Interesting article in the WSJ this morning arguing that Chris Anderson’s “Long Tail” theory was incorrect. Instead, Lee Gomes highlights Harvard Professor Anita Elberse’s article in the Harvard Business Review called – Should You Invest in the Long Tail?
This quote really caught my attention from the WSJ article…
Bloggers had a special role in taking up the [Long Tail] theory, which is no wonder considering how it held out the promise that even the most obscure among them could win a robust audience. The sad truth is that the blogosphere is as hit-driven as the rest of the world, with a tiny percentage of blogs getting a huge chunk of the traffic, and with many, many blogs simply going unread.
And this paragraph did as well…
Prof. Elberse describes research showing that even in our cultural consumption we tend to be intensely social folks. We like experiencing the same things that other people are experiencing – and the mere fact that other people are experiencing and liking something makes us like it even more. Far from being cultural rugged individualists, most of us are only too happy to have others suggest to us what we’d like.
Also, thank you to my new friend Professor José María Álvarez Monzoncillo from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Mardrid for coming up with the term “The Short Tail.”
