Information Rules

A thrilling exploration and helpful primer on the new economics of the information age and network economy. Information goods - from movies and music to software code and stock quotes - have now displaced industrial goods as the key drivers of markets and information business has, in turn, transformed into a highly competitive battlefield. However, the underlying economic principles that describe the exchange of goods in a free-market economy are very much the same. Forget about economics being a highly theoretical and dull subject, Information Rules is a well-researched systematic analysis by two Berkeley professors, crammed with examples of recent successes and failures. Shapiro and Varian consider how to market and distribute goods in the network economy, citing examples from industries as diverse as airlines, software, entertainment and communications. The authors also cover issues such as pricing, intellectual property, versioning, lock-in, compatibility and standards. This book is certainly not a bunch of speculative conjectures on the next new hyped-up technobabble concept and/or technology that will soon revolutionize the world. If you're looking for spin, whether to guide you in your business choices or for marketing purposes, you won't find it here. The objective of this book is to clearly communicate economic theories pertinent to the information age, and to provide powerful tools for strategic decision-making and rules of engagement for surviving and winning standards wars. Information Rules is aimed at the hardcore technologist, although it has been largely purged of technical jargon. The only quibble is that the authors have bulked it up a bit by being more repetitious than they need to be. However, like any business book, the concepts have to be taken by the reader and applied. (Kirkus UK)