The long tail, why the future of business is selling less of more states that the items that individually have low demand, if accumulated can draw in significantly more demand and therefore can imply multiple times more income than popular products that sell in huge volume. Nearly four years ago, first in a widely cited article and later in a bestselling book, chris anderson posited that the internet, with its vast inventories of books, albums, and movies, would. Definitely worth reading on the long tail theory which absolutely applies to. Wired magazine editorinchief chris andersons long tail theory article, book, blog predicts that digital distribution will lead to a jump in demand for niche content. The long tail theory can be applied to the film industry in terms of how films are distributed. In this excellent book, anderson tells that the story of the long tail is really about. Long tails and big heads nearly four years ago, first in a widely cited article and later in a bestselling book, chris anderson posited that the internet, with its vast inventories of books. The long tail takes its title from those millions of niche buyers who show up on sales graphs as a. Why blockbusters are taking over the arts the boston globe. In the long tail, chris anderson offers a visionary look at the future of business and common culture. In the most important business book since the tipping point, chris anderson shows how the future of commerce and culture isnt in hits, the highvolume head of a traditional demand curve, but in what used to be regarded as misses the endlessly long tail of that same curve. However, he didnt give the headsup to most of last centurys traditional megabrands and retailers that they might also participate and accelerate their growth by implementing the theory. Theres the back catalog, older albums still fondly remembered by longtime fans or rediscovered by new ones. For example the head is a high street retailer such as hmv.
In the most important business book since the tipping point, chris anderson. In 1988, a british mountain climber named joe simpson wrote a book called touching the void, a harrowing account of near death in the peruvian andes. Since the long tail is already ten years old, this has become a duuuh, obvious idea but only in hindsight. In some ways the long tail has become a meme for the cultural theory of everything human. The long tail search is a phrase coined by wired editor chris anderson in an article published by wired in october 2004, which later became a book published by hyperion in july 2006 in his discussion chris anderson says the long tail is the theory that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of hits mainstream products and markets. With great anticipation, i preordered chris andersons the long tail two months ago. The long tail chris anderson by must read summaries. Anderson described the effects of the long tail on current and future business models beginning with a series of speeches in early 2004 and with the publication of a wired magazine article in october 2004. So they optimistically embraced chris andersons 2006 book the long tail, whose implicit message was that the little people would win as the web lowered business costs to usher in a new era of profitable niche products the long tail over blockbusters.
The long tail is a book i recommend all my clients to read. Across the board, sales of bestsellers have slumped by as much as 25 per cent, threatening the basic economics of traditional book and music. Why the future of business is selling less of more is a book by chris anderson, editor in chief of wired magazine. The longtail phenomenon, he argues, will reshape our understanding of what people actually want to watch or read, etc. Report challenges long tail theory on p2p networks wired. He previously worked for seven years for the economist and six years for nature and science magazines. The long tail takes its title from those millions of niche buyers who. Although i dont agree with many of the conclusions in their paper like some other academics, they got confused over definitions of head and tail and fell into the common trap of doing percentage analysis in an absolute numbers world, the data was interesting. This book has benefited from the help and collaboration of literally thousands of. This book has benefited from the help and collaboration of literally thousands. The new edition of chris andersons wellpublicised book the long tail has the subtitle why the future of business is selling less of more. Why chris andersons long tail theory might be all wrong. How endless choice is creating unlimited demand kindle edition by anderson, chris.
Anderson states in his book, and proves with clear arguments, that meeting the various specific needs of several welldefined niche markets can bring even more success to a company than trying to attract the. Why the future of business is selling less of more by. Chris anderson, editorinchief of wired magazine, coined the term long tail in an article that became a reference for anyone who wanted to understand the new consumer relationships in pervasive digital media times. In the most important business book since the tipping point, chris anderson shows. At heart the long tail is a book about economics and carries the. Anderson later extended it into the book the long tail. In the book, anderson focuses on the definition of hits in absolute terms.
It was shortlisted for the financial times and goldman sachs business book of the year award on 18 september 2006. I received it last week and have read it through fairly quickly. This work offers a summary of the book the long tail. In this latest version of the long tail, chris anderson does an exceptional job explaining how the endless shelf space of the internet, when applied to commerce or culture, makes the niche marketing of almost any product, service or idea so efficient and effective its disruptive forces lay waste to many given economic ideas and generations of long held cultural norms. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 288 pages and is available in paperback format. In october 2004, chris anderson, editor in chief of wired magazine, published an article titled the long tail. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Anderson argued that products in low demand or with low sales volume can collectively make up a. A decade has passed since chris anderson wrote the long tail. Two years later, he publishes the eponymous book, where he elaborates his theory. Why the future of business is selling less of more 2006. The long tail summary by chris anderson covers why the future of business is selling less of more and why you should accept that. He describes how a large media company might engage audiences taking into. How endless choice is creating unlimited demand by chris anderson isbn. The long tail, in business, is a phrase coined by chris anderson in 2004. Why the future of business is selling more for less, and his theory is being proven as reality.
