds ways to get computers to all children
Simons Simbian: Best Cell Phones With Free Televisions
Top Budget Laptops - by Digital Trends
Amazon to Sell OLPC XO Laptops With the Get One, Give One Arrangement
antonywilliams.com: my laptop purchasing history
Apple drops entry iPhone to $99, unveils new model | JORDAN ...
Should You Buy a Mini Laptop?
Coding Horror: Dell XPS M1330 Review
How well do Netbooks work with Web apps? | Webware - CNET
A laptop for poor widdle women arms - Feministing
What Laptop leads in Consumer Reports Rankings? Lenovo, surprisingly!
Want to buy notebook : Laptop review product discount: Laptops ...
With video out the iPhone could really eat laptops for lunch
A Laptop Blog: Laptop Sales Surpass Desktop Sales in 2008
Notebooks, Laptops what's the diffrence? | Name Brand One Stop
10 Badass Laptops for Business Nerds | Nerd Business Blog
Neil Leyden: Back to the Future: Digital Media
Laptops to Overtake Desktops by 2011
The Netbook Price Paradigm | Ampers & Dot
The Soul Of a New Laptop - Forbes.com
College Life: Invest in a laptop | Unclutterer
New Laptop, and Dang « Proud Geek
Protecting Your Laptop From Theft « The IT Nerd
The Gadgets Weblog: iUnika GYY Netbook is Cheap to Buy and Cheaper ...
Joeflash's Enigmacopaedia » How I Bought My Perfect XP Laptop
Talking about Clemens, 15-year-old girls, and laptops. | umpbump.com
Enjoy a new Era of Laptops with Simmtronics Atom Notebook
CYB Newslog - Cyber Crime Fears as Cheap PCs Head for Africa
Greenthinkers: XO-I Laptop Is Here
Gaming Laptops: Why RAM Is Mission Critical? « Education Finance
MacBook back on top at Amazon - Apple 2.0
Laptop Travel: How To Pick Your Perfect Laptop
Wolfram|Alpha and the shrinking future of the graphing calculator ...
Invasion Of The Inexpensive, Linux-Powered Laptops | Connected ...
Best Deals On Laptops Article
China Venture News: Laptops for $199 in China
Dell Inspiron Mini Laptops from $299 shipped - 2.28 lbs* with an ...
FreeCashSpace: OLPC -- One Laptop Per Child
Aigarius Blog › Sneaky blacklisting of WiFi in HP laptops?
One-Watt Processor in a $500 Laptop at Wal-Mart
Fractals of Change: Why WiMAX?
Windows 7 won't save the hardware market
Lenovo ThinkPad X300 ultralight laptop leaked - SlashGear
How to upgrade a laptop to 802.11 abg for $30 | George Ou | ZDNet.com
Custom Stickers for Laptops | Affiliate Marketing Blog by Shawn ...
Dell's Flash laptops narrowly aimed at the wealthy
Eraser and Crowbar - Innovation: The 100 Dollar Laptop
Laptops Blog » Apple MacBook Air: ultra-thin laptop with 13.3″ display
Old Laptops « Terminally Incoherent
First '$100 Laptops' Sold to Uruguay
50% of new laptops with embedded mobile broadband by 2010 ...
Gone Laptop Shopping (My Search for an Affordable Notebook ...
Stolen Laptops, Exposed Data and Identity Theft | Technibble
Acer's Linpus Linux Lite (Fedora) ultra portable laptop piles the ...
Linux Hater's Blog: Flash me a clue
Thinking of buying a new laptop « Sayamindu's Ramblings
Laptops get artsy and personal : iMediaPress
CampusGrotto - How to take notes effectively on a laptop
Laptop and Desktop Comparison - PC Tips World
Backup Everything! | Laptops Blog
Freescale Cortex-based netbook at CES. Aiming for sub $200 by end ...
MacBook back on top at Amazon - Apple 2.0
Laptop gaming school cheap: Astore link
Modern threats to American liberty | Storage Bits | ZDNet.com
MOHASIN'S WORLD: The Great Laptop Forward
Fixes for electronic noise interference on laptops (60 cycle hum ...
Aigarius Blog › Sneaky blacklisting of WiFi in HP laptops?
Puerto Banus! « Sunny's Blog
Murphys Mobile: Best Cell Phones With Free TV
Simons Simbian: Best Cell Phones With Free Televisions
the World of Elizabeth: Best Cell Phones With Free TV's
Mobile Broadband Speed In Your Hands | Connected Internet
Microsoft to Australia "You're Not Using Enough of Our Products ...

Monday, July 06, 2009

On Business Models: Free Is Not Always Good


Free Is The Future: Picking A Fight With Mark Cuban

I came out defending the freemium space. But I, under no circumstance, am suggesting that is the only business model. Your hamburger stand better charge. Your coffee shop better charge for coffee. Walmart would not be the most successful company in the history of humanity if it did not charge. Your house should cost money. Food is not free. They pay you to work. You are not free.

