Long tail is the term for the distribution mechanism of products in any one market. Those products that have better name recognition and that sell more are the hits and are at the top. The products that are lesser known or are in low demand are the "niches" and they tail off on a distribution graph. As a result of the progress of technology, niches too have found popularity and better sales, adding to a more diversified economy and extended business practices that are, in the author's words, "away from statistics that big business understands."

The concept of "Long Tail" results in higher personal contentment and public benefit; its theory and practice also changes the way the business--or anything else--is conducted throughout the world. The book observes and celebrates the swing of our economy and culture from the few hits of conventional markets to numerous niches.

"The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More" has fourteen chapters: The Long Tail, The Rise and Fall of the Hit, A Short History of the Long Tail, The Three Forces of the Long Tail, The New Producers, The New Markets, The New Tastemakers, Long Tail Economics, The Short Head, The Paradise of Choice, Niche Culture, The Infinite Screen, Beyond Entertainment, Long Tail Rules.

understanding where the economy and the way we do things are starting to go.

the author's hopeful look to the future.

happy and hopeful.

Chris Anderson is the editor in chief of the Wired magazine since 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from George Washington University. He also studied Quantum Mechanics and Science Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. Earlier, He has worked at Science and Nature as an editor and at The Economist as the U.S. business editor.

it is important to know where our lives are headed to, which is what big business is scared of and why.

With the advancement of technology and especially with the arrival of the internet, we are given better and more varied choices. The idea of "Long Tail" might have existed for centuries, and already, we might have been trying to practice what this book has so precisely put together in a framework of economic and scientific terms.
As the author says: "It sounds like science fiction, but then again so did having an entire music library in your pocket just a decade ago...The explosion of variety we've seen in our culture thanks to digital efficiencies will extend to every other part of our lives."
Despite its graphs and economic terms, the language of the book is easily understandable, and the concept is thought-provoking and fascinating.

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Created Nov 04, 2006 at 12:10am • Submit your own review...