Doubts Multiply About the "Long Tail"

fruey sends in a New Scientist analysis of the many second thoughts about the Long Tail theory. It summarizes four studies that show, in different markets, that the tail is both flatter and thinner than originally supposed, and that blockbusters are not going away in those markets — they are getting bigger. It's theorized that widely used collaborative filtering software is magnifying the winners' share of the various pies, and peer influence is a large contributor to consumer behavior.

Comments

Re:What the?!?

[ubrgeek]

What the hell was that? Mattel's "My First Summary"?

Re:It had to happen sooner or later

[ZygnuX]

The guy who made the summary is the perfect politician. Able to fill a summary with words... but without saying anything!