Is the "Long Tail" What It's Cracked Up to Be?

A Media Post newsletter alerts us to following controversial article in the Wall Street Journal about Chris Anderson’s book “The Long Tail”: Study Refutes Niche Theory Spawned by Web .

There is something in there that is even more alert worthy than the study that disagrees with the “Long Tail” idea. Namely, the community of Internet Marketers is criticized for talking up amongst ourselves a biased view towards business.

Ross Fadner brings this concerning warning to the point in his Media Post summary:

 “He says the Long Tail theory flattered readers, who were mostly techies, into thinking that the Internet was changing everything. That group tends to have a “contemptuous” view of mass media anyway, he says, and was thusly predisposed to appreciating anything undermining its power.”

That is a bucket of ice cold water over our heads in the Internet space. 

Yet another wake up call that we should take off the blinders and look at the world from multiple perspectives, not just the online perspective.