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Long Tail, The, Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More [Paperback]

Chris Anderson (Author)
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Product Description

The New York Times bestseller that introduced the business world to a future that's already here--now in paperback with a new chapter about Long Tail Marketing and a new epilogue.

Winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book of the Year

In the most important business book since The Tipping Point, Chris Anderson shows how the future of commerce and culture isn't in hits, the high-volume head of a traditional demand curve, but in what used to be regarded as misses--the endlessly long tail of that same curve.

"It belongs on the shelf between The Tipping Point and Freakonomics."
--Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix

"Anderson's insights . . . continue to influence Google's strategic thinking in a profound way."


--Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

"Anyone who cares about media . . . must read this book."


--Rob Glaser, CEO, RealNetworks

About the Author

Chris Anderson is editor of chief of Wired magazine. He was U.S. business editor at The Economist. He began his career at the two premier science journals Science and Nature. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from George Washington University and studied Quantum Mechanics and Science Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Hyperion; Rev Upd edition (July 8, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1401309666
  • ISBN-13: 978-1401309664
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #11 in  Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Consumer Behavior
    #22 in  Books > Business & Investing > International > Economic Conditions

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Chris Anderson
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Here's the latest update on some Long Tail developments, January 26, 2009
This review is from: Long Tail, The, Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More (Paperback)

Note: The review that follows is of the revised and updated edition of a book that was first published in 2006. It offers essentially the same information and insights except that Anderson has added a new chapter on marketing, one in which he explains "how to sell where `selling' doesn't work." More about this chapter later.

In the October 2004 issue of Wired magazine, Chris Anderson published an article in which he shared these observations: "(1) the tail of available variety is far longer than we realize; (2) it's now within reach economically; (3) all those niches, when aggregated, can make up a significant market - seemed indisputable, especially backed up with heretofore unseen data." That is even truer today than it was when The Long Tail was first published years ago. The era that Anderson characterizes as "a market of multitudes" continues to grow in terms of both its nature and extent. In this book, Anderson takes his reader on a guided tour of this market as he explains what the probable impact the new market will have and what will be required to prosper in it.

According to Anderson, those who read the article saw the Long Tail everywhere, from politics to public relations, and from sheet music to college sports. "What people intuitively grasped was that new efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing were changing the definition of what was commercially viable across the board. The best way to describe these forces is that they are turning unprofitable customers, products, and markets into profitable ones." Therefore, the story of the Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance: "what happens when the bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture start to disappear and everything becomes available to everyone."

If I understand Anderson's most important points (and I may not), they include these:

1. Make as much as possible available to as many people as possible.
2. Help them to locate what they need, quickly and easily.
3. Offer maximum inventory only online.
4. Customize supply chain in terms of niche markets
5. Maximize its efficiencies and economies (especially inventory control, order processing, and distribution,)
5. Be customer-driven in terms of "crowdsourcing"
6. Have strategy that separates content into its component parts (i.e. "microchunking")
7. Have a pricing strategy that is "elastic" (i.e. based on the ROI of fulfillment per product per niche).
8. Have an open source business model for information sharing.
9. In markets where scarcity exists, "guesstimate" costs, margins, sales, profits, etc.
10.Where there is abundant competition, let those markets "sort it all out."

These and other points can guide and inform decision makers as they struggle to compete profitably during the era of "long-tailed distributions," when culture is unfiltered by economic scarcity and high technology is turning mass markets into millions of niches. Anderson provides invaluable advice with regard to how minimize the cost of reaching, penetrating, and then developing a multiple of niche markets. The paradigm has shifted from selling more in fewer markets to selling less in more markets but also, key point, selling as much as possible within as many segments as possible -- and prudent -- within those markets.

With regard to the new chapter, Anderson devotes much of his attention to online marketing and suggests that critical issues to address include these:

Who's influential "in our space (and how we know)"
Who/what influences them
How to get Digged
Effective blogging
Using beta-test invite lists
The art of begging for links
"Link bait" (e.g. stunts, contests, gimmicks, memes)

How to view the Web? "Forget it as a marketplace of products, and instead think of it as a marketplace of opinion. It's the great leveler of marketing. It allows for niche products to get global attention. Most products will be sold offline, as they always were. But in years to come, more and more products will be marketed online, taking advantage of Web methods to fine-slice consumer groups and influence word of mouth more effectively than ever before in history. Not all industries lend themselves to an infinite variety of products, but all industries have an infinite variety of customers. Finally we can treat them like the individuals they are. It's the sunset of the thirty-second spot."

