Hyperconnectivity

2 The Hyperconnected Economy

The global success of connection services by computer and telecommunication networks is explained by the free nature of this network of networks. With the Internet, everything is free, or almost free… Some start from the principle that Internet users pay with their time, the time they spend browsing to access content. While we must clarify, as it will be seen below, many nuances and while the cost-free factor is important, it is not sufficient to explain a massive and globalized diffusion in such a short time. The attractiveness of uses should also be considered: it cannot be denied that the seduction and appeal of the services offered encourage interactivity and auto-production of the most diverse content (“user generated content”). Hence, every Internet user can be both a receiver and a transmitter; they are capable of designing, publishing and even editing content. This also explains this success, not to mention the significant and unprecedented proliferation of amateur content. To fully appreciate this mass diffusion, we need to shed light on the underlying socioeconomic model. The proposed approach considers that it is necessary to remember the role of Homo economicus, while taking Homo socius and Homo communicus seriously, which is not the case in most economic approaches. We believe that the combination of three factors contributes to the functioning of this model of connection: a mode of access and use, two modes of indirect funding and ...