Speaking of experimentation and business models, Adam Thierer of the Progress and Freedom Foundation had his essay on Larry Lessig's Code posted at Cato Unbound on Friday.
Adam argues that quite to the contrary of Lessig's pessimism about an unregulated Internet, the digital society is a thriving market where there's something for everyone:
[D]espite all this hand-wringing by the Lessigites, there exists a diverse spectrum of innovative digital alternatives from which to choose. Do you want wide-open, tinker-friendly devices, sites, or software? You got it. Do you want a more closed, simple, and safe online experience? You can have that, too. And there are plenty of choices in between. It sounds more like "perfect competition" than "perfect control" to me. Of course, one need not believe that the markets in code are "perfectly competitive" to accept that they are "competitive enough" -- or at least, better than regulatory alternatives. That is the critical distinction between cyber-libertarians and Lessig's cyber-collectivists.
The freedom to experiment--to not be locked into a single regulatory mold--is what has given us this spectrum of digital experiences Adam is talking about. No central authority is telling devices makers what their products can or can't do, which results in a market in digital devices that runs the gambit. That same freedom to experiment is also what is giving us such a rich new set of options for consuming digital content.
We're happy to agree with Adam that Lessig's vision of "perfect control" never came to pass. Indeed, far from it: we're enjoying unprecedented competition in the digital age, with a host of Internet companies constantly experimenting with different ways to offer users a wide range of digital experiences from which to choose.
Sounds like a winning strategy to me.
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