"Like computer viruses, successful mind viruses will tend to be hard
for their victims to detect. If you are the victim of one, the chances
are that you won't know it, and may even vigorously deny it."
This working document distills "information axioms" for emerging policy networks.
We culled these information axioms from a variety of analysts whose work examines
primarily - but not wholly - emerging commercial information networks on the Internet.
These "axioms" do not necessarily apply to non-profits, or true communities, but rather,
are to serve as a starting point in understanding the role of information and information
technologies in the policy process.
axiom 1 - metcalf's law
axiom 2 - early entrants win the field
axiom 3 - significance precedes momentum
axiom 4 - standards as power
axiom 5 - producer and consumer utility
axiom 6 - gatekeepers, intermediaries, and the attention deficit
axiom 7 - positive feedback loops
axiom 8 - differentiation of products and pricing
axiom 9 - switching costs and lock-in
axiom 10 - free information: cooperation in a competitive environment
