Observation: Google Reader (GR) is a giffen good in some circumstances. If you are a twenty-something Seattleite who pays attention to wonkish/technocrati economics blogs, GR may act as a Giffen good [a good for which demand shares a positive relationship with price]. But what about the price of GR?
The cost of the iphone app 'byline' was $3.99, and necessary to keep the influx of blogosphere commentary as close to the consistency of an IV drip as possible. Consuming GR aside from that is free, and the $3.99 is more like a one-time lump sum use tax; it won't affect my consumption decision at the margin. Its price in real terms is its opportunity cost of time. While a normal good would share an inverse relationship between the number of unread posts and time spent consuming GR, the more bold unread items in my inbox, the more I nom nom nom all over that GR pie.
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