The Long Tail

Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More

By: Chris Anderson

Narrated by: Christopher Nissley

Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Our world is being transformed by the Internet and the near limitless choice that it provides to consumers; tomorrow's markets belong to those who can take advantage of this. The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance, an entirely new model for business that is just starting to show its power as unlimited selection reveals new truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it. The record business has been transformed by iTunes and Rhapsody; a similar transformation is coming to just about every industry imaginable.

What happens when everything in the world becomes available to everyone? When the combined value of all the millions of items that may sell only a few copies equals or exceeds the value of the few items that sell millions each? When a bunch of kids with no profit motive can record a song or make a video and get the same electronic distribution for it as the most powerful corporation?

Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, first explored "The Long Tail" in an article that has become one of the most influential business essays of our time. Using the worlds of movies, books, and music, he showed how the Internet has made possible a new world in which the combined value of modest sellers and quirky titles equals the sales of the top hits. He coined the term "The Long Tail" to describe this phenomenon, a phrase that's since appeared in boardrooms and media around the world.

"In short, though we still obsess over hits," Anderson writes, "they are not quite the economic force they once were. Where are those fickle consumers going instead? No single place. They are scattered to the winds as markets fragment into a thousand niches."

©2006 Chris Anderson. All rights reserved (P)2006 Hyperion. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Business Information/Education

"Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about." (Publishers Weekly)
"Christopher Nissley's reading style fits the content; he's clipped and staccato, like Anderson's writing. His narration is helpful to the listener who prefers not to get bogged down in the theoretical and technical parts of the book." (AudioFile)

Good Information, But It needs to be renewed

The book overall is good. However, It super repetitive. I honestly don't think it needs to be a book - this information can be summarized in an article. There are times that the words are even copy/paste. I was so annoyed I didn't even finish the book.

However, I would like to see this book renewed because all the information is kinda old. True but old. So everyone knows this information already. Tell me something I don't know.

Business in Today's World

Good read, will expand your knowledge on how to do business in today's world of technology.

A must for understanding the new economy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Although I rated with 5 stars this book, one must keep in mind that its main focus is on digital market. Though Amazon is mentioned a number of times, I would like to have heard more about smaller companies and the more traditional merchandise-commerce, through the Internet.

An Important Book

This is a well written book that reveals the richness and variety of consumer tastes and how the internet is the ideal supply chain mechanism to meet their needs.

Excellent!

I really enjoyed the thorough explanation and analysis of this book. Chris does a great job of breaking down the long tail and how it's a very viable market for large and small businesses alike. As a small business owner myself, it's encouraging to know that you don't have to do what the big boys do to grow your business and provide a service that your clients enjoy.

Excellent content

This book give excellent insight into the increasingly common phenomenon of dispersion. It really gives financial and economic weight to the phrase “Riches are in the niches.”

Mind expanding.

This book gave me a new view about how everything works online. A few ideas presented, were the answers I've been looking for for quite some time.

Interesting look at niche marketing

I thought this book has some interesting points about niche marketing that I shared with others along the way as I listened. I got a few points to think about for my own business.

My Pick for Book of the Year

This is the best book I’ve read in about a year.

It explains so much of the internet phenomena. It references all the best contemporary work on this subject but pulls it all together in a unified framework.

Change I believe in

As a small business owner, this book has changed the way I think about our product and services.