New Rules For The New Economy [Paperback]

There's hype and then there's the Internet. The widespread emergence of the World Wide Web and the idea of a network economy have set new records for excess in overheated marketing campaigns, breathless newspaper and magazine articles, and topsy-turvy financial markets. From his perch as founding editor of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly has long been one of the new economy's chief hypesters. In New Rules for the New Economy, Kelly tries to encapsulate the characteristics of this emerging economic order by laying out 10 rules for how the wired world operates. The result is a dizzying, sometimes confusing, but always thought-provoking look at the behavior of networks and their effect on our economic lives. At the root of this network revolution is communication. As Kelly writes:

Communication is the foundation of society, of our culture, of our humanity, of our own individual identity, and of all economic systems. This is why networks are such a big deal. Communication is so close to culture and society itself that the effects of technologizing it are beyond the scale of a mere industrial-sector cycle. Communication, and its ally computers, is a special case in economic history. Not because it happens to be the fashionable leading business sector of our day, but because its cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the root of our lives.

Kelly's genius lies in synthesizing large amounts of information in unique and interesting ways. His ability to turn a phrase is reflected in the names he gives to his 10 rules, and it makes this book a pleasure to read. Some, for example, are: "Embrace the Swarm: The Power of Decentralization" (Rule 1); "No Harmony, All Flux: Seeking Sustainable Disequilibrium" (Rule 8); and "Let Go at the Top: After Success, Devolution" (Rule 6). A few of his ideas have a kind of Teflon quality that makes them elusive and difficult to evaluate. But that's OK. Like other prognosticators of the future--Alvin Toffler and John Naisbitt come to mind--Kelly's job is to imagine a new world. Far from hype, New Rules for the New Economy is required reading for anyone pondering business in the not-too-distant future. --Harry C. Edwards --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The "new economy," posits Wired executive editor Kelly in his smart but confusing book, "has three distinguishing characteristics: It is global. It favors intangible thingsAideas, information, and relationships. And it is intensely interlinked." Kelly uses this system of fluid networks to replace traditional linear models of business interrelationships. In one "rule," Kelly unexpectedly suggests that a company's goods become more valuable as their price moves closer "to free"; in another he urges companies to abandon the pursuit of proven successes. If these claims at first appear dubious, closer examination shows that they're not without credibility. In a network economy, he argues, selling technologies cheaply increases supply and spurs demand for valuable services that use these technologies. Relying on proven successes, Kelly says, discourages companies from developing new technologiesAthe linchpin of a rapidly changing network economy. Unfortunately, Kelly builds his case in a haphazard, often overheated way, complete with empty jargon like "re-intermediation." Even when offering the more concrete observation that a network economy means that customersAnot vendorsAoften drive transactions, Kelly can't resist straying into a discussion of privacy on the Net. Perhaps the author intended his jumble to serve as a metaphor for the often overwhelming interconnectivity he describes, but readers will have a hard time working through the muddle and hype. B&w illustrations throughout. Author tour. (Oct.) FYI: Cornell/ILR's book of the same title on the changing demcgraphics of the American workforce was reviewed in the August 10 issue.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The executive editor for Wired proposes ten new rules for getting by in business these days, e.g., "Embrace the Swarm: The Power of Decentralization."
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Kelly is a founding editor of Wired, the edgy magazine for those who are connected, and he continues to serve as its executive editor. Previously, he was an editor and publisher of the Whole Earth Review. He has also written Out of Control: The Rise of Neo-Biological Civilization (1994), in which he suggests that the same principles that govern biological systems can, should, and will be applied to technical systems and information networks. He now takes the next step to show how those networks will drive the economy. Kelly is full of bold new ideas, but they can be obscured by his exuberance. He is even more adept than management sloganeer Tom Peters at turning a hip-sounding but enigmatic phrase. To wit, 5 of his 10 strategies are embrace the swarm; follow the free; no harmony; all flux; and feed the Web. He does try to explicate, but often it is just more of the same. Readers of Wired will probably get it; others may find themselves looking for the proverbial emperor's clothes. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

