I love buying books on the Internet.  Whether it's from Amazon or Half.com (Ebay), I can find exactly what I want for a lot cheaper than the store.  It doesn't matter that my taste in books can sometimes be a little esoteric; I'm spoiled by the fact that I can type an author or title into a search box, and bam, there's the book.  If you've every wondered exactly how having all of these online retailers is going to affect our shopping, this is the book to read.  The Long Tail looks at the economics of selling and distributing products at a time where conventional ideas about retailing are being stood on their head.

Basically Chris differentiates each media market into two segments, the hits and the niches (also called the head and the long tail - see the chart below).  In the book he focuses on industries such as books, movies, and recorded music - but he does branch out and show how these forces affect other industries as well.  Over the past 50 years, each market has really only supported the hits because the scarcity of "shelf space" limits what you can bring to the consumer.  Three distinct forces, brought about by the new forces of technology and the Internet, allow the customer to move away from the hits and into the niche markets:
           

• Democratization of the tools of production
• Democratization of the tools of distribution
• Connecting this supply and demand

This leads to more people being able to find products that match up with their specific interests, and allows producers to find an audience for their products and be profitable in the shadow of the "big boys".






Implications, Ideas, and Questions

• My coaching and training clients are often people who populate the long tail.  As am I.  The explosion of small businesses and sole proprieties is based on the expansion of the long tail.
• Small businesses can not only compete with the "hit makers", they can win and be profitable.  The trick is not to compete head to head with them, but rather serve the needs that they can't.  It's OK to service a specific niche as long as you can make yourself found in a wide enough market.
• If you live in the long tail, you have to make it as easy as possible for people to find you.  I (and my peers) need to focus on making sure that our potential customers can find us in all of the clutter of the long tail.  And I mean we need to do that or we will go under.
• As a salesperson, I always heard about the 80/20 rule, where 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers.  I'm still grappling with what Chris's book means to my understanding of the 80/20 rule as a salesperson - but I can feel that there are some pretty powerful implications.  I think that one of them is this: If I was a salesperson who had limited time and resources, I would concentrate on selling to the top 20% of my clients who brought me most of my business.  Now, because I can stay in touch with people for almost no money and time investment (eg - group emails), it's worth pursuing all the customers, because they'll bring in decent profits.  That's just an idea - let me know what you think.
  

Should you read this book

Absolutely - If you run a small business, or if your business involves the Internet in any way, this is worth checking out.  it's a quick read and it explains some pretty dry economic concepts in a simple and easy-to-grasp way.  And it'll make you look smart at the next party you're at.



Find more info on the Long Tail at Chris Anderson's blog