Mele’s Musings

Study Refutes Niche Theory Spawned by Web

First it was “The Tipping Point,” and now it’s “The Long Tail” that is being vilified.  Are no cool, trendy ideas sacred anymore?

Picture: Flickr

Article excerpt:   Had PowerPoint been around 150 years ago, Thoreau might have warned us to beware not only of enterprises that require new clothes, but also of those that require new paradigms. A book from 2006, “The Long Tail,” was one of those that appear periodically and demand that we rethink everything we presume to know about how society works. In this case, the Web and its nearly unlimited choices were said to be remaking the economy and culture. Now, a new Harvard Business Review article pushes back, and says any change occurring may be of an entirely different sort. The Long Tail theory, as explained by its creator, Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson, holds that society is “increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail.” The reason involves the abundance of easy choice that the Web makes possible. A record store has room for only a set number of titles. ITunes, though, can link to all of the millions of songs that its servers can store. Thus, said Mr. Anderson, “narrowly-targeted goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare.” Managers were urged to adopt their business plans accordingly. The rest: WSJ.com

Musing:  The contention that we seek novelty or difference, and that the long tail theory brings that to light is seriously questioned by this Harvard professor.  Her POV is that people are social by nature (which makes sense) and that we like to experience the things that others are experiencing.  Even if they are “bad” experiences (anyone seen the latest Hulk movie?  Feh!), at least  we are not left out.  Isn’t that why we like customer reviews, and tend to pay attention to the ones that are most consistent or popular?  We like popularity.  And, by the way, there was a dig in the article about blogs that just go unread.  Really?  Wait a minute – is there anyone out there reading this?!?