There has been so much buzz about this book I felt a little strange putting it up on the MilkBlog. But, just in case you have not heard about “The Long Tail”, here are my two cents. Like most marketing books you really only need to read the first 3-4 chapters (the rest tends to be case studies), but the insights author Chris Anderson discusses are mind bending. The subtitle “Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More” is all your really need to know to understand the basics of this book. The author explains how in traditional retail, you have the 80/20 rule, with 20 percent of the products accounting for 80 percent of the revenue. Online, instead, he sees the “98 percent rule.” Where 98 percent of all the possible choices get chosen by someone, and where the 90 percent that is only available online accounts for half the revenue and two-thirds of the profits. He also explains how filters and recommender systems that help people find what they are really looking for are crucial ingredients. Thus, in a nutshell, Anderson’s theory is that mass culture is fading, and being replaced by a series of niches. I highly recommend this read to anyone in marketing.
Michael Kosowicz – Milk