Tesco
The Long Tail
Book

The Long Tail

Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

Chris Anderson
Hyperion, 2006

Read or listen offline

  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

10
getAbstract International Book Award Winner 2006

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Does the modern world of online markets make you feel like Rip Van Winkle, who awoke from a 20-year nap to find a changed society? Author Chris Anderson has your wake-up call. With hard facts, charts and numbers, plus futuristic insights, Anderson decodes the mysteries of online marketing, Internet-based commerce and other New Age economic realities. His calculations, public feedback and extensive research offer more than just statistics for the sake of proving his point: Online retailing has a long reach into niche markets. This gives its products longevity that stores with finite shelf space can’t match, no matter how much steam they get from short-lived, blockbuster products. Anderson credibly explains the decline in box office sales and the rise of niche companies such as Netflix and iTunes. Despite a few redundancies (he believes in thorough explanations), keep on reading. You won’t mind; the text is a pleasure, written with wit, style and expertise. getAbstract recommends it to Luddites, old school business operators, anyone in entertainment or retail, and New Age Internet-based marketers (although you probably already know just how long this tail can be).

Take-Aways

  • The "Long Tail" is a statistical curve showing the edge that digital sellers with infinite goods for niche markets have over retailers with limited goods for mass markets.
  • Mass-selling goods create a high, thin spike on the sales graph; niche goods fill a longer, lower bar - the long tail.
  • Niche products increasingly last longer and do better than short-lived popular hits.

About the Author

Chris Anderson is the editor of Wired magazine, which he has led to five National Magazine Award nominations. In 2005, he was named Advertising Age’s editor of the year. He previously worked at The Economist, Nature and Science magazines.

Comment on this summary or Начать обсуждение