It is just that the freemium kind is my favorite business model for online ideas. There are companies that charge. MeetUp charges the Organizers who go ahead and sometimes charge those who attend. I am going to the NY Tech MeetUp tomorrow evening for a cost of 10 bucks and I am happy. There are 700 others like me.

When you succeed with Free, you are going to die by Free
Free vs Freely Distributed

Bleak Job Numbers


The job numbers for June came out and they were not looking good at all. The worst recession since the Great Depression is not over yet, but I am on record saying the bungee jump phase is over, and now we are in the plateau phase. And I don't think the plateau phase will last as long as the bungee jump phase did.

The Plateau Will Last Less Than Nine Months

The pain many people are feeling is very real. Many people appear clueless as to what future might have in store for them.

In Book Advertisement

All Books Need To Go Digital

Amazon Applying For In-Book Advertisement Patent http://bit.ly/JTypW

From The Netizen BlogRoll

Free vs Freely Distributed
Making a John Q Public account on Google
Celebrities - social objects or fake friends?
Freemium and Freeconomics
Watching People Come of Age
Journalistic narcissism
A Different Kind of Independence
I Believe Mark Cuban is Right
How the SF Giants saved a million bucks with telecommunications upgrades
Breakdown: 3 Ways Brands Are Earning –and Buying– Followers on Twitter
How to Build a Successful Blog

In The News
Spiral Jetty, earthwork extraordinaire
Obama's Russian Business Plan
AT&T's Wireless Ambitions
What Will the Energy Bill Cost?
Economics Unbound: Merrill Lynch's unfortunately timed upgrade on U.S. economic outlook
The Old Solutions Have Become the New Problems
  1. Why Obama's Afghan War is Different
  2. How Medicated Was Michael Jackson?
  3. Why Sarah Palin Quit as Governor
  4. Searching for Palin's 'Hot Photos'
  5. Behind North Korea's Missile Launch
  6. When Benedict Meets Barack
  7. Afterbirth: It's What's For Dinner
  8. What Michael Jackson Did on His Last Day
  9. TIME's Summer Reading List
  10. The Challenge That Awaits Obama in Moscow
The Palin I-Quit-arod: A Defining Trait?
Tough Times Lead to Local Currencies
Avigdor Lieberman: Politically Incorrect
Ban Ki Moon Leaves Burma Disappointed
Palin Bow-Out: Boon to Her Book Sales?
Trying Times for Russia's Nesting Dolls
Ice Age vs. Transformers — It's A Draw!
The Battle Over Michael Jackson's Legacy

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Free Is The Future: Picking A Fight With Mark Cuban

When you succeed with Free, you are going to die by Free They will be Facebook to your Myspace, or Myspace to your Friendster or Google to your Yahoo. ....... For Google, who lives and dies by free, we dont know who their BlackSwan company will be. But we all know it will happen don’t we ? The only question is when..... The same will happen to Facebook, Twitter, pick any company who lives off of free. ...... Their better choice would be to run the company as profitably as possible, focusing only on those things that generate revenue and put cash in the bank. ........ ecognizing that they have a better chance of beating Facebook by investing in a company they think can pre empt Facebook than by trying to reconfigure MySpace to be that company.
Free vs Freely Distributed

First, there is no free. When you make money from ads, you are still making money. TV shows are free, but they run ads and make money. Is that free? I don't think so. If you are making money without directly charging your users, I think that is a tremendous business model.

And then there is free as in free but in the process you help build a brand. Step one, build a brand. Step two, monetize. Later. That is not free. As in, it is not business stupid. You don't make money on day one. But you make gobbles of money later.

Free is good. You get to cast your net wider.

People pay with their time, their attention. They give you mindspace. They pay, just not with money.

Google Search is free, but last I checked they were making ridiculous amounts of money. Are they stupid to not charge me two cents for every time I conduct a search?

Free is smart. But free is also the future. Free will win. The best offerings online will be ad-based. New forms of ads will emerge. For example, I take it for granted that Twitter will some day go public and will have a market valuation in the billions. You can bet it is not going to run banner ads like Yahoo in 1998.

And as a user I have no desire to pay for Twitter. Go figure.

Free is how Google beat Microsoft. Free is for winners. Free is smart, free is good, free is for the ages.

Free makes for a lean and thin business machine. It is a hassle to have to collect money from millions of people. It makes so much more sense to collect money from a few (or many) advertisers.

Or you can offer something for free, get a lot of people to use it, and sell it to someone else who might attempt monetization. You still made money when you sold. Why are you complaining?

Free also means you can go global, instantaneously. That is what the web is all about. The Internet is not America online. It is the humanity online, it is the World Wide Web. Pay attention to the first word: World.

Free means you don't have to deal with many currencies. Free means you don't have to worry if a user might have a credit card or not. As long as they come online and use your service is all that matters. Free is sweet.

There is free and then there is super cheap, and then there is below cost price, and then there of course is free free. You should be able to sell something below cost price for the same reasons you can offer stuff for free.

Mindfood - books, movies, music - is best served free, I think. Run ads, but offer them for free. And the web is the best distribution mechanism ever for mindfood. Technology has run leaps and bounds ahead of business models. You can't fight free, but you can make truckloads of money going along with it.

