Review by Choice Review
Anderson expands on concepts he developed in an article that originally appeared in Wired, of which he is editor in chief. He posits that concepts of the mass market have fragmented into "a thousand niches"; the Internet and digital technologies have simply made everything available all the time. The author defines this as the "economy of abundance," unfettered consumer choice. The Long Tail develops this new economic model, where consumers can get anything they want at any time, resulting in the decline of the mass market and the birth of unlimited selection, ergo, the long tail. The record industry is cited as the first of many examples where mega-hits are smaller and the cumulative value of niche-based modest hits larger. Anderson explores this Internet-based economy in clear, concise terms and supports his position with ample current examples and data. This insightful, persuasive book explores this powerful new trend and the new marketing opportunities it affords. When mention by Hugo Chavez of a three-year-old book by Noam Chomsky can propel it to the top of the Amazon bestseller list in less than a week, who can doubt that the "long tail" has indeed arrived. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All collections. S. A. Schulman CUNY Kingsborough Community College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Citing statistical curves called long-tailed distributions because the tails are very long relative to the heads, Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, focuses on the tail, or the development in the new digital world of an infinite number of niche markets of any size that are economically viable due to falling distribution costs and in the aggregate represent significant sales. Although the author considers primarily media and entertainment companies, he also shows the long-tail effect at eBay, KitchenAid, Legos, Salesforce.com, and Google. His nine rules for successful long-tail strategies include lowering costs and thinking niche (one product, distribution method, or price does not fit all) and giving up control by sharing information and offering choices. In this excellent book, Anderson tells that the story of the long tail is really about the economics of abundance--what happens when the bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture start to disappear and everything becomes available to everyone. --Mary Whaley Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wired editor Anderson declares the death of "common culture" and insists that it's for the best. Why don't we all watch the same TV shows, like we used to? Because not long ago, "we had fewer alternatives to compete for our screen attention," he writes. Smash hits have existed largely because of scarcity: with a finite number of bookstore shelves and theaters and Wal-Mart CD racks, "it's only sensible to fill them with the titles that will sell best." Today, Web sites and online retailers offer seemingly infinite inventory, and the result is the "shattering of the mainstream into a zillion different cultural shards." These "countless niches" are market opportunities for those who cast a wide net and de-emphasize the search for blockbusters. It's a provocative analysis and almost certainly on target though Anderson's assurances that these principles are equally applicable outside the media and entertainment industries are not entirely convincing. The book overuses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay, and it doesn't help that most of the charts of "Long Tail" curves look the same. But Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Anderson (editor in chief, Wired) first wrote "The Long Tail" as a feature story for his magazine in October 2004. It enormously influenced techies, content producers, and marketers in pointing out that digital content and Internet catalogs have enabled such merchants as Amazon and NetFlix to sell, cumulatively, enormous quantities from their backlists of nonhits. In this expansion of that argument, he posits that we're past the age of blockbuster hits in music and other genres and are witnessing the rise of niches. But other than observing that physical retailers should have an online counterpart, it's not clear how much of a lesson the book offers to certain bricks-and-mortar retailers. Anderson takes issue with Barry Schwartz's The Paradox of Choice, arguing that people really do prefer variety-as long as they have information about it and about other customers' choices. He suggests that Google show the way, but he's a bit sanguine: ever tried to order a computer or a cell phone plan? Still, his conclusion that "the Long Tail is nothing more than infinite choice," combined with the question of the implications for our increasingly fragmented culture, will certainly generate symposia and discussion. For all libraries.-Norman Oder, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
