翻譯：比免費更好
原文：Better than Free ，同步發表於譯言的譯文。
互聯網就是一台拷貝機。在它的最基層，它拷貝我們上網時產生的每個動作、每個字元、每個想法。為了在互聯網上由此及彼地傳遞資訊，通信協定要求整條 資訊在傳送路途中被拷貝數次。IT公司從銷售促成這種無休止地拷貝的設備中賺了大錢。任何一台電腦上產生的每個比特(bit)資料都會在某地被拷貝。因 此，數位經濟正如流淌在拷貝的河流裡。與機器時代的大批量複製不同，這些拷貝要便宜得多，它們是免費的。
我們的數位通信網路被打造成讓拷貝流盡量暢通無阻。實際上，拷貝流的自由流動讓我們可以把互聯網想像成一個超級的配送系統，一旦產生了一個拷貝，它 將永遠在網路中流動，就像超導導線中的電流。現實生活中我們已經能看到證據，一旦任何能被拷貝的東西被放到互聯網上，它就會被拷貝，而且那些拷貝永遠不會 消失。即使一條狗也知道，你無法剷除互聯網上的東西。
這個超級配送系統已經成為我們的經濟和財富的基礎。對資料、想法和媒體的即時複製支撐著所有主要的經濟門類，尤其是那些與出口相關的，即美國擁有競爭優勢的產業。我們的財富坐落在一台大規模、不間斷地進行拷貝的設施上。
起先，這種經濟體系中財富的獲取來自于銷售寶貴的拷貝，因此免費拷貝的自由流動會逐漸破壞既定的秩序。如果複製我們最好的努力成果都不花分毫，我們如何能持續下去呢？簡單地說，一個人怎麼能通過銷售免費拷貝來賺錢？
我有一個答案，用簡單的話說就是：
當拷貝極大豐富的時候，它們就一錢不值了。
當拷貝極大豐富的時候，沒法被拷貝的東西就變得稀缺和值錢。
當拷貝是免費的時候，你得賣不能被拷貝的東西才行。
那什麼是不能被拷貝的？
有幾樣特質是不能被拷貝的。想想“信任”。信任不能被拷貝，你也買不到。信任必須通過時間來贏得。它下載不到，也不能被偽造，被仿冒（起碼幹不長）。如果所有別的條件都是同等的，你總是願意和你信得過的人做生意。所以“信任”在一個拷貝氾濫的世界裡是增值的無形資產。
還有幾種類似于信任的特質是難以拷貝的，因此在網路經濟中很有價值。我想檢驗它們的最好辦法是不要從生產者的角度看，而是從用戶的角度來看。我們可 以從用戶提出的一個簡單問題入手：我們為什麼要花錢買可以免費得到的東西？當有人買一件本可以免費得到的東西時，他們究竟買了什麼？
按照我對網路經濟的研究，我發現大致有8個範疇的無形價值能讓我們掏錢買本來可以免費得到的東西。
千真萬確，有8種東西比免費更好。8種無法拷貝的價值。我把它們稱為“生財要素”(generative)。生財要素就是一種需要被產生、成長、培 養與呵護的特質或屬性。生財要素不能被拷貝、克隆、偽造、複製、仿冒或再造。它是在適當的位置，經過時間積澱而唯一生成的。在數位競技場上，生財要素為免 費拷貝增添了價值，因而成為能賣錢的東西。
8個比免費更好的生財要素
即時享用 ── 無論你想要什麼，遲早你都會得到免費拷貝。但是它一旦被發佈，或者更進一步，剛被其製造者生產出來的瞬間就放到你的收件箱裡，就成了一個生財之道。很多人 在首映日到電影院去看電影，他們肯花一大筆錢去看今後能通過出租或者下載而免費或近乎免費地看到的電影。精裝書貴是因為它的即時性，而不是因為硬書殼。同 樣商品中排在頭位的經常會有溢價。作為一種可銷售的特質，即時享用有多種層次，包括能獲得beta版。“粉絲”（fans）被帶到生成過程本身之中。 Beta版通常不值錢，因為是還沒完成的產品，但它同時也有能被銷售的生財要素。即時享用是相對而言的，這是其成為生財要素的原因。它必須切合產品和用 戶。Blog和電影或汽車比起來時間感是不同的，但即時性在所有媒體中都能找到。
個性定制 ── 一份普通的演唱會錄音可能是免費的，但如果你想要一份根據你的客廳而調校出來的完美拷貝，聽起來就像在你的房間裡演奏一樣，你可能願意出大價錢。一本書的 免費拷貝可以被出版商定制以反映你過往的閱讀背景。你買的一部免費的電影可以按你需要的分類級別剪輯（無暴力鏡頭，可以講髒話）。阿司匹林是免費的，但按 照你的DNA定制的阿司匹林會非常昂貴。正如很多人注意到，個性定制要求創作者和消費者之間、藝員和粉絲之間、生產商和用戶之間的持續溝通。這是一個很深 入的生財因素，因為它是循環往復的，還很花時間。你無法拷貝由關係代表的個性化。市場行銷人員稱之為“粘性”，因為這意味著關係的雙方被粘在（投資於）這 一生財因素之中，不情願發生變化和重新來過。
