One of my favorite Umair Haque-isms is the idea of the post-network economy. Haque writes:

This is the shift to a post-network economy; where what we do with the stuff on the network is more valuable than just being part of the network.

The difference between the network economy to the post-network economy can probably best be explained using an example:

Network economy: This is where the user derives value simply by being a part of the network, and being able to interact with others on the network. For instance, a big reason why I use Microsoft products is because of the Microsoft network economy; most everyone else is using Microsoft products, and so it's easy for me to communicate and collaborate with them as they are using the same standards.

Post-network economy: This is where the user derives value by being able use the products on the network as a supply chain of sorts. For instance, a big reason I like vBulletin is because they have a large network of developers that build extensions and plugins for the application. As a result, they have the largest network of goods (extensions and plug-ins) for me to choose from. This is where I get post-network economy value.

Post-network economies allow for each additional user to add more value to the network overall than a mere network economy, and because more value is created, that means more value can be sold, and hence it can be deduced that post-network economic strategies have greater profit potential than just network economic strategies. But, in order for a post-network economy to exist, users must be able to freely take and reconstruct what is on the network. As a result, as we move more and more to a post-network economy, intellectual property legislation will need to allow for post-network economy advantages to manifest. In other words, open source and creative commons licensing is the road to the post-network economy -- a road that creates greater value for consumers, and hence greater opportunities for profit for those who produce that value.

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