Call to action: It is time for someone to build a peer-to-peer consulting layer on top of the networks of Quora and LinkedIn. As freely shared content drives demand for paid consulting, individuals will be encouraged to create and curate more and more valuable knowledge in order to increase demand for their paid services. I predict this reciprocal relationship between free sharing and paid consulting will catalyze a virtuous cycle and create a veritable Marketplace of Ideas.* In fact, this relationship between free contributions and paid consulting is already happening - most obviously in the free and open source software community where quality code drives the reputation (and hourly rates) of those altruistic contributors.
The future of knowledge: In a world where everyone has something to teach and something to learn, we can all be nodes in an enormous information network. If knowledge can be digitized, it will likely be free. Specific and personalized expert advice, however cannot be free. Therefore, the time associated with personal consulting will likely carry a significant cost (largely depending on the reputation of the source). As we increasingly value the generative capacity of the human beings, it is only a matter of time before a true Marketplace of Ideas emerges to capitalize on personalized expert services promoted by the sharing of free content.
* Although Oliver Wendell Holmes coined the term “Marketplace of Ideas” in reference to free expression and public discourse, the internet has demonstrated time and again the capacity to make the once ephemeral ever so real - as well as profitable.
Source: Andrew Magliozzi
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