Chris Anderson writes a book called The Long Tail which becomes super popular through social networks and Amazon.com He launches a blog too at thelongtail.com
The Wall Street Journal writes a piece today that basically says The Long Tail sucks:
It would be wonderful if the world as Mr. Anderson describes it were true: one where "healthy niche products" and even "outright misses" collectively could stand their ground with the culture's increasingly soulless "hits."
But while every singer-songwriter dreams from his bedroom of making a living off iTunes, few actually do, mostly because so many others have the very same idea. And to the extent that Apple is making money off iTunes, thanks go to Nelly Furtado and other hitmakers. Indeed, you can make the case that the Internet is amplifying the role of hits, even in relation to misses, not diminishing them.
Anderson responds on his blog:
But Lee Gomes has tried mightily to find flaws with the Long Tail theory and deserves a response of some sort. I have no doubt that there are many parts of my analysis and data that could be improved. Unfortunately, Gomes, in his haste to find them, stumbles over statistics and more, and in the end simply makes a muddle of what might have been an interesting debate over the magnitude of the Long Tail effect.
Dozens leave comments responding to Anderson's response in response to the WSJ article.
An A-List bloggers jump in:
http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/2006/07/26/listening-to-satellite-radio/
And so a conversation will ensue about the book and about the Wall Street Journal. Will the writer ( Lee Gomes) for the Journal participate in this conversation or is he arrogant enough to think that his opinion need not be defended? We shall see. Meanwhile, there is a vigorous discussion going on.
Me? I'm listening to the audiobook version of The Long Tail and find it fascinating. Haven't gotten through it yet to draw any of my own conclusions but so far, I don't see how anyone can defend the notion that the Internet hasn't exploded niche markets (the tail) such that, collectively, it rivals popular hits (the head). Can anyone say that the trend is toward less variety in the marketplace?