The Chronology of a Quote: "Information wants to be free."
Chronology of "Information wants to be free."
1984: "All information should be free" (Anderson, 94, and Levy).
1984: "On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other (Anderson, 96, quoting Stewart Brand)."
2009: "Commodity information (everyone gets the same version) wants to be free. Customized information (you get something unique and meaningful to you) wants to be expensive (Anderson, 97)."
2009: "Abundant information wants to be free. Scarce information wants to be expensive (Anderson, 97)."
Anderson, Chris. Free. The Future of a Radical Price. Hyperion. 2009.
Levy, Steven. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. Penguin Books. 1984.