Tue 8 Aug 2006
Foolish though it is to reblog Slashdot posts, I wanted to toss in a comment about a recent WSJ article posted there. In ‘Many Companies Still Cling to Big Hits To Drive Earnings‘ Lee Gomes argues that big hits, blockbusters, and the top 5% still dominate the market today. The Long Tail, he argues, isn’t as relevent as we might think.
The thing is, Gomes was just trying to give some sound business advice: don’t think you have to switch to a brand new model right away: the tried and true one still works. But in the process he’s misrepresented the whole idea of the Long Tail. The idea isn’t that blockbusters won’t be important anymore, just that they won’t be the only important thing. When many folks have access to the channels of distribution, and diverse content is always available, it creates another option for those who want it. The blockbuster has some competition.
The Barnes & Noble’s of the world are in no immediate danger from the competition of the Long Tail. But if they’re smart, they’ll realize, unlike Mr. Gomes, that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Be a hits oriented company, but cultivate a symbiotic community of producers, consumer, commentators, searchers, stockpilers, and experts. After all, today’s blockbusters will be sliding down that curve before long. Why lose their value entirely?
August 21st, 2006 at 1:47 am
I’d like to add a comment:
Surely the long tail means that books (and other products) are almost equally available when buying online (there is some difference between 24 hours and 48/72 etc. but basically all books are now equally available. The problem is therefore not the supply chain it is the media. Customers mostly buy what they know. What they know is mostly what is in the papers, TV, advertising etc. so the blockbusters are the ones they buy. Gradually they learn about other products and they start to buy them. But it can only ever be small? Which small publisher has the dollars available to compete with the big boys for blockbuster marketing presence?
Blogs and sites like myspace open up alternative media but the blockbusters invade these too.
I believe that the long tail is important and valid as a business model but modern culture is all about the mass market and the big spend.
September 21st, 2006 at 6:20 am
This week Chris Anderson was interviewed by Jack Trout about the Lee Gomes critique of the Long Tail. What was most interesting was the discussion about the “old school” business heads, and traditional companies who are staring at the pages of the Long tail, wondering why it’s a best seller and asking “what the heck do I do with this stuff.” As producer of the program, I was a fly on the wall. Though I’ve read the book, followed the discussions online and read a few of the research papers; I found several good “Ah HA’s” in the interview. Here’s the link:
http://www.troutandpartners.com/radio/strategy.asp