The Long Tail Book

22 postings we've had already  on our own blog on this long tail. Read them all first. And now ... there is also the book. The FT likes it and I've ordered it Amazon. It should be good no? A short piece out of the FT--article:" In fact, on closer inspection it turns out to be a theory of entertainment, books and the media in general. But it is a very good theory, as far as it goes, and there is much to be said for clearing one corner of the jungle. Anderson is editor of Wired magazine, and his "long tail" theory was first aired there in October 2004. In essence, it says the economics of old-style distribution in his chosen industries produced an obsession with hits, chart-toppers and best-sellers. These might only be a small part of the market, but they were the only bit that made sense for the big operators. Internet economics change that. If you are selling music or film downloads, your inventory and distribution costs are practically zero. So you can capture the entire market, including the long tail of non-hits. And that is often where the real value is.
(....)  The trouble with the long tail, of course, is that you need a filter. This is where the social nature of the internet comes in. Old-style filters were applied in advance by editors, store buyers and the like. Now they come after the event, from online reviewers, bloggers and consumers in general. As Anderson puts it, there are two long-tail rules: make everything available and help me find it. (....) The main thing is that Anderson explores his chosen field very thoroughly, and writes easy and approachable prose. Those with limited interest in American popular music might be advised to skip bits. But you cannot have everything, let alone a theory to cover it."  If you think you're in advertising and don't have to read these books on media and entertainment and other books reas also what it teaches about what we're in and click the the article of a well respected columnist.