The fate of the small
by asi
Chris Anderson of the Long Tail is on a PR tour to promote his new book. Best of luck to Chris!
Essentially his theory describes the seismic changes in the world of media from one where the means of production and distribution rested in the
control of the few, to one where anyone with a Mac and a broadband
connection is a mini-Murdoch.
Looking at the long tail icon
can explain the thory in its simplicity: the elegant line of the demand curve that shows the "short head", the big hits that have traditionally sustained record companies, Hollywood studios, broadcasters and publishers, petering out into the long tail, the never-ending cornucopia of a million niche products that will all appeal to someone, somewhere. Or, as Chris describes it:
"Broadly, the long tail describes the shift from mass markets to
millions of niches, the low sellers that we traditionally haven’t had
room for on our shelves, screens and channels, but which we now do have
room for thanks to the internet and abundant distribution systems"
First, I prefer the peacock tail’s image to illustrate this revolution : 
I think it does justice to the endless possibilities, richness and quality of content that could be found and consumed in this brave new world where niche production can happily exist alongside mass production. Everything from Goth accessories to quality porn can thrive in the long tail economy.
This economic process is enabled due to the democratising force of the internet. But while online, the power of media moguls decline and niche businesses thrive, the offline world sees the exact opposite tendency where small businesses slowly disappear due to the retail giants aggressive expansions. Across the country, more than 7,000 family or individually owned shops disappeared between 2001 and 2005, a 21% slump.
So while online we will see greater choice, variety, character and endless opportunities to explore and exercise our individuality and taste, our high streets increasingly look like bad cloning projects….
is that really inevitable?
Hi
I’m not sure that the personal and small shops sold something different then Tesco, for example (if you discuss groceries). If they didn’t, there is a problem with the validity of the argument, although generally I accept it.
its not just groceries. Its the fact that incresingly all high-streets in London look the same – chain store after chain store. There is no real character and uniqueness and small independednt shops are slowly running out of business.
But perhaps this is an inevitable process and all people care about is Tesco’s value products.
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/keep_it_local_and_save_our_26042006.html
I don’t know about the peacock metaphor, unlike the long tail, his content seems repetitive, bordering on the cliche