But, you are asking the wrong question...
...so...
I think the discussion on CBC went well...or as well as could be expected. It was pretty economics focused, which is not really my ball of wax. I represented the 'grassroots' of the Long Tail - the part of that tail that Chris Anderson is discussing more and more on his blog. I interupted a couple of times with those, "think of it from this odd angle" interjections.
I know I sounded very different than Michael or Stewart, although we were, as Michael said, "Violently in agreement." (nice)
One of Jian's first questions to me was to give a well-known/documented example of a Long Tail success. My mind went down the list...37 Signals, Flickr, YouTube, Del.icio.us...and hundreds of thousands of successful small businesses who either harness the power of the Long Tail or are representative of the niches of the Long Tail or whatever.
But all I kept thinking is, "You are asking the wrong question."
So I gave him the wrong answer: Snakes on a Plane. I wanted to show how a small group of people could hijack old media. But it's really too soon to claim it as a cult classic. And Jian was right when he said, "But wasn't it a Hollywood, big-budget produced film?"
Yeah. It was. Gah. So, I should have answered, "You are asking the wrong question." instead. The better answer to that question was, "Don't you mean: What are some examples of successes in the Long Tail and how are they redefining success?" instead of attempting to stuff a bad example into a question that has no real answer.
Because then I would have given him 37 Signals, Flickr, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Amazon's Mechanical Turk, Pandora (who I did mention, along with Magnatune, when I got the chance to defend my answer down the road), and explained right then and there that the Long Tail isn't only about how businesses like iTunes and Amazon can offer wide selection (of which the total of obscure sales outweighs the total of top 100,000 sales) because they beat the issues of scale and geography, thus rocking the world of traditional bricks and mortar...and promoting the Long Tail producers.
The Long Tail is about the celebration of getting small. The redistribution of wealth and power and taste and whatever. There will always be mass and mainstream. It's just too tempting of a business. That's okay. It makes goods accessible to a wide range of people. Hell, I'm a victim of Ikea and Target, too. But what the promise of the Long Tail is to me is that we stop thinking in big hits and zero sum thinking and start thinking collaboration and solid, small to mid-size businesses that serve niche communities...where everybody wins (non-zero sum).
And I guess I've been too close to this issue to see 'the forest for the trees' and, if I had ever been media trained (which I haven't and I think it's come time to start - I am much more succinct in casual conversation and choke in interviews and on stage, yikes), I may have answered, "Take a look at Amazon, Netflix and iTunes - all of them report that their Long Tail media account for over 50% of their revenues," 'cause that is what the person unfamiliar with Chris Anderson's book would understand as a real coup for the Long Tail.
But I can't. I don't think that IS a huge coup for the Long Tail. I think it could help get exposure for producers, but, like I said in the interview, "Here is the new guard! They are just like the old guard!", which is Mr. Carr's way of thinking (and I tend to agree). A HUGE success that proves the theory that there is money to be made off of the variety of odd interests (whether it be gardening petunias in cold climates or Canadian poetry or knot tying or the like) is not a huge success for the Long Tail at all. It's just a success in the traditional sense of success: you innovate, get in early, do it well and perservere...then you own the marketplace.
So yeah, my participation in the CBC discussion was a great success...in the way that SoaP was a great success. Months from now, people will look back and say, "Oh...that's what she meant when she gave those whacked out answers." Brilliant.
I think the discussion on CBC went well...or as well as could be expected. It was pretty economics focused, which is not really my ball of wax. I represented the 'grassroots' of the Long Tail - the part of that tail that Chris Anderson is discussing more and more on his blog. I interupted a couple of times with those, "think of it from this odd angle" interjections.
I know I sounded very different than Michael or Stewart, although we were, as Michael said, "Violently in agreement." (nice)
One of Jian's first questions to me was to give a well-known/documented example of a Long Tail success. My mind went down the list...37 Signals, Flickr, YouTube, Del.icio.us...and hundreds of thousands of successful small businesses who either harness the power of the Long Tail or are representative of the niches of the Long Tail or whatever.
But all I kept thinking is, "You are asking the wrong question."
