Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly is a well-known figure in the technology industry and beyond. He is a writer, editor, and futurist who has authored multiple best-selling books about the future of technology. Kelly co-founded Wired magazine in 1993 and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. He is also the founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. In addition, Kelly is co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking and acting as a good ancestor to future generations.
105 Quotes
"The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"This super-distribution system has become the foundation of our economy and wealth. The instant reduplication of data, ideas, and media underpins all the major economic sectors in our economy, particularly those involved with exports — that is, those industries where the US has a competitive advantage."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Consider “trust.” Trust cannot be copied. You can’t purchase it. Trust must be earned, over time. It cannot be downloaded. Or faked. Or counterfeited (at least for long)."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"I think the best way to examine them is not from the eye of the producer, manufacturer, or creator, but from the eye of the user. We can start with a simple user question: why would we ever pay for anything that we could get for free?"
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"getting a copy delivered to your inbox the moment it is released — or even better, produced — by its creators is a generative asset."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Aspirin is free, but aspirin tailored to your DNA is very expensive. As many have noted, personalization requires an ongoing conversation between the creator and consumer, artist and fan, producer and user."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"the copy of your sequence will be free, but the interpretation of what it means, what you can do about it, and how to use it — the manual for your genes so to speak — will be expensive."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"even if you don’t need a manual, you might like to be sure it is bug free, reliable, and warranted. You’ll pay for authenticity."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Ownership often sucks. You have to keep your things tidy, up-to-date, and in the case of digital material, backed up."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"nothing gets embodied as much as music in a live performance, with real bodies. The music is free; the bodily performance expensive. This formula is quickly becoming a common one for not only musicians, but even authors. The book is free; the bodily talk is expensive."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"no matter what its price, a work has no value unless it is seen; unfound masterpieces are worthless. When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention — and most of it free — being found is valuable."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"since findability can really only happen at the systems level, creators need aggregators. This is why publishers, studios, and labels (PSL)will never disappear. They are not needed for distribution of the copies (the internet machine does that). Rather the PSL are needed for the distribution of the users’ attention back to the works."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"From an ocean of possibilities the PSL find, nurture and refine the work of creators that they believe fans will connect with."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"There is little doubt that besides the mega-aggregators, in the world of the free many PDLs will make money selling findability"
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Success in the free-copy world is not derived from the skills of distribution since the Great Copy Machine in the Sky takes care of that. Nor are legal skills surrounding Intellectual Property and Copyright very useful anymore. Nor are the skills of hoarding and scarcity."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"Ads are widely regarded as the solution, almost the ONLY solution, to the paradox of the free. Most of the suggested solutions I’ve seen for overcoming the free involve some measure of advertising."
— Kevin Kelly
Better Than Free"About 99% of the time, the right time is right now."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Dont ever work for someone you dont want to become."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Cultivate 12 people who love you, because they are worth more than 12 million people who like you."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"When you forgive others, they may not notice, but you will heal. Forgiveness is not something we do for others; it is a gift to ourselves."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Whenever there is an argument between two sides, find the third side."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Efficiency is highly overrated; Goofing off is highly underrated. Regularly scheduled sabbaths, sabbaticals, vacations, breaks, aimless walks and time off are essential for top performance of any kind. The best work ethic requires a good rest ethic."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"If winning becomes too important in a game, change the rules to make it more fun. Changing rules can become the new game."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Productivity is often a distraction. Don’t aim for better ways to get through your tasks as quickly as possible, rather aim for better tasks that you never want to stop doing."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"The biggest lie we tell ourselves is “I dont need to write this down because I will remember it.”"
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Speak confidently as if you are right, but listen carefully as if you are wrong."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"The consistency of your endeavors (exercise, companionship, work) is more important than the quantity. Nothing beats small things done every day, which is way more important than what you do occasionally."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Three things you need: The ability to not give up something till it works, the ability to give up something that does not work, and the trust in other people to help you distinguish between the two."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"The best way to get a correct answer on the internet is to post an obviously wrong answer and wait for someone to correct you."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Half the skill of being educated is learning what you can ignore."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"A great way to understand yourself is to seriously reflect on everything you find irritating in others."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"You will be judged on how well you treat those who can do nothing for you."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can achieve in a decade. Miraculous things can be accomplished if you give it ten years. A long game will compound small gains to overcome even big mistakes."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"The only productive way to answer “what should I do now?” is to first tackle the question of “who should I become?”"
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"It’s possible that a not-so smart person, who can communicate well, can do much better than a super smart person who can’t communicate well. That is good news because it is much easier to improve your communication skills than your intelligence."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Getting cheated occasionally is the small price for trusting the best of everyone, because when you trust the best in others, they generally treat you best."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Prescription for popular success: do something strange. Make a habit of your weird."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Actual great opportunities do not have “Great Opportunities” in the subject line."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"When you are stuck, explain your problem to others. Often simply laying out a problem will present a solution. Make “explaining the problem” part of your troubleshooting process."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"You are as big as the things that make you angry."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Habit is far more dependable than inspiration. Make progress by making habits. Dont focus on getting into shape. Focus on becoming the kind of person who never misses a workout."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"When negotiating, dont aim for a bigger piece of the pie; aim to create a bigger pie."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"If you repeated what you did today 365 more times will you be where you want to be next year?"
