In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distributions, narrowly targeted goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare.
Order it wrong and choice is oppressive; order it right and it’s liberating.
We are turning from a mass market back into a niche nation, defined now not by our geography but by our interests.
The ultimate cost reduction is eliminating atoms entirely and dealing only in bits.
We are entering an era of unprecedented choice. And that’s a good thing.
Blockbusters are the exception, not the rule, and yet we see an entire industry through their rarefied air.
In a world of infinite choice, context—not content—is king. (Chris Anderson quoting Rob Reid)
Our growing affluence has allowed us to shift from being bargain shoppers buying branded (or even unbranded) commodities to becoming mini-connoisseurs, flexing our taste with a thousand little indulgences that sets us apart from others.
Broadly, the Long Tail is about abundance. Abundant shelf space, abundant distribution, abundant choice.
This is the end of spoon-fed orthodoxy and infallible institutions, and the rise of messy mosaics of information that require—and reward—investigation.