THE LONG TAIL - DEFINITION - PART II
In yesterday's blog, we discussed Chris Anderson's fascinating book, The Long Tail. In Chapter One, Anderson provides us with a glimpse of his views on hit-driven economics. Data indicates that most of us want more than hits. Everyone's taste departs from the mainstream at some point and the greater our access to these vast alternatives, the more we are drawn to them.
Unfortunately, until recently, these alternatives were relegated to the fringes by overpowering marketing vehicles built by the industries which needed them to assure the success of their blockbuster hits. However, today's system of online distribution and retail makes these alternative niche products accessible and easily reached.
One of the best ways to understand this economic theory is to look at a graph which documents the course of a retail product's life. The popularity of the product is shown in the vertical rise, so typically a very large vertical rise is a hit. These hits are immensely successful but few and far between. Horizontally, we see the progression of niche products. There are millions of these products and although they do not rise very high vertically, they exist in large volumes. These niche products create a very long horizontal reach, which Anderson has named "The Long Tail".
This radical new shape of cultural commerce differs from the previous model of supply and demand. This is because although a niche product never reaches the vertical height of a hit, the Long Tail provides for a product's almost endless shelf life and, therefore, allows the niche to be preserved and money to be continually made over a longer period of time. This greatly changes the definition of what is commercially viable. The best way to describe these forces is that they are transforming what were once unprofitable customers, products and markets, into profitable ones. More on this subject tomorrow.
Thanks, Ian and Suzana.
