New Yorker
“Free: The Future of a Radical Price,” a new book from Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson tackles the idea of zero price in the digital age. Anderson wrote “The Long Tail,” an era-defining book, and just as that book found both critics and fans, “Free,” out today (July 7) is likely to have both as well. Bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, author of “The Tipping Point” and other books that explore behavioral economics in layman terms, wrote an extensive, critical review of “Free” in the New Yorker. Gladwell took issue with Anderson’s use of YouTube as an example of how a business can survive through free goods. YouTube is a cultural dynamo but has struggled to create a meaningful revenue model because free can invite problems.