專業解讀 ── 就像一個老笑話說的：軟體，免費；手冊，$10,000。但這不是笑話。有些知名公司，如 Red Hat，Apache 等，就是這麼賺錢的。它們為免費軟體提供收費服務。代碼的拷貝，僅僅是比特資料，是免費的，而且只有通過技術支持和指導才對你有價值。我懷疑許多遺傳 (genetic)資訊是由這種途徑傳遞的。目前獲得你自己的DNA拷貝會非常昂貴，但很快就不是這樣了。事實上，不久製藥公司將給你錢來得到你的基因序 列。因而你的基因序列的拷貝將是免費的，但對其含義的解讀、知道能對它做些什麼、知道如何應用它，也就是說你的基因的操作手冊，將是昂貴的。
權威認證 ── 你或許能免費獲得一份關鍵的應用軟體，但即使你不需要操作手冊，你也可能需要確認它是沒有程式設計錯誤的、可靠的、有保證的。你會願意為認證付費。我們身邊有 近乎無數的Grateful Dead樂隊風格的變種，從這個樂隊自身處買一個權威版本將確保你得到你想要的東西，或保證是該樂隊演唱的。藝術家們早就為解決這個問題頭疼了很久。照片 和版畫這類圖片在複製時，常常會有藝術家的印章（簽名）來保證權威性並提升其價格。數碼浮水印和其他的簽名技術將無法作為防止拷貝的措施（記得嗎，拷貝就像 超導流體？），但在對其在意的人那裡，它們能提升權威性這一生財因素。
觸手可得 ── 所有權是麻煩事。你需要保持你的東西整潔、持續更新，對數碼材料還要備份。在這個流動的世界裡，你還得一直帶著它們。很多人，包括我，很樂意用訂閱方式讓 別人來照管這些東西。我們願意付錢給Acme Digital Warehouse，讓它照管音樂、電影或照片（我們自己的或其他攝影者的）。同理適用於書和blog。Acme備份每份東西，付錢給創作者，並按我們的 需要提供給我們。我們用電話、PDA、手提電腦或大螢幕設備隨處訪問到這些內容。相比於我們自己照料、備份、添加、組織這些內容（的麻煩），隨著時光流 逝，能夠免費獲得大部分內容這件事會變得越來越沒有吸引力。
虛擬成真 ── 數碼拷貝的核心是沒有實體。你可以得到一件作品的免費拷貝並顯示在螢幕上。但也許你更想在大螢幕上看高解析度的版本，也許還想要3D？PDF檔很好，但 有時將同樣的內容印在雪白的紙上、用皮面裝訂起來就更美妙了。這種感覺真好。與35個其他人一起在你最喜歡的免費遊戲中同處一室又是什麼感覺？在虛擬成真 方面能做的幾乎沒有盡頭。確實，對今天來說的高解析度儘管還能吸引人買票去大劇院觀賞，可能明天就能移植到家庭影院，但總會有新的、好得離譜的顯示技術是 一般消費者不能擁有的，比如說鐳射投影、全息顯示，甚至Star Trek裡面類比艙(holodesk)！任何事情的虛擬成真都比不上音樂由真人進行的現場演奏。音樂是免費的，真人演奏卻很貴。這種模式很快就成為普遍性的，不光對音樂家，作家也是如此。書是免費的，但真人朗誦是昂貴的。
慷慨解囊 ── 我相信觀眾願意付錢給創作者。粉絲喜歡給藝術家、音樂家、作家等回報來表示他們的贊許，因為這允許他們聯繫在一起。但只有在付款非常容易、定價合理以及他 們確信錢會直接讓創作者獲利的時候，他們才會解囊。Radiohead樂隊最近那個引人注目的讓粉絲們願意給多少都行的試驗，很好地顯示了資助的力量。那 種粉絲與他們所欣賞的藝術家之間微妙的、無形的聯繫是物有所值的。Radiohead的事例中每次下載的付費是$5。還有很多觀眾僅僅出於感覺良好而付錢 的其他例子。
脫穎而出 ── 上面的那些生財要素都是有關於創造性的數位作品的，而“脫穎而出”屬於由許多作品積累起來的更高層次。把一件作品定價為零無助於吸引到直接的注意，而且實 際上還可能產生反效果。然而，不管定價如何，如果人們看不到，作品就毫無價值。沒被發現的傑作一錢不值。市面上有數以百萬計的書籍、歌曲、應用軟體等等， 大多數是免費的，都想吸引我們的注意力。因而，能被人發現是有價值的。
Amazon和Netflix這種巨型聚合商(aggregator)靠的就是幫助使用者找到他們喜愛的作品而賺錢。他們給“長尾”現象帶來福音，把 利基使用者和利基產品聯繫到一起。但不幸的是，長尾只對於巨型聚合商以及更大的中層聚合商，比如出版商、製片商和唱片公司才有好處。長尾對於創作者自身無關 痛癢。但由於“脫穎而出”只能在系統層面上才真正起作用，創作者離不開聚合商。這就是為什麼出版商、製片商和唱片公司（合稱PSL）不會消亡的原因。它們 的存在不是需要用它們來傳播拷貝（互聯網會做這件事），而是需要通過它們把使用者的注意力傳回到作品上。它們在無窮的可能性當中發現、培育、精煉出那些它們 認為會被粉絲們接受的創作者的作品。其他的媒介，比如批評家和評論家，也能引導注意力。粉絲們依靠這些多層次的發掘工具從無數作品中找到有價值的作品。發 現天才就是生財之道。許多年來，在紙上印刷發行的《電視指南》賺的錢比它所“指南”的3大電視網加起來還要多。這份雜誌把觀眾引導到每週的精彩節目上。節 目僅靠免費對觀眾並沒有價值。很少有人懷疑，除了那些巨型聚合商，許多PSL也能在這個免費的世界裡通過銷售“脫穎而出”的機會，結合其他的生財要素而賺 錢有道。
