Really interesting interview with Joi Ito in last Sunday’s Observer:
“I’m not sure about the idea that information is the same as a thing – so if you give it away, you don’t have it anymore. A banana is worth a dollar, you give it away and you don’t have it anymore. But that’s a very simplistic view of the way in which the information economy works. If you are an academic, your value increases every time someone references one of your papers. If you charged a dollar for everyone to cite your paper, that would increase the friction involved in that transaction.
And which would you rather? That you get paid or that everyone cites your work? It’s obvious. There’s a tremendous amount of value in getting attention and being cited. You have to make a decision: is it more valuable for me to get cited or to create a barrier to access and get paid? If you’re Madonna and everyone knows who you are and wants your music, then you probably favour strict copyright. But if no one’s ever heard of you and some people are happy to cite you but don’t really want to pay, then a Creative Commons licence probably makes sense.”
