notes on “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson
Written on April 23, 2007
“six themes of the Long Tail age” p. 53:
1. there are far more niche goods than hits
2. costs of reaching those niches is falling dramatically, possible to offer a massively expanded variety of products
3. “filters” can drive demand down the tail (“filters” = recommendations, rankings)
4. demand curve flattens, less distance between hits and niches
5. niche products collectively comprise a market rivaling the hits
6. the natural shape of demand is revealed (without distortion created by distribution bottlenecks, scarcity of information, limited choice of shelf space)
“A Long Tail is just culture unfiltered by economic scarcity.”
p. 54-56 three forces: 1. democratize tools of production – lengthens Tail; 2. democratize tools of distribution (through aggregation) – fattens Tail; 3. connect supply and demand (through filters) – drives business from hits to niches
p. 172-174 Paradox of Choice (Barry Schwartz) – pointed to negative aspects of too many options, but people want choice, along with order to provide help, information, guidance
p. 184 shifting from mass culture to “massively parallel culture” with thousands of overlapping/interacting “tribes of interest”
visit author Chris Anderson’s Long Tail blog
Filed in: culture.
Hi,
You have awesome site, very interesttng. What do you think about B4875S584 style?
The facts you present are correct and well stated. I appreciate you approach, but what do you think of the premise? For me it was very revealing and insightful.
Thanks
Hi Levy, Before I read the book I had been acquainted with the concept of the ‘long tail’ & somewhat worried that the book would just be a padded-out article. I was happily surprised to find the book went much farther and was full of interesting ideas, articulating some ramifications of a cultural shift that we are currently experiencing.