上述8種特性要求一套全新的商業技能。在免費拷貝的世界裡無法靠沿用分銷技能而取得成功，因為天幕之下的巨大拷貝機（互聯網）已經能做到了。有關知 識產權和版權的法律技能快沒有用武之地了。囤積居奇也不管用了。這8大生財要素要求人們理解到產品的豐富如何催生了共用的精神狀態，慷慨大方如何成為商業 模式，培養和哺育無法通過點擊一下滑鼠就能複製的商業要素有多麼重要。
簡單地說，在網路經濟中錢不會跟著拷貝走，而是跟著注意力走。注意力有自己的路徑。
細心的讀者會注意到一個明顯的遺漏。我一直沒有提到廣告。廣告被廣泛認為是對付免費困境的近乎唯一的解決方案。我見到的大多數對付免費的方案都會多少涉及到廣告。我認為廣告只是注意力會走的途徑之一，長期看來，廣告只是通過銷售免費產品賺錢的新方式的一部分。
但那是另一個故事了。
在廣告的空洞表層之下，上述8大生財要素能給無所不在的免費拷貝增添價值，使它們值得被做廣告。這些生財要素適合所有數位拷貝，也適合那些拷貝的邊際成本近乎零的所有產品（參見我 Technology Wants to Be Free 一文）。甚至生產實體產品的行業也發現複製成本趨向於零，所以它們也會像數位拷貝那樣行事。地圖剛剛跨過了這道門檻，基因圖譜也快了。小型數碼設備、小電 器（如手機）也正走向這個方向。製藥業早就如此，但他們不想讓人知道，生產一顆藥丸幾乎不花錢。在藥品上，我們是為權威認證和即時享用付錢。終有一天，我 們會為個性定制付錢。
維護生財要素比在工廠裡複製產品要難得多，還有很多東西要學，要理解。歡迎把你的感悟告訴我。
譯注：本文翻譯得到作者Kevin Kelly的許可。作者特別指出，文章的構想最早見於其著作 New Rules for the New Economy（中譯本《網路經濟的十種策略》，廣州出版社，ISBN 7-80655-115-8）。
Better Than Free
The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.
Our digital communication network has been engineered so that copies flow with as little friction as possible. Indeed, copies flow so freely we could think of the internet as a super-distribution system, where once a copy is introduced it will continue to flow through the network forever, much like electricity in a superconductive wire. We see evidence of this in real life. Once anything that can be copied is brought into contact with internet, it will be copied, and those copies never leave. Even a dog knows you can't erase something once it's flowed on the internet.
This super-distribution system has become the foundation of our economy and wealth. The instant reduplication of data, ideas, and media underpins all the major economic sectors in our economy, particularly those involved with exports -- that is, those industries where the US has a competitive advantage. Our wealth sits upon a very large device that copies promiscuously and constantly.
