I just finished reading The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson. The Long Tail concept is simple; the sum of “non-hits,” despite their lack of sales or success, can often equal or exceed the sum of the “hits.” Let’s use music on iTunes as an example: the top 50 songs of a given year generate a lot of money. But there are thousands of songs each year, and they all sell. Since iTunes is able to put most of these songs on its virtual “shelf,” it can reap profits from both the head (top 50) and from the long tail (all the other songs).
Anderson’s book deals with ways to profit from the tail. For example, iTunes has (relatively) infinite shelf space compared to, say, long tail. So while the hits still sell, there is a very long tail available to consume. As filtering and search improve, users will be able to buy further down the tail. And as methods of production become more accessible to the general public, the tail itself will grow. For iTunes, that means more music to sell, and as people become more and more happy with the personalized music they are buying, they will buy in greater bullk.
The Long Tail itself is an interesting concept, but Anderson does a great job keeping it interesting. He constantly uses real-world, current examples such as Google, Amazon, Netflix, the LEGO company, and Wikipedia using the Long Tail to further profits. Wikipedia is the best example; Anderson likens it to Encyclopedia Britannica. The end result is a more accurate, much more timely, and much, much, much more in-depth encyclopedia than Britannica could ever hope to offer.
I recommend this book highly. The concept is interesting by itself, and Anderson covers it well. The Long Tail is now part of our culture and anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve should be familiar with it.
Anderson would be proud that I am offering up this link to the Long Tail Wikipedia entry. Go there to learn more about this important idea.
