Posts Tagged ‘the long tail’

The app economy

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Apps, apps everywhere!

What is it: An article on how the popularity of apps, primarily iPhone but also potentially Blackberry, are developing exponentially.They are becoming a huge micro economy.

Why is it cool: This is a fantastic example of many aspects of the ‘new marketing’ – adding value to peoples’ lives, creating ever more focused niches and creating fun where previously there was no fun to be had. Every brand and organisation should ask the question, ‘what would we do if we were an app’. Apps are also a great illustration of the long-tail.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: David Tunnicliffe

The universal library

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

What The Great Library of Alexandria might have looked like

What is it: A landmark court decision has cleared the way for Google to scan and post books online (at least, out of print ones). In particular, the settlement makes it clear that “fair use” of such scanning and accessibility paves the way for a “Universal Library”, where all the text ever written by mankind is in a single, searchable, cross-referenced, analysable database.

Why is it cool: From the Great Library at Alexandria to the Library of Congress in Washington DC, mankind has long aspired to collate the total sum of human knowledge.

An electronic version of that very vision will prove to be incredibly powerful, for example, allowing linguistic and content analysis previous undreamed up.  As another example, it will make the long tail accessible to the masses, and with a central “linked” database of works, niche writings will find broader audiences.

What would you do with a library of everything mankind has ever written?

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: John Cucka

Mmm… schokolade

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

Liquid ecstasy

What is it: A German company has taken the world of customisation to a new level with “design your own chocolate”. Pick a type (white, milk, dark), up to five additional ingredients (almonds, hazelnuts, raisins, gummi bears, gold dust, etc) and pick your own name to have printed on the label.

Why is it cool: Aside from the obvious “Mmm, chocolate”, it’s a great example of the machinery of mass production being re-tooled for customisation that should pick up enough volume from the long tail to run a successful business.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: John Cucka

The long tail

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

The Longest Tail - The Japanese Onagadori

What is it: The Long Tail is a term that’s been floating around for a few years now. It was first coined in a Wired article in Oct, 2004, as a way of understanding the business success of Amazon. Conceptually, it’s about building a business around the under-leveraged edge of value (the 20 of the famed 80/20 rule).

In the linked article, the Long Tail is examined in a wider context, showing how it is applied in many areas, but has been notably absent from the arena of branding and communications. For example, could marketers use a long-tail of brand messages to be everything to everyone, especially in an age where media is so fragmented that hyper-targeting is possible.

Why is it cool: There are many applications for this thinking in marketing: (more…)