For the past couple of months I have been working my way through The Wealth of Networks by Yochai Benkler.
Benkler is an economics professors who specialises in areas surrounding the media and the internet.
The book is a very comprehensive walk through issues like net neutrality, the US Sonny Bono act, the DCMA, software patents, copyright, trademarks and the open source model.
Benkler sits on the side of the content is free movement which is reflected in his writing.
Most pertinent at the moment is his economic justification for social software, networks and related web services, that seem on first glance to be anti-market economy. This helps explain how flickr, MySpace, Digg and YouTube have a hope of success.
Benkler's book can be downloaded under a creative commons license, but the book is more convenient. ;-)
Benkler is an economics professors who specialises in areas surrounding the media and the internet.
The book is a very comprehensive walk through issues like net neutrality, the US Sonny Bono act, the DCMA, software patents, copyright, trademarks and the open source model.
Benkler sits on the side of the content is free movement which is reflected in his writing.
Most pertinent at the moment is his economic justification for social software, networks and related web services, that seem on first glance to be anti-market economy. This helps explain how flickr, MySpace, Digg and YouTube have a hope of success.
Benkler's book can be downloaded under a creative commons license, but the book is more convenient. ;-)