Free is the future. Hear me, Mark Cuban.

But by free I don't mean stolen: TechCrunch Has Linked To A Blog That Stole My Material.



  1. mark

    i’ve been writing a lot about this topic over the years and posted my thoughts on gladwell and anderson’s recent efforts yesterday

    http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/07/freemium-and-freeconomics.html

    i’m a big fan of free, freemium, and business models based on some form of free access to web services.

    i agree with you that technology is a fast moving industry and there is always a company around the corner who is going to take you down.

    but i don’t think that free makes you more vulnerable.

    in fact, i think paid makes you more vulnerable.

    craigslist hasn’t done much in the history of the company on its platform and UI and yet it continues to beat all comers in internet classifieds. why? because its mostly free.

    if it was mostly a paid service, i think it would be way more vulnerable to new entrants.

    i’m a big clayton christensen fan and he talks about how the companies that are going to take you down always come up from below. there isn’t much below free

    fred

    Comment by fredwilson — July 5, 2009 @ 8:37 pm

  2. Big fan of your blog Fred. I agree there isnt much below free. And that Craigslist, for now, is a stellar example of free working. On the flipside, MicroSoft and Oracle are longer term examples of companies who have battled free software for the ages. If you remember, MicroSoft Office, was all but free whenit was first introduced. You could upgrade from competitor products for nothing and buy the whole suite for 99 dollars. Then they evolved to paid and have survived. This of course could fall into your category of firms that live off of paid upgrades. Which IMHO, is the best model.

    Im a big fan of give them a free taste, then make them pay for upgrades. It is why I am still involved in a nicely profitable company, Filesanywhere.com, which competes with a company I used to be involved with, Box.net. Both offer online backups. One charges and uses that revenue to differentiate with upgraded services and customized services. The other used to charge (which is why i got involved), but now is facing the challenges of being primarily free.

    There are companies on both side of the argument, but I would rather be invested in a company that can afford to continue to invest in their products without depending on advertising, incredible volumes of traffic or raising more money.

    m

    Comment by markcuban — July 5, 2009 @ 9:28 pm

Fred Wilson

TechCrunch Has Linked To A Blog That Stole My Material


Short Is Sweet: Postcards Begat SMS Begat Twitter
by MG Siegler on July 4, 2009

140 Characters: Enough (Thief)

The Original: 140 Characters: Enough

http://twitter.com/paramendra/status/2490632053
http://twitter.com/paramendra/status/2618862974

140 Characters: Enough

Short Is Sweet: Postcards Begat SMS Begat Twitter TechCrunch You simply cannot go over 140 characters. And more often than you may imagine, that’s enough. ....... they looked at postcards and found that most of those had messages of 150 characters or less. ..... I never thought of the limitation in a negative sense, but rather as something that could inspire creativity in messages. And could even spur communication. ..... With a 140 character limit, a correlation between briefness and rudeness doesn’t exist. ..... It’s a limitation that is liberating.
Tweets are building blocks to many things. 140 characters are quite enough to say something to someone in conversation mode. You say then you listen. But the real magic of tweets is that you can insert a shortened URL into those 140 characters. That is what has been the game changer. That is what led to the concept of real time search. If a tree fell in the forest, but noone was there to witness, did the tree actually fall? Tweets have challenged massive data centers on Google property. Twitter is saying they don't need to index the websites. They just need to see what sites and pages people are visiting at any one point in time.

Twitter has nowhere close to attained critical mass, but it is only a matter of time before it does. So, yes, postcards are cool, SMS is handy, and Twitter is all the rage.

I know of people who don't blog no more, they tweet. They check email less often, they tweet. There are people who don't do RSS no more, they tweet. Twitter is where they place their bookmarks.

Atoms are building blocks. They, by definition, are small. Tweets are building blocks.

I think there is an underlying logic to the 140 characters limit we have not pinned down yet.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

The Future Is Multilingual


The Internet is the future. And that future is multilingual. This is the Internet century, and this century is multilingual. This world was always multilingual. But in this century, for the first time, we will see that lingual diversity celebrated as the natural order of things instead of a nuisance or worse. America is Europe, the Internet is America. The Internet is the new country. The Internet is the new frontier, the wild wild west. The Internet is the new moon to reach out to.

You could learn new languages if you wanted to but you don't have to. You don't have to wait for all the world's knowledge to get translated from English into your local language by really smart human beings who put out tomes of translated literature. Machines will translate on demand in real time. That changes things.

You should be able to chat with someone in their own language without learning their language, in real time.

All knowledge is local. All local knowledge is global. And that too in real time. That is the Internet way.

Communication and creation/consumption will go unhindered. Languages will not get in the way. The idea that the smartest people in every culture need to learn English first, that is passe. That is so 20th century. Many still might, but not because it is demanded of them.

I love the English language, but I love linguistic diversity more. Linguistic diversity is the humanity flowering the way it is meant to flower. Each human being is unique just like each snowflake is unique. Each sentence each human being naturally speaks is unique. Is that something or is that something? Finally we have the technology to map that uniqueness. The Internet is mapping software.

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