Yet the previous round of wealth in this economy was built on selling precious copies, so the free flow of free copies tends to undermine the established order. If reproductions of our best efforts are free, how can we keep going? To put it simply, how does one make money selling free copies?
I have an answer. The simplest way I can put it is thus:
When copies are super abundant, they become worthless.
When copies are super abundant, stuff which can't be copied becomes scarce and valuable.
When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied.
Well, what can't be copied?
There are a number of qualities that can't be copied. Consider "trust." Trust cannot be copied. You can't purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long). If everything else is equal, you'll always prefer to deal with someone you can trust. So trust is an intangible that has increasing value in a copy saturated world.
There are a number of other qualities similar to trust that are difficult to copy, and thus become valuable in this network economy. I think the best way to examine them is not from the eye of the producer, manufacturer, or creator, but from the eye of the user. We can start with a simple user question: why would we ever pay for anything that we could get for free? When anyone buys a version of something they could get for free, what are they purchasing?
From my study of the network economy I see roughly eight categories of intangible value that we buy when we pay for something that could be free.
In a real sense, these are eight things that are better than free. Eight uncopyable values. I call them "generatives." A generative value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown, cultivated, nurtured. A generative thing can not be copied, cloned, faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced. It is generated uniquely, in place, over time. In the digital arena, generative qualities add value to free copies, and therefore are something that can be sold.