There are several reasons why Anderson believed there is a need for a revised and updated edition. Here are two. Because the earlier version became a bestseller, it attracted lots of attention, generating an abundance of discussion of his core concepts. Also, the process of adopting his ideas (many of which at first seemed counterintuitive, if not precious and naive) was complicated by the globalization of culture. Focus shifted to distributed audiences around the world. Anderson was asked for additional examples of Long Tail effects outside the digital realms of media and entertainment. He certainly could not cover all of the extensions in fashion, travel, organic and "artisanal" food, and even alcohol as indicated by -- to cite one example -- Anheuser-Busch's embrace of niche beers, the establishment of Long Tail Libations, and the increased number of beers from 26 brands in 1997 to 80 in 2007. Given the fact that change continues to be the only constant in the global business world, think of this revised and updated edition as only the latest update on some Long Tail developments thus far.

Presumably the tail will continue to lengthen in months and years to come.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A longer tale for The Long Tail - the new marketing chapter adds real value., July 11, 2008
This review is from: Long Tail, The, Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More (Paperback)
Chris Anderson's groundbreaking examination of the new economics that comes with the internet age (the big revenue doesn't come from the handful of blockbusters so much as from the catalogue of little titles) ironically put The Long Tail near the head of the sales curve, up at the blockbuster end. Deservedly so. Anderson presents a compelling argument, and he illustrates it through imaginative examples and through tight, colourful language. He's a clear, persuasive writer.

In this updated edition, Anderson adds a new chapter on marketing, and in my view this plugs one of the gaps that emerged with the original work. Marketing executives and agency strategists have for two years now been dropping the "long tail" phrase into their dialogue, but the new chapter will help them put the thinking into practice.

A great book just got more timely, more useful.

PS. If you're looking to get a handle on today's marketing paradigm I'd recommend this book alongside Rob Walker's excellent Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Internet does change everything, July 16, 2008
This review is from: Long Tail, The, Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More (Paperback)
This is an important book for anyone who wants to understand internet commerce or innovation in services. In addition, "The Long Tail" must be a part of the vocabulary of anyone who wants to talk intelligenly about modern business practices.

The new emphasis on marketing in the new release is a valuable addition to the original.

A current article in HBR attacks the Long Tail on empirical grounds. However, Anderson's response on his website is compelling.

The one quibble with this book is that it is superfluous -- the original essay/article combined with the website covers the issues more fully. However, that said, this book will be more valuable than 90% of the volumes that you have in your business book collection.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Understanding the Long Tail
This is the 2nd book I have read from Mr. Anderson. His writing is very deep and straight to the Point. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Raul Colon

5.0 out of 5 stars Good researched and well structured book. A great read
For someone who had no idea of how media and distribution actually works in the real world this book shows some great insights to how these particular areas have changed and will... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Carlos Orlando Martins Gomes

4.0 out of 5 stars Great conceptual framework for understanding product creation, distribution and marketing
I ran into this book by accident and boy am I glad I did! It's a fascinating look on how product marketing has changed in the Internet era. Read more
Published 5 months ago by B. NAIK

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT SERVICE!!! Would use them again.
this was a WONDERFUL experience. the books arrived in a VERY timely manner and were in perfect condition. I wish i could get all the books i need from them.
Published 6 months ago by group purchaser

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Book to Read for Successful eCommerce
This is the holy grail for understanding how people find your web site. You can't compete with the big box stores, so you need to understand about keywords and how to find them... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars In defense of 'misses'
I'd long put off reading this book, simply because I was tiring of the plethora of trendy economic commentary books that seem to be crowding the market these days. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Daniel Midson Short

2.0 out of 5 stars One of the most damaging economics books ever
I think history will eventually say, this was an interesting book for the fact that it was probably one of the most damaging ever to be applied to the digital economy. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book!
This book is packed with useful facts and insights about how business is changing. The world is becoming more "on demand" and "real time" with personalized services. Read more
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