The Cost-Price-Value Equation One of the truisms of the information business is that information has collection and delivery costs that can usually be determined with reasonable accuracy. The problem comes with the fact that an individual user, in the context of any given information environment, determines the value of this information. Moreover Technologies is providing me with a customized newsfeed on intranets, extranets, and content management. I'm finding this out personally in the management of my own intranet blog. Many items are of great value and I use them directly in the blog. Others are of more peripheral use, and stimulate me to look into an issue that has not been high on my agenda. There are also items that duplicate other sources of insformation, or treat something well known in the industry as news. If another intranet consultant used the same feed I am certain that we would each put the daily list of news items into different categories.
If the value of the information service varies among users, then the perception of what represents a reasonable price will also vary. The content provider then faces a situation in which the delivery mechanism may not permit individual users to register for the information service, and for its use to be tracked, and yet without this information, neither the intranet manager or the content provider has a basis for the discussion about what represents a mutually equitable price for the service.
Comments