The long tail...What's that again?

So, the long tail huh? When Dave posted that we have to write a blog about the long tail I immediatly thought, "Well what the heck is it?" Thank god for the Wikipedia encyclopedia! In it they stated the "long tail" as, "coined by Chris Anderson in 2004 Wired Magazine. The long tail is a phrase used to describe certain buisness and economic models such as Amazon.com and/or Netflix." Understand yet? Me neither, let's go further! Chris Anderson wrote an Article in Wired Magazine in October 2004. In it he describes how the long tail will cause massive effects on buisness models of the present and future. Chris observed that, "products that are low in demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough." Okay, so things could change based on popularity, how does this impact us? Well, with "the long tail" we are given the oppurtunity to view things that are not always "high on the charts" so-to-speak. It offers us greater choices. In Wikipedia he speaks about how, now, in television, we now have a high level of choices which causes our cultural level to rise. I agree! In the '50's and '60's, everybody only had basic cable. Shows were in constant competition for time spots. Now, some people have over 900 channels! This allows programs with the smaller appealing rate to be viewed and judged. Pretty much what I am saying is that popularity no longer becomes the most important factor.

So here it is, The Long Tail by, Chris Anderson. This five page article is extremely interesting and informative to read. On page two he states, "hit-driven economics is a creation of an age without enough room to carry everything for everybody.....this is the world of scarcity. Now, with online distribution and retail, we are entering a world of abundance. And the differences are profound." Chris Anderson stated passionatly that the differences ARE profound. In this world today, no one just wants to hear the tunes from the top of charts, they want to hear it all, even the underground music. You can't expect EVERYONE to conform to Britney Spears can you? NO!!!! Why not throw in some My Chemical Romance and Butch Walker, or the Postal Service!! Chris talks about how 99% of the people who use online mediastores demand for nearly ALL of the top 10,000 tracks. This is amazing to think about.

In USA Today, they decided to try and understand what "the long tail" means for entertainment and media. The panel included: TiVO chairman Michael Ramsey, Firefox Developer Blake Ross and Chuck D. When asked the question, Michael Ramsay stated, "We can measure it. There's maybe only 100 people who watch bass fishing or speed knitting.....[but] they watch it, and it's important to them." Generally speaking, everything must be made available to everyone so there may be no restrictions.

I would like to now point out Julia's blog. In it she shows the long tail graph that is important to point out whenever referring to the long tail. She states that, "The graph represents the many products that sell very little, while there are a few particular products that sell in abundance." So who makes more money? My guess would be the many that sell little category.

In Joy's blog She states her beliefs on buisnesses taking advantage of the long tail. I must agree with Joy, If buisnesses did take advantage of this system, the outcome of their profits would become greater. Definatly something to start thinking about!