Finding Forrest: 23 August 2009

In his latest book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price Chris Anderson takes you on a history of how and why things became free. I found much of what he had to say interesting, although his various arguments didn't seem overwhelmingly compelling to me. However, encouraged me to think more independently about the concept of "Free" and how offering things for free can evoke a lot of different responses depending on your demographic. I can certainly see how his book could be widely debated because of that issue.

It seemed like he used most of the book to set himself up for the final chapter where he confronts the 14 most common objections to the idea of "Free" as a business model. Nonetheless, if you are in business I think Anderson presents enough information that you should be aware of and consider. The ideas of "information wanting to be free" and "abundance thinking" are worth a lot of thought when building your business model. It will also help you better establish your unique value proposition under the assumption that more and more services will eventually become free.

You can also read the book free at places like Google Books.

I just don't get the $40 million, 1.2 million pound, 4 sided scoreboard in the new Cowboy Stadium. The thing is 60 yards long and 72 feet tall. There's no way someone could sit in the stands and watch the live game on the field and not get distracted by the huge video screen demanding their attention.

I think it is hilarious the Tennessee Titans kept punting the ball into the scoreboard during last weeks preseason game, but I think it's ridiculous that Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones is standing his ground. According to an article at Yahoo Sports, he is refusing to raise it for football games, but will make an exception for a U2 concert.

I wonder when Jones will install recliners for stadium seating.

Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Cowboys on the Big Screen