O’Reilly Radar > “the free download isn’t a frivolous act”:

“A lot has to do with the ratio of possible consumers of the free product who might be converted to paying customers to the total market size. If I have awareness with .01% of the target market, giving copies away to raise awareness to 10% of the market, where 10% of those might convert (1% total) is a good deal. But if I have awareness with 60% of the target market, and give my product away, with a 10% conversion rate, I’ve lost a great deal.”

I believe Tim O’Reilly is at the forefront of the publishing industry let alone the web industry and this is just a few signs of his genius

“That’s why “the free download isn’t a frivolous act” is such a profound statement. We’re still learning the science, if you will, of online promotion via viral distribution. We should be running lots of experiments — experiments that we measure — and sharing the results so that we can all learn what works, not just taking either redistribution or restriction as religion. I hope to change my mind and my business practices many times as we continue to learn about what works.”

I havent listened to Harvey Danger since their Flagpole Sitta days so I’m excited to listen to their new album for free courtesy of the band