The problem with that line of reasoning, in my opinion, is that "normal" businesses sell "normal" products. As a simple example, how much would you pay for a clone of reddit? Not much. The value of the site is entirely in its large community. Same thing for eBay, for the most part. Also, normal products always cost something. There are a ton of information goods that are free: Linux, Apache, all kinds of languages, compilers, editors, browsers - everything you need to run a business, almost, can be had for free these days.
In other words, things do work differently on line, in some cases. Understanding that, and understanding what happens why is crucial to being able to do a 'DHH style' company that doesn't get crushed by a big player, or undercut by a bit of open source software.
In other words, things do work differently on line, in some cases. Understanding that, and understanding what happens why is crucial to being able to do a 'DHH style' company that doesn't get crushed by a big player, or undercut by a bit of open source software.
I highly recommend the book 'Information Rules': http://www.amazon.com/dp/087584863X?tag=dedasys-20