"Free" - Business Model, Crossroads, or Jumped the Shark?

My StratMktg professor, Dr. Jim Narus, thought I was crazy to keep talking about strategies and concepts built on free or freemium. None of those fit into the existing models or textbooks, so they can't possibly be viable, correct?

I'm not sure what the world will look like in 5 years, but here are a few other opinions:

• Malcolm Gladwell - Priced to Sell
• Seth Godin - Malcolm is wrong
• The Financial Times - Free does not like up to its billing
• Mark Cuban - Free vs. Freely Distributed
• Mark Cuban - When you succeed with Free, you are going to die by Free
• Chris Anderson - Malcolm, why so threatened?
• Squidoo Lens on "Free" - Does Free make sense? (public discussion)
• Fred Wilson - Freemium and Freeconomics
• A recent digital business example - When SaaS hits Critical Mass, the Game Changes

Whatever the future holds, the concept begs us to ask ourselves if we are being competitive in the market and continuing to add value to customers. Just as I wrote about the impact that China will have on our world, the idea that digital assets, goods and services will change your world is inevitable.

It's now up to each person to decide how they will react to the new rules.

How David beats Goliath

Every once in a while, usually late at night when I'm a little punchy, I come across an article like this from Malcom Gladwell which seems to connect a lot of dots that we studied throughout the semester. I sent this one to my classmates because not only did I think it was great to see OpsMgmt, ITMgmt, and StratMktg concepts all woven together, but because I believe the alternatve mindsets that are discussed are important to consider as we prepare to visit China, Japan and South America over the next 2 weeks. Much of what we'll experience on these trips will require people to recognize that other cultures see the challenges of the world differently, and that these alternative approaches may be their competition or partner. Having the flexibility to understand these differences, and either embrace or reject this alternative thinking, may make the difference between success and failure in the future.