The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson, is an explanation of human behavior as a result of unprecedented levels of choice and variety in the era of the digital age. Anderson tells the story of the Long Tail by using economic theory and corporate case studies. In comparing it to other books read for Social Media, it is more like Here Comes Everybody than Groundswell; it seeks to just tell its business-minded audience the way things work in the new media environment, and let them make their own conclusions as to how it can be leveraged to positively impact their business. In fact, Anderson seems to suggest that while The Long Tail can be explained, it cannot be predicted.
The Long Tail refers to those who are operating at the part of the graph that is flattest, where variety is high and popularity is low.
However, this theory is effectively the result of the incredible technological innovation of the last few decades, not one of the components. For example, Netflix is one of the companies that is most often referred to by Anderson, specifically because of its variety of products, and the algorithms by which the website recommends future movies to subscribers based on current movie choices. So there is no question of “which came first, the chicken or the egg” when it comes to the Long Tail – the suggestive nature of Netflix would seem to have come before the innermost movie interests of people could be revealed.
While reading the book, I couldn’t help but thinking (at first) that it flew directly in the face of everything I had ever read out about branding. And while social media is definitely hijacking some of the aspects of the world of branding, companies are still building and maintaining brands by developing a promise, values, or a mission. When I thought of the variety that is present on a Amazon or a Netflix, it seems to contradict the principles discussed in some prominent books on branding. Yet, it became clear as Anderson developed his argument, most of these companies who are taking advantage of the Long Tail are still staying on message and remaining true to their brand. Amazon is a bit of an anomaly – but that is the privilege of creating a brand that serves as a a great “aggregator”.
There is an aspect of many of these social media books that is incredibly satisfying to the consumer – the fact that the power of choice seems to be back in the hands of consumers. Anderson’s anecdote about Bonnie McKee and My Chemical Romance is one such example. Yes, to some extent, the music industry has learned the power of social media and harnessed it to its advantage. But this time, if we as consumers don’t like the new Miley Cyrus album, we have the opportunity to go to one of the great aggregators and find a new artists. And while an algorithm on Amazon may suggest artists based on common purchasing patterns, we can ignore those suggestions and still have a wealth of options that we can decide to explore.
