books:

	The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More Chris Anderson Hyperion, 2006 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 179 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

"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.

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Scintilating, brilliant. The new age explained

Anderson's TV appearance on Charlie Rose induced me to read his Wired column which interested me in his book; all part of the long tail of information and connectivity in this new Internet age. Mixing an equal blend of statistics, charts and commentary, Anderson uses Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Netflix and other new age entities in describing the revolution in the buyers' entertainment options and our thirst for choice. The ancien regime of filtering news, opinion, entertainment, consumer buying choices is dead, according to Anderson. As revealing as "The World is Flat" by Tom Friedman, this book describes like no other the new age of niche selection, user choice and the shifted sands of our preferences as a plugged in society.

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The Long Book from a Short Article

PROS: Well written, fluid prose, clear headers guide the reader, useful observations on how the Internet has changed many industries, excellent for the business reader and entrepreneur.

CONS: Although the author generally writes in a concise writing style (which is nice), the book could be even shorter. Indeed, it grew out of a Wired article.

CONCLUSION: The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I wasn't left amazed and blown away. It's a nice book. Well written and researched. Get it if you're an entrepreneur or you love to read how the Net disrupts industries. If you're only moderately interested in these subjects, then just read the Wired article and/or the user comments on this book.

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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. Anderson's Long Tail theory proves that by opening the door for consumers to access niche choices and tools of creation, the Internet has unveiled a means of "turning unprofitable customers, products, and markets into profitable ones" (p. 11). The Long Tail refers to the market share that is made attainable by the Internet's introduction of "abundant shelf space, abundant distribution, and abundant choice" (p. 143).

In The Long Tail, Anderson effectively presents engaging ideas that are muted only by the book's sometimes-scattered structure. Anderson uses real-world examples to make his points, leads readers to evaluate their own consumer habits, and upholds the context that the Long Tail is part of a bigger picture. At times Anderson is redundant, and the book lacks the guidance of a defined genre, but compared to The Long Tail's strong overall message, the points of contention are minimal.

Using real-world examples, Anderson effectively teaches readers how the digital age is empowering formerly complaisant consumers to control what is popular. Anderson gives examples of musicians who made it big without record label support and were able to "record and distribute their music themselves and keep their creative independence" (p. 106) and actors who developed enormous fan bases and reached stardom by posting their skits online. By citing such examples, Anderson illustrates to readers that aspiring artists no longer need to wait for a big break from entertainment industry executives; "technology has shifted the balance of power from label to band" (p. 106). Anderson also uses a real-world example to show readers that when a company broadens its selection of items it will learn from the customer what is popular: "Until KitchenAid had an online channel that allowed customers to pick from its full range of products, it had no way of knowing that there was latent consumer demand [for orange mixers] that it hadn't previously tapped" (p. 205).

The author's real-world proof that consumers can influence industries leads readers to evaluate their own position in corporate-to-consumer relationships. The Long Tail model causes readers to think twice about supporting broad-appeal-based businesses that offer limited selections. Readers may ask: Why should I settle for mainstream when I can get just what I want elsewhere? Both consumers and producers can leverage the Long Tail of niche markets to their own advantage. Anderson notes that while abundance of selection grants consumers the power of choice, businesses are reaping the revenue benefits of the Tail: "the numbers are so large that you can lop off a large chunk (the hits) and it's still a huge market" (p. 215).

Anderson does a good job of reminding the reader of the context from which the Long Tail should be viewed; it is one splice of a larger market. He appropriately notes that while there is a significant subculture market to be captured in the Long Tail, the head of hits should not be disregarded. It is hard to side with writers such as Anita Elberse of the Harvard Business Review who seem to misconstrue the Long Tail concept as promoting tail-only business; Anderson explicitly states that "successful Long Tail aggregators need to have both hits and niches" (p. 148). He cites the importance of both ends, using Google as an example: "most of its revenues come from the head of the curve, [but] most of its customers are somewhere in the tail, which suggests that this is where much of its growth will come in the future" (p. 215).

While the educational and thought-provoking merits of The Long Tail are significant, Anderson nonetheless introduces two challenges to his readers. The first challenge lies in the mid-section of the book, wherein Anderson is unnecessarily redundant and risks losing the reader's attention. Page 146 would make an excellent last page, as it nicely summarizes and connects what has been read. Although there is some good content interspersed in the redundancy, Chapter 9 (page 147) would make a nice start for The Long Tail: Part Two, as it restates what was in Part I. Page 155 revisits big box retailers, page 164 tells the reader again that there are limitations in airwaves, and goes on to recount what makes a hit. Ironically, in his WIRED Magazine article, "Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business," Anderson states that in a world of abundance attention is the new scarcity to be vied for. A more concise, well-organized edition of the book would be more apt to engage the scarcity of attention.

The second challenge is that the book lacks a genre. Anderson admits "I tremble to think where the Dewey Decimal System will place the book you're reading now. Technology? Economics? Business? Culture? None of them are quite right by themselves" (p. 161). For the reader, not knowing what The Long Tail was written for hinders enjoyment and slows the reading process. It is challenging to decipher if the book is meant to be read as a textbook from which statistics ought to be memorized, or as a breezy read that offers ideas that will be fun to share at cocktail parties. Anderson finds single-genre classifications to be limiting, since "one thing can be many different things to many different people" (p. 161). However, he overlooks that a genre can be of more use than just determining where to physically or digitally store/categorize the book. Genres can also provide readers a useful context from which to read. The burden of figuring out the genre of The Long Tail is a hurdle for the reader.

As Professor Kathy Gill of the University of Washington notes, this is the "Wild West" of the digital age. In this Wild West, Anderson pulls together the elements and implications of a previously unattainable Long Tail market to bring meaning to this burgeoning area that is still being defined. Despite a few points of contention, The Long Tail does an excellent job of introducing and addressing today's changing economy and leads readers to evaluate the economic role they play.

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The Long Tail by Chris Anderson

This is a very informative book and helps one to understand the logic behind online retailers. I learned about the "long tail" topic during my graduate studies and had the opportunity to read Chris Anderson's book on the entire topic. I decided to take this opportunity to explore the topic in greater detail and found the book to be very insightful and intuitive. The book explains all the things scholars are inclined to believe and helps us to put everything else into perspective. Mr. Anderson gives insight into industry terminology (i.e. "watercooler effect") to help communicate certain phenomena and to give the concept definition. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to explore and learn from such a magnificent author and educator. With all that I have learned from the text, I plan to utilize its contents in the "real world" to help others understand its implications for the future in retail.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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