I enjoyed the book as it was much more of a social commentary than a business manual. The short story of the long tail theory from chris anderson what is the long tail. Why the future of business is selling less of more. The presentation explains the 8020 rule, what happens when the market moves from scarcity to abundance and what the long tail means for the entertainment industry. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream. The long tail engels door chris anderson onze prijs. The long tail is a book that focuses on one of my favorite subjects internet commerce. The long tail theory took shape in an article by chris anderson, editor of wired magazine, which grew into the 2006 book the long tail. The long tail is an online film distribution service such as amazon. The long tail concept is very cute, but after reading it, i cant stop thinking.
We all know that if you want to open a successful restaurant one of the consideration is location. In his book, chris anderson proposes the theory that the internet haswill change the future of retailing and tv, movies, communication, etc. Chris andersons the long tail does something that only the best books douncovers a phenomenon thats undeniably going on and makes clear sense of it. Chris anderson popularized a theory about the long tail effect in a book first featured in wired in 2004 and later published by hyperion in 2006. Why the future of business is selling less of more by chris anderson.
According to chris anderson, who developed the theory in a 2004 wired article, then in a 2006 book, the. Particularly notable is that when krakauers book hit shelves, simpsons. Anderson, the editor in chief of wired, blockbusters will matter less. You can find everything out there on the long tail. A team at wharton did some long tail analysis on the netflix ratings data the company released for its netflix prize. Chris anderson first explored the long tail in an article in wired magazine that has become one of the most influential business essays of our time. Chris anderson, then the editor of wired, explores the four key stages of any viable technology. I read a great book actually i listened to it on the seven cd set that is a must read for any business person called, the long tail, why the future of business is selling less of more by chris anderson. Why the future of business is selling less of more pdf epub book.
The book was initially published on july 11, 2006, by hyperion. The book, andersons first, is an expansion of his 2004 article the long tail in the magazine. The long tail pdf summary chris anderson 12min blog. In the book, anderson focuses on the definition of hits in absolute terms such as the top 10 or top 1,000 products, while. Chris anderson wrote the long tail and also works for conde nast as editorinchief of wired magazine. The theory of the long tail can be boiled down to this. The long tail of innumerable tinysellers is populated by old hits as well as new and old niche items. The short story of the long tail theory from chris anderson.
An interview with chris anderson sign in to comment. The long tail theory was developed in 2004 by chris anderson. Now, in this eagerly anticipated book, he takes a closer look at the new economics of the internet age, showing where business is going and exploring the huge opportunities that exist. The book was listed in the new york times nonfiction best sellers list. Long tail theory in a wider interpretation is the wired editor chris andersons brainchild. He wrote the long tail which first appeared in wired in october 2004 and then became a book, published by. The long tail theory, first postulated in 2004 by writer chris anderson, is based on the notion that as retailers use the internet to offer a greater number of products at less cost, they will no longer have to rely on big hits to prop up their sales. When so many people are wasting countless millions on ineffective marketing the long tail is the doorway to a method of marketing products or services that is absolutely free to implement. The first edition of the novel was published in 2006, and was written by chris anderson. While doing this work, elberse kept bumping up against a popular new idea. Its one that you need to keep reminding yourself off, and that, if you havent heard of, will make you feel optimistic, hopeful, and inspired to start creating.
Chris anderson is the editor of fast company magazine. The book became a new york times bestseller and won the gerald loeb award for best business book of the year, simply titled the long tail. The long tail by chris anderson books the guardian. Hitdriven economics is a creation of an age without enough room to carry. Chris andersons groundbreaking examination of the new economics that comes with the internet age the big revenue doesnt come from the handful of blockbusters so much as from the catalogue of little titles ironically put the long tail near the head of. In other words, the demand curve moves away from the head and flattens toward the tail. The long tail challenge and the ecommerce business i. But things havent quite worked out that way, orlowski writes. The expression was popularised by chris anderson, a former journalist at the economist and editor of wired magazine, in his book the long tail. For the first time in history, archives have a business model. Winetta lees presentation the basic principles of the long tail looks at chris andersons theory of the long tail. Particularly notable is that when krakauers book hit shelves. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the long tail. Why the future of business is selling less of more is title of a book written by editor of the us american magazine wired explains in this book his theory of the long tail is the use of the internet.