What I did for Free

Free, Chris Anderson’s tome about an economy based on giving information away for free has generated quite a bit of buzz, mostly from people in the information business who don’t want it to be true. While you can pay the full $26.99 price for the hard cover edition, I chose to download the audio version for, well, free. The book is also available to read free online.

One of the most fascinating parts is a lists of 50 business models built on free. And one of the best arguments for the book’s premise is the failing newspaper industry. Why pay for one newspaper, when you can get all the news you want on the internet?

Since reading (listening to) the book, I’ve been paying attention to things that come my way without cost.

1. Drinks (for seniors) with my weekly meal at Chick fil-A.
2. Ebook, The Buccaneer Scholar by James Marcus Bach – a limited time free download.
3. Books, movies, PDF and audio downloads from Denver Public Library.
4. Websites, blogs, and podcasts.
5. Instructional ebooks.
6. Classified ads from Craigslist.
7. Concerts in the park.
8. Promotional tote bag from Target that doubles as a checkerboard.
9. Coupon for a free meal with purchase from various restaurants.
10. Complete TV shows online.
11. Cell phone with purchase of time.
12. Gifts—a fused glass peace sign pendant from my sister-in-law.
13. One-year subscription to my favorite newsletter, Winning Ways as a thank you for being a long-time subscriber.

I think Anderson is on to something.

Is college still a good investment?

That’s the question Warren Buffett was asked in a recent interview on ABC News. His answer (and I’m paraphrasing here) “it’s always a good idea to invest in yourself because nobody can take that away from you. But college isn’t right for everybody.”

A college education that has always been a given for those who want to climb the corporate ladder. These tough economic times present several problems in pursuing a degree in the traditional way.

1. Colleges, without even a nod to the economic realities, continue to raise tuition and other costs out of the range of most people.
2. People have less money and less inclination to go into debt even when loan money is available.
3. While education costs more, the return on the investment is shrinking. Students graduating with $80-100,000 in debt are no longer guaranteed a decent job to help them pay off that debt.
4. The world of knowledge grows and changes faster and faster every day and colleges have a difficult time keeping up. In the cutting edge fields, such as social marketing, college lag woefully behind the real world.
5. The traditional education system occupies a shrinking portion of the total learning market. Many more options are available, including an explosion of online opportunities.

In case you were wondering, Warren Buffett holds a master’s degree in economics from Columbia University.

Be a Cartoonist Even if You Can’t Draw

Now you can create your own comic strip even if you can’t draw. At Make Beliefs Comix, you can select a character, determine his or her emotion and fill in the talk or thought balloon. And you can do it in seven languages—English, Spanish, French, Italian, German Portuguese and Latin. Latin? Yup, Latin.

Used as a teaching aid with autistic children or just to make reading and writing fun, the site was named one of the most innovative sites by Google’s Literacy Project, UNESCO, and the International Reading Association. Started by Bill Zimmerman after his retirement in 2006 at age 65, the site allows students a way to “tap into their creativity and tell their own graphic stories.” It is supported by contributions.

The Textbook Racket and the Anti-Textbook Movement

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to dump textbooks and the $350 million annual expense in favor of online resources.

“Today,” he explains in his blog, “our kids get their information from the Internet, downloaded onto their iPods, and in Twitter feeds to their cell phones. A world of up-to-date information fits easily into their pockets and onto their computer screens. So why are California's public school students still forced to lug around antiquated, heavy, expensive textbooks?”

Good question, but first, a quick disclaimer. Nobody loves books more than I do. My house is stuffed to the rafters with them, I visit my local library three-four times a week, and I read ten books a month. My problem is with textbooks.

Simply speaking, I think the textbook industry is a racket. The books are outrageously expensive and “updated” so frequently that used books are rarely an option. Even with regular revisions, they are frequently out-of-date by the time they are in print, and they are always static. I am also appalled by the giant backpacks students must lug around.

In an earlier post, I suggested that textbooks on Amazon’s Kindle made a lot of sense, if only for the portability.

Author and blogger Seth Godin called using textbooks “academic malpractice” and says he got more response to this post than any other post ever.

The governator concluded with the warning that “As the music and newspaper industries will attest, those who adapt quickly to changing consumer and business demands will thrive in our increasingly digital society and worldwide economy.”

The monopolistic textbook industry may have just priced itself out of existence. Maybe it’s time we start a movement.

Tuition free colleges in USA

With all the talk about the high (and rising) cost of college, I was surprised to learn that a few colleges right here in the USA offer free tuition for a real, accredited education. Ranging from small liberal arts schools to highly specialized programs in engineering and music, these schools can be very competitive. They include the U.S. military academies, which trade a prestigious education for a subsequent stint in the military.

Other tuition-free colleges, such as Cooper Union in NYC, subsidizes students through large endowments. And some, like the College of the Ozarks, require students to participate in work-study programs to pay for their education.

For a complete list of these schools and their admissions requirements, see this slide show at Business Week.