Eight Generatives Better Than Free
Immediacy -- Sooner or later you can find a free copy of whatever you want, but getting a copy delivered to your inbox the moment it is released -- or even better, produced -- by its creators is a generative asset. Many people go to movie theaters to see films on the opening night, where they will pay a hefty price to see a film that later will be available for free, or almost free, via rental or download. Hardcover books command a premium for their immediacy, disguised as a harder cover. First in line often commands an extra price for the same good. As a sellable quality, immediacy has many levels, including access to beta versions. Fans are brought into the generative process itself. Beta versions are often de-valued because they are incomplete, but they also possess generative qualities that can be sold. Immediacy is a relative term, which is why it is generative. It has to fit with the product and the audience. A blog has a different sense of time than a movie, or a car. But immediacy can be found in any media.
Personalization -- A generic version of a concert recording may be free, but if you want a copy that has been tweaked to sound perfect in your particular living room -- as if it were preformed in your room -- you may be willing to pay a lot. The free copy of a book can be custom edited by the publishers to reflect your own previous reading background. A free movie you buy may be cut to reflect the rating you desire (no violence, dirty language okay). Aspirin is free, but aspirin tailored to your DNA is very expensive. As many have noted, personalization requires an ongoing conversation between the creator and consumer, artist and fan, producer and user. It is deeply generative because it is iterative and time consuming. You can't copy the personalization that a relationship represents. Marketers call that "stickiness" because it means both sides of the relationship are stuck (invested) in this generative asset, and will be reluctant to switch and start over.
Interpretation -- As the old joke goes: software, free. The manual, $10,000. But it's no joke. A couple of high profile companies, like Red Hat, Apache, and others make their living doing exactly that. They provide paid support for free software. The copy of code, being mere bits, is free -- and becomes valuable to you only through the support and guidance. I suspect a lot of genetic information will go this route. Right now getting your copy of your DNA is very expensive, but soon it won't be. In fact, soon pharmaceutical companies will PAY you to get your genes sequence. So the copy of your sequence will be free, but the interpretation of what it means, what you can do about it, and how to use it -- the manual for your genes so to speak -- will be expensive.
Authenticity -- You might be able to grab a key software application for free, but even if you don't need a manual, you might like to be sure it is bug free, reliable, and warranted. You'll pay for authenticity. There are nearly an infinite number of variations of the Grateful Dead jams around; buying an authentic version from the band itself will ensure you get the one you wanted. Or that it was indeed actually performed by the Dead. Artists have dealt with this problem for a long time. Graphic reproductions such as photographs and lithographs often come with the artist's stamp of authenticity -- a signature -- to raise the price of the copy. Digital watermarks and other signature technology will not work as copy-protection schemes (copies are super-conducting liquids, remember?) but they can serve up the generative quality of authenticity for those who care.
Accessibility -- Ownership often sucks. You have to keep your things tidy, up-to-date, and in the case of digital material, backed up. And in this mobile world, you have to carry it along with you. Many people, me included, will be happy to have others tend our "possessions" by subscribing to them. We'll pay Acme Digital Warehouse to serve us any musical tune in the world, when and where we want it, as well as any movie, photo (ours or other photographers). Ditto for books and blogs. Acme backs everything up, pays the creators, and delivers us our desires. We can sip it from our phones, PDAs, laptops, big screens from where-ever. The fact that most of this material will be available free, if we want to tend it, back it up, keep adding to it, and organize it, will be less and less appealing as time goes on.
Embodiment -- At its core the digital copy is without a body. You can take a free copy of a work and throw it on a screen. But perhaps you'd like to see it in hi-res on a huge screen? Maybe in 3D? PDFs are fine, but sometimes it is delicious to have the same words printed on bright white cottony paper, bound in leather. Feels so good. What about dwelling in your favorite (free) game with 35 others in the same room? There is no end to greater embodiment. Sure, the hi-res of today -- which may draw ticket holders to a big theater -- may migrate to your home theater tomorrow, but there will always be new insanely great display technology that consumers won't have. Laser projection, holographic display, the holodeck itself! And nothing gets embodied as much as music in a live performance, with real bodies. The music is free; the bodily performance expensive. This formula is quickly becoming a common one for not only musicians, but even authors. The book is free; the bodily talk is expensive.