So I gave him the wrong answer: Snakes on a Plane. I wanted to show how a small group of people could hijack old media. But it's really too soon to claim it as a cult classic. And Jian was right when he said, "But wasn't it a Hollywood, big-budget produced film?"
Yeah. It was. Gah. So, I should have answered, "You are asking the wrong question." instead. The better answer to that question was, "Don't you mean: What are some examples of successes in the Long Tail and how are they redefining success?" instead of attempting to stuff a bad example into a question that has no real answer.
Because then I would have given him 37 Signals, Flickr, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Amazon's Mechanical Turk, Pandora (who I did mention, along with Magnatune, when I got the chance to defend my answer down the road), and explained right then and there that the Long Tail isn't only about how businesses like iTunes and Amazon can offer wide selection (of which the total of obscure sales outweighs the total of top 100,000 sales) because they beat the issues of scale and geography, thus rocking the world of traditional bricks and mortar...and promoting the Long Tail producers.
The Long Tail is about the celebration of getting small. The redistribution of wealth and power and taste and whatever. There will always be mass and mainstream. It's just too tempting of a business. That's okay. It makes goods accessible to a wide range of people. Hell, I'm a victim of Ikea and Target, too. But what the promise of the Long Tail is to me is that we stop thinking in big hits and zero sum thinking and start thinking collaboration and solid, small to mid-size businesses that serve niche communities...where everybody wins (non-zero sum).
And I guess I've been too close to this issue to see 'the forest for the trees' and, if I had ever been media trained (which I haven't and I think it's come time to start - I am much more succinct in casual conversation and choke in interviews and on stage, yikes), I may have answered, "Take a look at Amazon, Netflix and iTunes - all of them report that their Long Tail media account for over 50% of their revenues," 'cause that is what the person unfamiliar with Chris Anderson's book would understand as a real coup for the Long Tail.
But I can't. I don't think that IS a huge coup for the Long Tail. I think it could help get exposure for producers, but, like I said in the interview, "Here is the new guard! They are just like the old guard!", which is Mr. Carr's way of thinking (and I tend to agree). A HUGE success that proves the theory that there is money to be made off of the variety of odd interests (whether it be gardening petunias in cold climates or Canadian poetry or knot tying or the like) is not a huge success for the Long Tail at all. It's just a success in the traditional sense of success: you innovate, get in early, do it well and perservere...then you own the marketplace.
So yeah, my participation in the CBC discussion was a great success...in the way that SoaP was a great success. Months from now, people will look back and say, "Oh...that's what she meant when she gave those whacked out answers." Brilliant.
6 Comments:
I can't wait to hear it. Two of us in under a month. Jian has finally hit the right crowd. ;->
Speaking as someone who was in the room for the "Expanding on the Cluetrain" talk, where you were literally right in front of Doc, I think it's safe to say you're a pretty damn compelling public speaker under high pressure circumstances!
I tell people the story of that talk every time I explain what Pinko Marketing is. As far as I'm concerned, it was a virtuoso public speaking moment.
In otherwords, don't be so hard on yourself :) I'm sure it was a great discussion!
does anyone have the Mp3 for that Cluetrain talk? Is it the one from SXSW? I had it but can't find it again.
i've yet to listen, but i'm sure you did great.
Hey Tara,
Heard it live this a.m. - well done!
Sounds like it may have been significantly (and well) edited because the three panelists sounded 'in synch' and your (lamented) SOaP response wasn't included. It threaded together nicely.
You write: "But what the promise of the Long Tail is to me is that we stop thinking in big hits and zero sum thinking and start thinking collaboration and solid, small to mid-size businesses that serve niche communities...where everybody wins (non-zero sum)."
It seems to me that Yochai Benkler invokes Adam Smith in the title of his new book in order to suggest that a similar tectonic shift is occuring in human socio-economic systems due the emergence of digital networks.
Smith's key contribution to the economic thinking of the time was the suggestion that markets were not a zero sum game (mercantilism) but rather a game where allowing for access, and increasing the number of players, facilitated the production of wealth (capitalism).
But theoretical dreams of unfettered marketplaces have always been at least partially dictated by well enfranchised players who can afford to leverage their present stakes in the game while simultaneously betting on new outcomes.
Maybe YouTube will top the billion dollar mark?
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