ABSTRACT
The scenario of a changing world of learning comes not just from the way that production creates value. It comes from the economics of knowledge itself. The physical part of a knowledge product is often relatively small compared to its counterpart in an industrial age. Education changes from merely an investment in future productivity returns to an opportunity where everyone's education raises the ability of all to improve their lives. A traditionally trained bookseller or bookstore clerk or even librarian would have a hard time finding employment at Amazon, although it is possible that some of this traditional knowledge has value within the company. Whereas both broadcast television and Google derive revenue from advertisements, only Google also gains value directly from the users of its knowledge product. The basis begins with the understanding that knowledge is a system; it grows, adapts and incorporates new pieces and its shape, function and linkages bind all prospects together.
