Variety Bloom

J.D. Lasica posts a very interesting summary of Chris Anderson's talk at Supernova. 

Anderson who coined the term "long tail" is now writing a book about the phenomenon.

Chris: The Long Tail is basically about a variety bloom. We've had a variety bloom for decades in this country, centered on products. Today, there's also an explosion of information about products. So you don't just have variety but you have information about that variety.

Three forces that make for a Long Tail market: (1) the tools of production have been democratized, we've made it easier and easier to make stuff; (2) the Internet has lowered transaction costs so it's easier to buy stuff; (3) finally, there are new ways to connect consumers -- word of mouth, recommendations, search, techniques that drive demand.
"Filters are the most powerful new opportunity in the Long Tail."
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We've had filters in the past, but they've been pre-filters. Now it's about post-filters.
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Pre-filters include Editors, A&R guys, studio execs, buyers. In the post-filter word, it's the marketplace that decides. Post-filters include peers, recommendations, word of mouth, sites like CD Baby, collaborative filtering, mp3 blogs, viral videos.