Customer Reviews:
 In Theory, Communism Works... June 24, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Where do I start?
I was really looking forward to reading "The Long Tail". I believe if I read "The World Is Flat" after I read this book, I would enjoy it more. After reading the Friedman book, and seeing the mostly recycled studies and facts Anderson uses here to justify his argument, I feel like I was reading the same book all over again. Ditto on Wikinomics, but I digress.
Here's the real problem with this book: There is a major assumption on Anderson's part that regular people like you and I can create content and sell it. Even if its bad, someone will buy it. Maybe, but no where does Anderson or any of these web futurists ever touch on how to fund such productions (and the fact that most of us will never be able to afford participating in the new web economy.) All this book really does is fuel an Internet gold rush, all the while making authors like Anderson rich for selling us a bill of goods and Silicon dreams.
 Good but too much fluff June 13, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Nutshell review - A good concept, insight, idea but too much fluff, examples, case studies, etc. Could have been written in a tenth of the pages (but where's the margin in that?).
 Wow June 9, 2008
Excellent. Shines light on a fascinating concept. Offer growth potential for hundreds of fields. Samuel R Daines II.
Extremely Relevant May 14, 2008
Smart, relevant, and on point, this book is a good read for anyone interested in the evolution of product valuing and Internet-based business modeling. Part social and cultural review, part business process review, it speaks to how gone are the days of company driven, long-lasting big hits, which where primarily created from limited availability of information about people and entertainment products. The digital world of the Internet has created microcosms of connoisseurs who are reshaping what's considered popular, which is, in turn, reshaping Internet-based company business models and revenue sources. In a digital world, more product can be made available with far less overhead because it doesn't take up physical space. What the Long Tail says is that this allows a broader range of purchasing options to the consumer, which then results in increased revenue even if a given song, for example, is only purchased by a mere few people.
 Simple, Smart Premise No Longer Ignored May 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More" by Chris Anderson claims that thar's gold in them thar hills. He tells us it is not a few big chunks we want, but many small nuggets.
Modern examples are Amazon.com and NetFlix, both of which sell plenty of Harry Potter products and the like. They also (or rent, as is with NetFlix) lots of less popular products. They hit the niche market hard. That's the gold.
The long tail is the curve's far end. At the top of the curve is Harry Potter, for example, along with other New York Times Bestsellers. These products certainly represent a significant amount of sales. However, so do the accumulated number of books and movies which might sell only a few copies a year. Add those up, and there is serious profit. While the tail in the curve is not high, it is long. One copy of, say. The Love, a Hungarian film, and one copy of The Very Best of Ralph Stanley, a bluegrass CD, might not sound like much, but the tail is long. Those, with thousands of other products sold each month, would make their seller very happy.
My own business is built on a long tail method. The market for Hungarian products is not like the Billboard Top 40. It is like the Billboard Bottom 20,000, if there were such a thing. It works.
Anderson's principles can be applied by small businesses like mine, and massive Fortune 500s looking to reach where few are reaching. The markets are there, and, by considering Anderson's ideas, so is the process.
I fully recommend "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More" by Chris Anderson.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
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