If You Build it, They Will Come – The Long Tail

I don’t think you could have given me a reason not to post that clip once I though of this title.  One of my favorite movies ever and a place I will never forget visiting.  But that isn’t why were here.

This post is about the concept of the Long Tail and why I think it is a viable idea and one that is an integral part of our current content landscape.  The most common example of book or record sales hits even closer for me after being at home and hearing my Dad (a total book nut) talk sadly about the recent going out of business sale at our local Borders bookstore.  The store where we always have gone for books could not keep up with the demand that the long tail represents and was finally forced to shut down.

A traditional graph of the Long Tail

Of course it’s not like my Dad is some old fart stuck in his technology.  His Kindle has more than certainly provided him with an instant supply of books that his old faithful Borders store never would have had in stock.  Sure he loves to stay up on the best sellers, but when you read as much as he does you delve far deeper into the sea of what is out there and inevitably become a consumer of the long tail.

I do not mean to post entirely about my Dad, but I am just using this as an example of why I buy into the idea of the long tail and its place in modern internet culture.  The internet has enabled the long tail to thrive and grow.  As the internet and search technology continues to spread and become cheaper and more accessible to more people, the long tail will grow even more to accommodate them.

In the past, you might have thought of a favorite comic book from your past, checked the one local specialty-comics shop and then given up on your search for that piece of your childhood when they didn’t carry it.  Now, as a part of the long tail, you can search online for a specialty store that stocks that comic book and I bet you are willing to pay a good amount for it since you are so glad they have it.  You could come up with tons of similar examples that prove there is money in the long tail.  I would have no idea where to find a specific retro basketball jersey I wanted of my favorite childhood player, but a google search into the long tail could certainly match me up with someone else who shares a passion for such things.

The rarity of most items in the long tail make it so that sellers do not have to sell as many to make a profit or stay afloat, whereas a major bookstore needs to sell lots of bestsellers in the saturated market to keep themselves running in the more popular head area of the graph.

Not exactly the same usage of the Long Tail, but I thought it was a funny representation.

Certainly it is a different strategy of making money than those in the mainstream market use, but I do not see how it is any less serviceable if executed correctly.  The long tail shows how we are using the internet, especially its unlimited shelf life and wide-cast net, to enhance our lives and reach things, people and places that we weren’t able to reach before when only the most popular items could be stocked for a limited time.

While hearing that the Borders had closed certainly made me sad, it was more out of nostalgia than anything.  I know that I can access any book I wish to purchase in seconds online when a physical store might have let me down.  This is the beauty of the long tail, using our new age of technology to empower us with more choices.  Funny enough over the same break, my dad went on the computer and ordered two books be shipped to my house in LA before I even asked what he was doing in the other room. Funny how that works so well.

Thanks for reading and remember, even if it is only Iowa, it sure is close to Heaven.

John