The Economics of Christmas Lights

Social media marketing author Seth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog) observes that people buy Christmas tree lights, put them up, spend money on electrifying them, and then take them down. He says

The very same non-economic contribution is going on online, every single day. More and more of the content we consume was made by our peers, for free. My take:

People like the way it feels to live in a community filled with decorated houses. They enjoy the drive or the walk through town, seeing the lights, and they want to be part of it, want to contribute and want to be noticed too.

Peace of mind and self-satisfaction are incredibly valuable to us, and we happily pay for them, sometimes contributing to a community in order to get them.

The Internet is giving more and more people a highly-leveraged, inexpensive way to share and contribute. It doesn't cost money, it just takes guts, time, and kindness.

No wonder most people don't insist on getting paid for their tweets, posts, and comments.

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