Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1020 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
What happens when there is almost unlimited choice? When everything becomes available to everyone? And when the combined value of the millions of items that only sell in small quantities equals or even exceeds the value of a handful of best-sellers? In this ground-breaking book, Chris Anderson shows that the future of business does not lie in hits - the high-volume end of a traditional demand curve - but in what used to be regarded as misses - the endlessly long tail of that same curve. As our world is transformed by the Internet and the near infinite choice it offers consumers, so traditional business models are being overturned and new truths revealed about what consumers want and how they want to get it. Chris Anderson first explored the Long Tail in an article in "Wired" magazine that has become one of the most influential business essays of our time. Now, in this eagerly anticipated book, he takes a closer look at the new economics of the Internet age, showing where business is going and exploring the huge opportunities that exist: for new producers, new e-tailers, and new tastemakers.

He demonstrates how long tail economics apply to industries ranging from the toy business to advertising to kitchen appliances. He sets down the rules for operating in a long tail economy. And he provides a glimpse of a future that's already here.

From the Publisher
The new economics of culture and commerce

From the Back Cover
With his brilliant theory of the Long Tail - a powerful new economic force in a world where the internet allows access to almost unlimited choice - Chris Anderson has identified an important truth about our economy and culture: that the future does not lie in hits - the high-volume end of a traditional demand curve - but in what used to be regarded as misses - the curve's endlessly long tail.

In this expanded and updated edition, published for the first time in paperback, he examines how niche interests, which make up the millions of misses, have come together in a global network, stimulating innovation on an unprecedented scale. The result, he argues, is a cultural richness in which enthusiasms previously dismissed as `minority' thrive and everybody everywhere can find something to their taste.

`A smart, timely and oddly inspiring book.' - Time Out

'It's the Big Idea of 2006.' - GQ

`The Long Tail is an eloquent exposition of a simple idea, but one that has huge ramifications for our media and culture if followed to its logical conclusions.' - Guardian Media

'Each year produces a book that captures the Zeitgeist... This year Chris Anderson's The Long Tail has helped to reinterpret our world.' - The Times

`…snappily argued and thought-provoking.' - New Yorker

Customer Reviews

A mixed bag
I finished this book sometime ago, but had to ponder for a while before writing about it. My dilemma revolves around two points. First, it is an interesting, well written, read. Second, the evidence presented is entirely anecdotal.

Anderson's thesis is very simple. The rise of businesses like Amazon and eBay, coupled with the interpersonal communication facilities afforded by the Internet, has effectively created unlimited demand. He argues that he has identified a business opportunity to make a profit in niche areas that were not previously profitable.

The explanation given is fairly simple. The development of the Internet means that more people have access to minority items, and the development of filtering technology, especially collaborative filtering technology, means that people can identify material they are interested in more easily.

The concept is seductive and well argued. Unfortunately, more recent research (the book was published several years ago) is not really supporting the idea. Not only that, but I have been unable to find any examples of successful businesses just based on the long tail model. As the Western world slides into a recession of the next year or so, it will soon become clear whether this is yet another idea from the digeratii which is based on the assumption that the good times will last for ever, or contains some real meat.

Five stars for entertainment value. One star for lack of research!

Simple but infectious
Overall I really liked The Long Tail, I found it very interesting, well written and easy to read. The only slight criticism I have, which is the reason for the 4 star rating, is that is does feel as though it could have been shortened a little without losing any of the content.

The overarching idea of the book is that if you can drive down the costs of producing, distributing and finding content, people will start to move away from "hit-driven" mass-market content and start to find a world filled with niches that fill their desires more completely. It's not a particularly complex idea but it has some interesting potential consequences, as highlighted throughout the book.

Whether or not you should completely buy into this, or how far you may see it changing the way people find and consume things such as music and entertainment, is open to debate. What I can say is that since reading the book I have begun to notice elements of the Long Tail in action in many different places.

Uneven
Thought-provoking from both a cultural and commercial point of view, but it goes on a bit! Would have been better at half the length.