A look at the future through a rose-tinted crystal computer monitor. It's amazing how one person's nightmare can make someone else giddy. Kelly, executive editor of Wired magazine, gleefully looks forward to a ``new global economic culture'' that is characterized, ``most important[ly], by a widespread reliance on economic values as the basis for making decisions in all walks of life.'' Confronted with extensive alienation from noneconomic human life, Kelly advises us to accept the inevitable and join the electronically induced information age; only those failing to heed the siren call of cyberspace will encounter difficulties. Fortunately, Kelly provides ten rules to guide us on our way in the new economic order, essentially asserting that the entire world will soon look like the current World Wide Web - where power multiplies through connections, maintaining the network is crucial, change is constant, and even successful innovations are quickly left behind - and insisting that we must accept risk and act boldly. The possibilities are tremendous, for we are ``about to witness an explosion of entities built on relationships and technology that will rival the early days of life on Earth in their variety.'' It's also possible that Kelly is a bit overenthusiastic. He offers no guarantees, of course, but in the new alchemy of the future, it is abundance, not scarcity, that creates value, and concerns with, for instance, distribution of resources, equal opportunity, or the fate of individuals and nations not ``hardwired'' into this new reality are barely worth mentioning. For the doubters unable to block out thoughts about the victims of Kelly's future, however, there is some comfort. As he recognizes, predictions based on a selective reading of current trends are notoriously inaccurate, and all that differentiates his prognostications from failures of the past is that time has not yet proven him wrong. Let's hope it does so in a manner that discourages further soothsaying. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Kelly has been called the chief guru of the information age. His premise is that connectivity will be the main factor dictating how business and economies will embrace networks and move into a world where old-style business know-how will count for little. It is easy enough to take on board the idea that one fax machine is less useful than many, but the communications ramifications likely as a result of silicon chips tiny and cheap enough to go in anything are certainly mind-boggling. A lively review of aspects of the future. (Kirkus UK)

A look at the future through a rose-tinted crystal computer monitor. It's amazing how one person's nightmare can make someone else giddy. Kelly, executive editor of Wired magazine, gleefully looks forward to a "new global economic culture" that is characterized, "most important[ly], by a widespread reliance on economic values as the basis for making decisions in all walks of life." Confronted with extensive alienation from noneconomic human life, Kelly advises us to accept the inevitable and join the electronically induced information age; only those failing to heed the siren call of cyberspace will encounter difficulties. Fortunately, Kelly provides ten rules to guide us on our way in the new economic order, essentially asserting, that the entire world will soon look like the current World Wide Web - where power multiplies through connections, maintaining the network is crucial, change is constant, and even successful innovations are quickly left behind - and insisting that we must accept risk and act boldly. The possibilities are tremendous, for we are "about to witness an explosion of entities built on relationships and technology that will rival the early days of life on Earth in their variety." It's also possible that Kelly is a bit overenthusiastic. He offers no guarantees, of course, but in the new alchemy of the future, it is abundance, not scarcity, that creates value, and concerns with, for instance, distribution of resources, equal opportunity, or the fate of individuals and nations not "hardwired" into this new reality are barely worth mentioning. For the doubters unable to block out thoughts about the victims of Kelly's future, however, there is some comfort. As he recognizes, predictions based on a selective reading of current trends are notoriously inaccurate, and all that differentiates his prognostications from failures of the past is that time has not yet proven him wrong. Let's hope it does so in a manner that discourages further soothsaying. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Forget supply and demand. Forget computers. The old rules are broken. Today, communication, not computation, drives change. We are rushing into a world where connectivity is everything, and where old business know-how means nothing. In this new economic order, success flows primarily from understanding networks, and networks have their own rules. In New Rules for the New Economy, Kelly presents ten fundamental principles of the connected economy that invert the traditional wisdom of the industrial world.

Succinct and memorable, New Rules explains why these powerful laws are already hardwired into the new economy, and how they play out in all kinds of business -- both low and high tech -- all over the world. More than an overview of new economic principles, it prescribes clear and specific strategies for success in the network economy. For any worker, CEO, or middle manager, New Rules is the survival kit for the new economy.

Kevin Kelly, author of the acclaimed Out of Control (called "required reading for all executives" by Fortune) is editor-at-large of Wired magazine. He has been involved in such cultural innovations as The Hacker's Conference and The Well. He lives in the Bay Area.