The Long Tail
The term "Long Tail" was popularized by Wired editor Chris Anderson, first in a feature story, later in a book. The concept revolves around a frequency distribution with a "long tail" (view distribution example). In traditional retail businesses -- which are limited by shelf space -- a handful of popular products generate the majority of the profits. Under the Long Tail, Web-based businesses can take advantage of low-cost storage and warehousing to sell niche products from the "long" part of the frequency distribution. Amazon and Netflix are two businesses that use the Long Tail to their advantage.
TOC Stories Referencing The Long Tail
Anecdotal Evidence from the Digital Shift
Back in 2004, when I spent most of my time doing format conversions and production automation, I had the privilege of turning much of what I learned doing things like...Long Tail Evidence from The App Store
Last week we released 16 of our books as iPhone Apps (and on Saturday added The Twitter Book), and there's some interesting Long Tail data coming in. We've seen Long...Open Question: What is the Best Use for Print on Demand?
Is print on demand best suited for short print runs and Long Tail plays, or can it be used for more? Come share your thoughts on POD.Borders Stores Turn Back on Long Tail
Borders is using its limited shelf space to give top selling books the "face-out" treatment. Poor sellers need not apply.Additional Long Tail Links & Resources
Long Tail Book Site: Recent Posts
- The Long Tail of Travel
- Is this how the singularity happens?
- Netflix data shows shifting demand down the Long Tail
- A New York Times Bestseller!
- FREE on the Kindle (free); get it while it lasts!
Marketing / Publicity Companies from the TOC Directory
- Stay Connected
-
TOC RSS Feeds
Blog Feed
News Feed
Combined Feed
New to RSS?
Subscribe to the TOC newsletter. 
Follow TOC on Twitter. 
Join the TOC Facebook group. 
Get the TOC Headline Widget.
- Search
-
