午后咖啡unit43 The Networked Economy Explosion 網(wǎng)絡(luò)經(jīng)濟爆炸
凱利發(fā)表的《新經(jīng)濟之新規(guī)則》一書提示了網(wǎng)絡(luò)經(jīng)濟中取得成功的“豐富”法則 ――力量來源于豐富(Power comes from abundance), 這與傳統(tǒng)的“物以稀為貴”(Value comes from scarcity)恰恰相反。一些明智的電腦公司走贈送之道，免費發(fā)放網(wǎng)絡(luò)瀏覽器，推動銷售電腦輔助產(chǎn)品與配套服務(wù)。
What we’re witnessing today in the realm of cyberspace – the online reformulation of everything from the way we plan and learn to how we shop and trade stocks – may represent no less a world-transforming change than the spectacular burst of creation in the era of Cambrian Explosion (寒武紀爆發(fā)) so long ago.
New Rules for the New Economy by Kevin Kelly is a guidebook that informs us about what to expect and how to deal with the fabulous things to come. The key premise of this book is that the principles governing the world of soft – the world of intangibles, of media, of software, and of services – will soon command the world of the hard – the world of reality, of atoms, of objects, of steel and oil, and the hard work done by the sweat of brows.
The book appeals to geeks (怪人) and also turns on mainstream readers who are a little more than curious about where the digitally rendered world is headed. Where it’s likely headed, in Kelly’s words, is “upside down”. Chew on the idea that “the surest way to smartness is through massive dumbness”. What that means in essence is that tiny computer chips, though relatively dumb on their own, can be added to billions of mundane (平庸的) objects and, thereby, yield substantial economic benefits.
In the conventional world of supply and demand where we all grow up, value came from scarcity. As in diamonds, gold and oil. In a world of digital imperatives, power comes from abundance. That was a principle Apple (蘋果電腦公司) tragically failed to understand when it backed off from licensing its graphic computer interface, assuring that its market share would be savaged by Microsoft’s more open Windows operating system.
That leads us to another of Kelly’s laws: follow the free. As the law of plentitude kicks in, savvy companies such as Netscape (網(wǎng)景公司) distribute its Web browser for free in order to sell auxiliary services or products. Similarly, expensive cell phones are offered as freebies (免費品) to gain contracts for phone services.
Kelly finally tells us to look around and see how much the world has changed under our own feet. An American farmer today may still get some dirt under his fingernails, but much of his labor is performed under the umbrella of the electronic network. His tractor has a wireless phone and a satellite-linked GPS location device; his home computer is connected to a never-ending stream of weather data, grain market reports and moisture detectors in the soil.