Patronage -- It is my belief that audiences WANT to pay creators. Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect. But they will only pay if it is very easy to do, a reasonable amount, and they feel certain the money will directly benefit the creators. Radiohead's recent high-profile experiment in letting fans pay them whatever they wished for a free copy is an excellent illustration of the power of patronage. The elusive, intangible connection that flows between appreciative fans and the artist is worth something. In Radiohead's case it was about $5 per download. There are many other examples of the audience paying simply because it feels good.
Findability -- Where as the previous generative qualities reside within creative digital works, findability is an asset that occurs at a higher level in the aggregate of many works. A zero price does not help direct attention to a work, and in fact may sometimes hinder it. But no matter what its price, a work has no value unless it is seen; unfound masterpieces are worthless. When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention -- and most of it free -- being found is valuable.
The giant aggregators such as Amazon and Netflix make their living in part by helping the audience find works they love. They bring out the good news of the "long tail" phenomenon, which we all know, connects niche audiences with niche productions. But sadly, the long tail is only good news for the giant aggregators, and larger mid-level aggregators such as publishers, studios, and labels. The "long tail" is only lukewarm news to creators themselves. But since findability can really only happen at the systems level, creators need aggregators. This is why publishers, studios, and labels (PSL)will never disappear. They are not needed for distribution of the copies (the internet machine does that). Rather the PSL are needed for the distribution of the users' attention back to the works. From an ocean of possibilities the PSL find, nurture and refine the work of creators that they believe fans will connect with. Other intermediates such as critics and reviewers also channel attention. Fans rely on this multi-level apparatus of findability to discover the works of worth out of the zillions produced. There is money to be made (indirectly for the creatives) by finding talent. For many years the paper publication TV Guide made more money than all of the 3 major TV networks it "guided" combined. The magazine guided and pointed viewers to the good stuff on the tube that week. Stuff, it is worth noting, that was free to the viewers. There is little doubt that besides the mega-aggregators, in the world of the free many PDLs will make money selling findability -- in addition to the other generative qualities.
These eight qualities require a new skill set. Success in the free-copy world is not derived from the skills of distribution since the Great Copy Machine in the Sky takes care of that. Nor are legal skills surrounding Intellectual Property and Copyright very useful anymore. Nor are the skills of hoarding and scarcity. Rather, these new eight generatives demand an understanding of how abundance breeds a sharing mindset, how generosity is a business model, how vital it has become to cultivate and nurture qualities that can't be replicated with a click of the mouse.
In short, the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits.
Careful readers will note one conspicuous absence so far. I have said nothing about advertising. Ads are widely regarded as the solution, almost the ONLY solution, to the paradox of the free. Most of the suggested solutions I've seen for overcoming the free involve some measure of advertising. I think ads are only one of the paths that attention takes, and in the long-run, they will only be part of the new ways money is made selling the free.
But that's another story.
Beneath the frothy layer of advertising, these eight generatives will supply the value to ubiquitous free copies, and make them worth advertising for. These generatives apply to all digital copies, but also to any kind of copy where the marginal cost of that copy approaches zero. (See my essay on Technology Wants to Be Free.) Even material industries are finding that the costs of duplication near zero, so they too will behave like digital copies. Maps just crossed that threshold. Genetics is about to. Gadgets and small appliances (like cell phones) are sliding that way. Pharmaceuticals are already there, but they don't want anyone to know. It costs nothing to make a pill. We pay for Authenticity and Immediacy in drugs. Someday we'll pay for Personalization.
Maintaining generatives is a lot harder than duplicating copies in a factory. There is still a lot to learn. A lot to figure out. Write to me if you do.
[Translations: Chinese, French, Italian]
Posted on January 31, 2008 at 6:21 PM
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