[Tech] Networks and Productivity

An understated but profound statement about networks and productivity. Makes we wonder how well we can intentionally design such things.

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2005/04/amazoncom_books.html



The Erie Canal was an engineering triumph, to be sure. But Bernstein notes that it was also an economic triumph. This was one of the first great American examples of network effects—later seen with the telegraph, telephone, and ultimately the Internet. Connecting more and more people through a system makes the individuals more productive and capable and makes the network itself a powerful economic force.

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