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Your time and space are limited. Remove, give away, throw out things in your life that dont spark joy any longer in order to make room for those that do."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"For a great payoff be especially curious about the things you are not interested in."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Every breakthrough is at first laughable and ridiculous. In fact if it did not start out laughable and ridiculous, it is not a breakthrough."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Copying others is a good way to start. Copying yourself is a disappointing way to end."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Anything you say before the word “but” does not count."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• When you lead, your real job is to create more leaders, not more followers."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Life lessons will be presented to you in the order they are needed. Everything you need to master the lesson is within you. Once you have truly learned a lesson, you will be presented with the next one. If you are alive, that means you still have lessons to learn."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"Ask funders for money, and they’ll give you advice; but ask for advice and they’ll give you money."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• Your growth as a conscious being is measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• Ask anyone you admire: Their lucky breaks happened on a detour from their main goal. So embrace detours. Life is not a straight line for anyone."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• The best way to get a correct answer on the internet is to post an obviously wrong answer and wait for someone to correct you."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• When checking references for a job applicant, employers may be reluctant or prohibited from saying anything negative, so leave or send a message that says, “Get back to me if you highly recommend this applicant as super great.” If they don’t reply take that as a negative."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• When you have some success, the feeling of being an imposter can be real. Who am I fooling? But when you create things that only you — with your unique talents and experience — can do, then you are absolutely not an imposter. You are the ordained. It is your duty to work on things that only you can do."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• 90% of everything is crap. If you think you don’t like opera, romance novels, TikTok, country music, vegan food, NFTs, keep trying to see if you can find the 10% that is not crap."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can achieve in a decade. Miraculous things can be accomplished if you give it ten years. A long game will compound small gains to overcome even big mistakes."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• You can be whatever you want, so be the person who ends meetings early."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• The only productive way to answer “what should I do now?” is to first tackle the question of “who should I become?”"
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• It’s possible that a not-so smart person, who can communicate well, can do much better than a super smart person who can’t communicate well. That is good news because it is much easier to improve your communication skills than your intelligence."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• To rapidly reveal the true character of a person you just met, move them onto an abysmally slow internet connection. Observe."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"The optimal balance for exploring new things vs exploiting them once found is: 1/3. Spend 1/3 of your time on exploring and 2/3 time on deepening. It is harder to devote time to exploring as you age because it seems unproductive, but aim for 1/3."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• Dont bother fighting the old; just build the new."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• When speaking to an audience it’s better to fix your gaze on a few people than to “spray” your gaze across the room. Your eyes telegraph to others whether you really believe what you are saying."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• Habit is far more dependable than inspiration. Make progress by making habits. Dont focus on getting into shape. Focus on becoming the kind of person who never misses a workout."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• For a great payoff be especially curious about the things you are not interested in."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• Focus on directions rather than destinations. Who knows their destiny? But maintain the right direction and you’ll arrive at where you want to go."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• If your opinions on one subject can be predicted from your opinions on another, you may be in the grip of an ideology. When you truly think for yourself your conclusions will not be predictable."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"• Aim to die broke. Give to your beneficiaries before you die; it’s more fun and useful. Spend it all. Your last check should go to the funeral home and it should bounce."
— Kevin Kelly
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known"To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only thousands of true fans."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"If you have roughly a thousand of true fans like this (also known as super fans), you can make a living — if you are content to make a living but not a fortune."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"You need to meet two criteria. First, you have to create enough each year that you can earn, on average, $100 profit from each true fan."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"Second, you must have a direct relationship with your fans. That is, they must pay you directly."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"If you added one new true fan per day, it’d only take a few years to gain a thousand."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"Another way to calculate the support of a true fan, is to aim to get one day’s wages per year from them."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"With the advent of ubiquitous peer-to-peer communication and payment systems — also known as the web today — everyone has access to excellent tools that allow anyone to sell directly to anyone else in the world."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"This new technology permits creators to maintain relationships, so that the customer can become a fan, and so that the creator keeps the total amount of payment, which reduces the number of fans needed."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"Early in the rise of the web the large aggregators of content and products, such as eBay, Amazon, Netflix, etc, noticed that the total sales of *all* the lowest selling obscure items would equal or in some cases exceed the sales of the few best selling items."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"Chris Anderson (my successor at Wired) named this effect “The Long Tail,” for the visually graphed shape of the sales distribution curve"
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"They invented recommendation engines and other algorithms to channel attention to the rare creations in the long tail. Even web search companies like Google, Bing, Baidu found it in their interests to reward searchers with the obscure because they could sell ads in the long tail as well. The result was that the most obscure became less obscure."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"With that insight, the aggregators had great incentive to encourage audiences to click on the obscure items."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"As far as I can tell there is nothing — no product, no idea, no desire — without a fan base on the internet."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"Yet if even only one out of million people were interested, that’s potentially 7,000 people on the planet."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"the big corporations, the intermediates, the commercial producers, are all under-equipped and ill suited to connect with these thousand true fans."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"The takeaway: 1,000 true fans is an alternative path to success other than stardom."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"On your way, no matter how many fans you actually succeed in gaining, you’ll be surrounded not by faddish infatuation, but by genuine and true appreciation."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"To raise your sales out of the flatline of the long tail you need to connect with your True Fans directly. Another way to state this is, you need to convert a thousand Lesser Fans into a thousand True Fans."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"This small circle of diehard fans, which can provide you with a living, is surrounded by concentric circles of Lesser Fans. These folks will not purchase everything you do, and may not seek out direct contact, but they will buy much of what you produce."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"But the point of this strategy is to say that you don’t need a hit to survive."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"A more important caution: Not every artist is cut out, or willing, to be a nurturer of fans."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"or these creatives, they need a mediator, a manager, a handler, an agent, a galleryist — someone to manage their fans. Nonetheless, they can still aim for the same middle destination of 1,000 True Fans. They are just working in a duet."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"Lastly, the actual number may vary depending on the media. Maybe it is 500 True Fans for a painter and 5,000 True Fans for a videomaker."
— Kevin Kelly
1,000 True Fans"I am suggesting there is a home for creatives in between poverty and stardom. Somewhere lower than stratospheric bestsellerdom, but higher than the obscurity of the long tail."
— Kevin Kelly
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