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1. Still the best book about economics of the “New Economy”
   I read this book first time in 1999, in a MBA course about technology and innovation.For me, this is still the best book about economic theory applied to information economy. This book is a must. Great work from Varian and Shapiro.

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2. Foundational text on a future economy
   This book is the basis for so much that we already know – or should know. Re-reading it this year (2008) after so long was a shock to my senses. It showed me how on target the economic principles expressed between the covers were.Of course, that is one of the points of the book: old economic principles still hold in “new” economies. The strategies of the most successful firms today can be held up against the principles of this book as a standard – and they will be in synch.If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it – especially if you are in or planning to enter the tech economy. Do not be fooled by some of the “dated” material, since some time has obviously passed since its first publication. There are comments about technological developments held in suspense for the authors at that time – the outcome of which we are already well aware. For example, the authors make much of Netscape’s stardom of that time. Now, of course, it is a different story. Regardless, such examples do not diminish the fundamental economics lesson in this book.

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3. A text book for commercial strategy in the Information Economy
   This book tied together a lot of concepts that I was vaguely aware of e.g. lock-in, discounting of information products and standards wars. Until reading it however had no idea that these and other information economy strategies could all be treated together in such a holistic way. The book is clearly written in the form of a text-book. It takes a bit of concentration to read it but it’s worth it if you can spare the time. Although old, the examples described in the book are timeless and are completely relevant to the information economy of today.

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4. A must read book for current days
   When I bought this book I really expected it was addressed to a very specific professional area, like Computer Scientists or Economists, or even MBA students. I was completly wrong. In fact, this well-written book clarifies many thinks about the important value of information, concepts, relationshipments and additionally rich samples. Consequently, we start to have a better comprehention about several business involved with “Information” (I mean: nowadays, everything, every commercial and non-commercion relationshipment). It is 100% recommmended, no matter what is your work or your dedicated area of studying. Information really rules…

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5. Still quite relevant
   I learned about the book and read it twenty years after its first release and I still think it’s quite relevant to what we do in IT world. It’s truly about durable economics principles.

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6. A book that doesn’t get’s old even with technological change!
   An amazing book that lays a coherent background to understanding network markets. I have read many papers on this but this is the first book I found that lays it in plain english and a coherent easy-to-understand book. A must read for any economist (or even for the general public!) interested in network economies.

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7. Great reading
   Topics- differential pricing- zero marginal cost economy- lock in- role of standards- policy making- network externalities and positive feedback

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8. The network effect!
   Great book, and full of useful insights.

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9. Un classique qui mérite sa réputation pour aborder quelques enjeux de l’économie digitale. De plus l’ouvrage est très pédagogique et claire.

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10. Auch wenn das Buch schon ein wenig Älter ist trifft der Großteil der „Regeln“ für da heutige Informationszeitalter noch zu. Der Autor gibt auch heut noch eine Vision wie sich die Informationstechnik und die Welt in den nächsten Jahren verändern wird. Das Buch hat Suchfaktor und lässt sich sehr gut lesen. Klare Empfehlung von mir.

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11. Examples are a bit dated. But contents still relevant. Extremely well written.

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12. Excellent economic backgrounder for anybody entering the IT field.

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13. This book was used as basis in a course about information economics in grad school. It is a visionary book describing the phenomena we are witnessing in todays economy.

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