The twentieth century paradigm allowed businesses to incorporate around pools of knowledge. These pools were developed and owned by the Corporation. However, the social web is creating a free flow of knowledge that is being shared more openly. And whereas we are not yet a knowledge society, we are a knowledge economy.   

It's just that we have a challenge securing the knowledge we used to own. Therefore, new models of monetizing the flow of knowledge (ie apps) are appearing. Over 1 million apps to date is the fastest growth phenomenon of any historic development. 

Those who fight to retain ownership of their past pooled knowledge may find themselves without customers who have moved on to tap into the flows of knowledge being delivered to the social space. Before buying what companies sell, an increasingly web-savvy world is googling the free flows to find what they need.

Consider what you have commanded ownership of in the past and how you could flow that knowledge into the social space in a way that adds value. Appify it and monetize it in one of several ways:

1. Charge for the App.
2. Freemium: Charge for the non-advertising version or the more robust upgrade.
3. App is free but used to sell add-on Apps.
4. Charge for the new business resulting from the goodwill generated by a free App.