--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It used to be expensive to make things…" description: "\"It used to be expensive to make things public and cheap to make them private. Now it's expensive to make things private and cheap to make them public.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/clay-shirky-3364_computer_it-used-to-be-expensive-to-make-things-p_2271944.png" --- # It used to be expensive to make things public and cheap to… ![“It used to be expensive to make things public and cheap to make them private. Now it's expensive to make things private and cheap to make them public.” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/clay-shirky-3364_computer_it-used-to-be-expensive-to-make-things-p_2271944.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/clay-shirky-3364_computer_it-used-to-be-expensive-to-make-things-p_2271944.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/clay-shirky-3364_computer_it-used-to-be-expensive-to-make-things-p_2271944.png) > “It used to be expensive to make things public and cheap to make them private. Now it's expensive to make things private and cheap to make them public.” [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The cost dynamics of sharing information have reversed: public dissemination is cheap, privacy is costly. **In simple terms:** Sharing is cheap, privacy is expensive now. Key Takeaway Embrace openness, protect privacy wisely. Themes technology privacy economics society Mood thoughtful analytical Type observational strategic When to use this quote - social media strategy - corporate communications - personal data management Key Concepts information asymmetry public goods digital rights Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance openness with privacy? - What policies safeguard personal data? A Different Perspective Privacy protection becomes harder as data spreads. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Make Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-private-1614483/) [Make Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-public-1002094/) [Private Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-expensive-5269368/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Things Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-private-863437/) [Things Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-public-707612/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Used to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-to-be/) ## Related quotes > [One of the things about the modern world is that the public and the private - which is not the same as the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-miliband/one-of-the-things-about-the-modern-world-is-that-the-public-and-the/) [David Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-miliband/) > [“Some poeple take God and want to apply privacy settings on him to make him private to them like their social media accounts. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/some-poeple-take-god-and-want-to-apply-privacy-settings-on-him-to/) [De philosopher DJ Kyos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/) > [When it comes to family policies, you are dealing with very private issues. Still, my husband and I decided that we didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/when-it-comes-to-family-policies-you-are-dealing-with-very-private/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) > [With any group of people in life, sad things happen, and crazy things, and happy things. When you're in the public eye, it's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-kidder/with-any-group-of-people-in-life-sad-things-happen-and-crazy-things/) [Margot Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-kidder/) > [The main mysteries at Skinwalker were never solved. Lots of things have never been made public that we have, things that I personally initiated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bigelow/the-main-mysteries-at-skinwalker-were-never-solved-lots-of-things/) [Robert Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bigelow/) > [I'm just not a private person. It's not like I do things because I want things to be public; it's just that's my way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-allen/i-m-just-not-a-private-person-it-s-not-like-i-do-things-because-i/) [Lily Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-allen/) > [There are three things which the public will always clamor for, sooner or later: namely, novelty, novelty, novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/there-are-three-things-which-the-public-will-always-clamor-for-sooner/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [There are three things which the public will always clamour for, sooner or later; namely: novelty, novelty, novelty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/there-are-three-things-which-the-public-will-always-clamour-for/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [If you want to create a high-society, you must give high things to the public! Show the public eagle; public will be an eagle!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-want-to-create-a-high-society-you-must-give-high-things-to-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The best place to find things: the public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bernays/the-best-place-to-find-things-the-public-library/) [Edward Bernays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bernays/) > [One of the interesting things about being in public life is there are constantly these pressures being placed on you from different sides. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/one-of-the-interesting-things-about-being-in-public-life-is-there-are/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Stand-up is the place where you can do things that you could never do in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/stand-up-is-the-place-where-you-can-do-things-that-you-could-never-do/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I always just forced myself to do crazy things in public. In college I would push an overhead projector across campus with my pants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/i-always-just-forced-myself-to-do-crazy-things-in-public-in-college-i/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [There are things that go public, and everything that comes out is not the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrueche-tran/there-are-things-that-go-public-and-everything-that-comes-out-is-not/) [Karrueche Tran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrueche-tran/) > [If you make too many things too public, then you end up living your life before the court of public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-gray/if-you-make-too-many-things-too-public-then-you-end-up-living-your/) [Farrah Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-gray/) ## More by Clay Shirky > [ “\[N\]ew technology enables new kinds of group-forming.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/n-ew-technology-enables-new-kinds-of-group-forming/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [To have a discussion about the plusses and minuses of various forms of group action, though, is going to require discussing the current tools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/to-have-a-discussion-about-the-plusses-and-minuses-of-various-forms/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/mass-amateurization-of-publishing-makes-mass-amateurization-of/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Information sharing produces shared awareness among the participants, and collaborative production relies on shared creation, but collective action creates shared responsibility, by tying the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/information-sharing-produces-shared-awareness-among-the-participants/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [More interesting than thinking about what's possible in 10 years is thinking what's possible now but that no one has built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/more-interesting-than-thinking-about-what-s-possible-in-10-years-is/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“Digital networks are increasing the fluidity of all media. The old choice between one-way public media (like books and movies) and two-way private media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/digital-networks-are-increasing-the-fluidity-of-all-media-the-old/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/even-with-the-sacred-printing-press-we-got-erotic-novels-150-years/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Tools get socially interesting after they're no longer technologically interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/tools-get-socially-interesting-after-they-re-no-longer/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Carpooling is important for urban density, air pollution and other reasons, but carpooling is not the kind of thing that actually changes the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/carpooling-is-important-for-urban-density-air-pollution-and-other/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [If what you're doing is valuable for people, they will find a way to pay you to keep doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/if-what-you-re-doing-is-valuable-for-people-they-will-find-a-way-to/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Multi-taskers often think they are like gym rats, bulking up their ability to juggle tasks, when in fact they are like alcoholics, degrading their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/multi-taskers-often-think-they-are-like-gym-rats-bulking-up-their/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Civic participants don't aim to make life better merely for members of the group. They want to improve even the lives of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/civic-participants-don-t-aim-to-make-life-better-merely-for-members/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [I would not hesitate to say I was addicted to the Internet in the first two years. It can be addictive, and things not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/i-would-not-hesitate-to-say-i-was-addicted-to-the-internet-in-the/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Bureaucracies temporarily suspend the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a bureaucracy, it's easier to make a process more complex than to make it simpler,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/bureaucracies-temporarily-suspend-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-in/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for any individual to disagree with. More media always means more arguing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/the-more-ideas-there-are-in-circulation-the-more-ideas-there-are-for/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) [Explore all 132 Clay Shirky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) ## More Computer quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. I understand that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-m-from-the-south-so-i-m-very-old-fashioned-and-i-m-not-very/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [A little bit more than 50% of what you see on screen is handcrafted and the other 50% was about emulating these textures on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/a-little-bit-more-than-50-of-what-you-see-on-screen-is-handcrafted/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [Well I'm trying to think what I put in... I think I put in 'why?' to see if I'd confuse the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/well-i-m-trying-to-think-what-i-put-in-i-think-i-put-in-why-to-see-if/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Our brains are great at knowing what to forget. We actually have to teach computers to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/our-brains-are-great-at-knowing-what-to-forget-we-actually-have-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. 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