Web 2.0 and The Long Tail

Abstract:The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-target goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare. The Long Tail article is about the big-picture consequence of this: how our economy and culture is shifting from mass markets to million of niches.

Author: Chris Anderson
Date: September 24, 2005

View Full Article