What happens when the bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture go away and everything becomes available to everyone?
"The Long Tail" is a powerful new force in our economy: the rise of the niche. As the cost of reaching consumers drops dramatically, our markets are shifting from a one-size-fits-all model of mass appeal to one of unlimited variety for unique tastes. From supermarket shelves to advertising agencies, the ability to offer vast choice is changing everything, and causing us to rethink where our markets lie and how to get to them. Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it, from DVDs at Netflix to songs on iTunes to advertising on Google.
However, this is not just a virtue of online marketplaces; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for business, one that is just beginning to show its power. After a century of obsessing over the few products at the head of the demand curve, the new economics of distribution allow us to turn our focus to the many more products in the tail, which collectively can create a new market as big as the one we already know.
The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance. New efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing are essentially resetting the definition of what's commercially viable across the board. If the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be equally about niches.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
The Long Tail (ITBE 740):
This book was very easy to read in that it was straight forward and had good explanations and examples of the topic. The title was explained from the onset and summarized the content of the book. The remainder of the book went on to explain why Long Tail economics is happening and how it got started. I agree with the premise of the book and can now appreciate and put a name to the changes I have seen in consumerism and my personal consumption.
This book is relevant because we are all consumers. The... more info
the shift from an economy of hits to an economy of niches:
The Long Tail refers to the shape of the graph with high sales volume of a few hit products in the head, and low volume of many products in the tail. The book is about the shift from an economy of mass-market hits to an economy of niches. "The average Borders carries around 100,000 titles. Yet about a quarter of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 100,000 titles." Amazon and eBay overcome the scarcity of local shelf space for physical products. Digital products (such as MP3 downloads) are... more info
Great read for any luddite.:
A friend of mine told me about "The Long Tail" a few months ago and I finally got the book. Chris Anderson gets it right with the transformation of brick and mortar to online... Hence the latest implosion of Circuit City. So, for any B-School student or someone like myself that convert businesses online - you'll find this a quick and informative read. Enjoy!
The Long Tail - Economics of Abundance:
The digital age has thrown a curve ball at traditional economic theory. Disrupting the institutionalized notion that economics is about choice under scarcity, the Internet has introduced economists to a world of abundance. Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail examines the non-traditional markets that emerge when people are faced with abundance and infinite selection. This model allows the public to deviate from the accepted norm of being fed "hits" that are corporately designed for mass-appeal.... more info
