Wired magazine editor discusses the free revolution ushered in by the internet
A company does not have to be based online to benefit from the explosion of the internet - web-based services are one of the biggest contributions to small business growth, said Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine.
Anderson spoke with CBC News about the theory behind his new book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price, which discusses how starting a small business has become easier than ever thanks to the abundance of cost-efficient online services.
"The internet has a set of tools for where we work, and the fact that it is increasingly free has made it the golden age of the small company," he told the news provider. "It's a great time to start companies right now. It's never been cheaper."
For example, Anderson highlighted the proliferation of free software based on open source and software-as-a-service models, saying that it has lowered the cost of starting a small business significantly.
While they represent reduced costs for businesses, web-based services - known as cloud computing - actually present a significant revenue channel for those who provide them. Compliance Research Group recently projected that cloud computing services will grow from US$6.4 billion worldwide in 2008 to US$14.8 billion in 2012.
