The Amazon / eBay / Google Tactic (or: "Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now!")

I was looking for an excuse to post a Red Hot Chili Peppers pic.

Business 2.0’s article, The Great Giveaway,

takes a look at the tactic being used by Amazon, eBay and Google:

giving developers access to their databases — for free. Such an idea

would be unthinkable a little while ago, but by following Clay Shirky’s

maxim of what makes workable P2P (“Centralize what makes you money and

distribute what costs you money”) these three powerhouses are not only

enabling other businesses, they’re also driving customers their way and

turning themselves into application platforms.