Article by Kevin Kelly on the characteristics that make goods (especially digital ones) valuable. He identifies 8 qualities that add value: Immediacy, Personalization, Interpretation, Authenticity, Accessibility, Embodiment, Patronage, and Findability.

In a real sense, these are eight things that are better than free. Eight uncopyable values. I call them “generatives.” A generative value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown, cultivated, nurtured. A generative thing can not be copied, cloned, faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced.

Nature is full of generative value (cannot be copied, cloned, faked,…) and yet we are using lots of natural resources without paying (adequately) for their use. How come?