Buy on Amazon
ISBN: 1401309666
Read: 7/20/09
Recommended? Check it out from the library.

Notes

• The long tail is a power law distribution. The curve is basically Pareto principle on a graph. The top few products sell insane quantities on the left, but the further down the tail are products that sell less. The shear amount of these “non-hit” products is enough on which to base a business (see Amazon.com).
• As the cost of distribution falls, the onesies and twosies are more cost effective, and the more products get exposed. Almost all of the products offered digitally sell at least once per month/quarter/whatever. The more options available, the deeper people go: demand follows supply, not the other way around.
• Just like in real life, online word of mouth is powerful.
• It was not really file sharing that killed the music industry, just the myriad of options it presented. There are more choices. A greater supply led to a greater demand–a greater demand than record companies could ever fulfill.
• Our history is told through blockbusters (the most popular). We came from a culture where everyone watched the same TV show and talked about it at work — the water cooler discussions
• Our “water cooler” discussion are increasingly virtual. We form our own tribe of similar interests rather than default culture fed to us via broadcast/mass media. We no longer need to watch what everyone else watches because there are things available more closely in line with our tastes.
• The origins of Long Tail retailing are found in catalog sales and mega grocery stores. Lots of products all in one place, and very available to the consumer.
• As a result of the massive amount of niche goods and the falling cost of reaching niche audiences, we’re always moving to a more niche oriented culture.
• Three things make the long tail possible: democratization of the tools of production (think about the free recording software now available!), democratization of distribution (falling distro costs), and connecting the supply with a demand.
• Connecting supply with demand is about filters. That is, ways to reach people with recomendations. Two types of filters: things like amazon’s “related products” which is a recommendation engine vs. Post-Filters which is just online word of mouth. These are things like reviews on amazon or blogs. Post filters tend to amplify behavior — you read a good review, you buy the product, and discuss it with the person doing the review. An entire culture can develop around one product in this way.
• We need filters. Otherwise we couldn’t find anything because the choice is so vast. Consumers will often start with the familiar and work their way (through filters) to the unique and niche. And, unlike the filters for physical goods (think how products are arranged in a store), there’s unlimited space for filters online — they can be incredibly specific and meaningful to the consumer.
• Each niche has it’s own Long Tail distribution.
• This infinte choice found online is leading to a more fragmented culture. We no longer share the same culture with everyone, and we can exist in multiple cultural areas. “Hits” AND “niches”, “cheap science fiction B movies” AND “art music”. etc. We form our cultures by shared interests, not by geographic proximity.
• The danger of this shift towards specialization is that we see only what we want to see.
• Push media is media fed to us (think TV) vs. Pull media which users seek out.
• Two big Long Tail rules: HAVE everything and HELP me find it.

Memorable Quotes
“Other niche products are new, created by an emerging industry at the intersection between the commercial and oncommercial worlds, where it’s hard to tell when the professional leave and the amateurs take over.” p. 6

“In a world of almost zero packaging cost and instant access to almost all content in this format, consumers exhibit consistent behavior: the look at almost everything.” p. 8

“Shelves are places where things go to die.” p. 159

“Authority is in the eye of the beholder; it is not innate to the institution itself.” p. 188

“We will share our culture with others, but not with everyone.” p. 191