The debate about Free rages on…

On both sides of this debate are incredible thinkers, incredibly smart and successful companies, and a lot of profit. Also, on both sides, are some real stinkers. Everyone is convinced that they are right, that history is on their side, that the laws of economics and psychology will win out in the end (vindicating their position).

Here’s the thing about all this…

You people keep forgetting that there is more than one way to make money.

A bunch of people will continue to figure out how to get stuff for free. A bunch of other people will continue to pay for stuff. A bunch of other people will figure out how to get whatever they want (money, power, influence, love) by giving those other bunches the stuff they want. And bunches more (who can’t figure anything out) will try to figure out how to force all this stuff from happening.

Blogging is dead. Myspace is dead. Even Ebay is dead. Nobody is using Internet Explorer. Nobody reads books anymore. Everybody is on twitter. Everybody has an iPhone. No, wait- you should be lifestreaming. No, wait- you’ll be left behind if you don’t implant a chip directly into your brain that syndicates your sensory inputs, thoughts, sexual arousal state, and bladder/bowel contents to an RSS feeder running on Web 3.7 technology.

There is no requirement that anybody be at the forefront of things. Most people, in fact, are not at the forefront of things. While some people (you?) act like the whole world will fall into a black hole if they don’t take advantage of the newest Web 3.7 technology, other people are still happy living in the stone age (literal or figurative).

A wave of new businesses are being started, as people realize that they have the power to take control of their lives. What’s driving this trend? And what are the dangers?