Comments on: Is it Time to Chuck the Long Tail Theory?

By: The Long(er) Tail « Social Media With Floaties

The Long(er) Tail « Social Media With Floaties — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 03:39:33 +0000

[...] Although less applicable to large corporations, The Long Tail can have applicability beyond small business.

By: ” Long Tail and iTunes” « Mayurkumar's Blog

” Long Tail and iTunes” « Mayurkumar's Blog — Sun, 02 May 2010 05:30:13 +0000

[...] http://smallbiztrends.com/2008/07/long-tail-criticism.html [...]

By: TJ McCue

TJ McCue — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:27:16 +0000

I’m glad to see someone is re-igniting this post. It is and was a stellar commentary on the importance of a niche focus to the small biz owner. I posted a comment in July when Anita wrote this and later read that HBR piece, too.

Chris Anderson has just completed a new book called, Free, which is due out soon. In it, he talks about the free model in use by so many web businesses and that it still has its place, but, as always, you don’t have a business if all you do is give your product and services away.

Thanks to Sheri for bringing this post back to life!

By: Response #5: The Long Tail Theory « Sheri’s Blog

Response #5: The Long Tail Theory « Sheri’s Blog — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:23:23 +0000

[...] thanks to the three forces of opportunity in this new marketplace (outlined below, see page 57). Anita Campbell from smallbiztrends.com argues that markets should focus their business models around the long tail, [...]

By: searchenginemarketingvox » Blog Archive » Puppy’s Picks - 07/10/08

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:21:03 +0000

[...] Campbell points to a new paper out of Harvard Business School and asks if It’s Time to Chuck the Long Tail Theory. (Before you freak out, it’s not.) Anita does a nice job rebuffing the Harvard paper and [...]

By: SEO Keyword Research | Keyword Selection Strategies | Keyword Targeting Guidelines

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:06:39 +0000

[...] there has been some recent debate on whether you should invest in long tail phrases, I wouldn’t be really quick to abandon the idea. For example, a client in the custom [...]

By: Martin Lindeskog

Martin Lindeskog — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:56:21 +0000

I have to chew this for a bit. I think that the long tail has worked well for the blogosphere and for other areas.

By: Susan Oakes

Susan Oakes — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:48:41 +0000

Interesting article Anita.

It may be worth remembering that most of the successful global companies today started out as small businesses exploiting niche markets.

By: TJ McCue

TJ McCue — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:05:38 +0000

I love this post, Anita. I’m a fan of Anderson’s work and of course the long tail exists and works, as many others have pointed out and that you stated — many businesses have to “live in the niches.” It has always been so although it is easier in some ways today to find those buyers. I love Andertoons comment about a whole dog theory. Awesome. And Kukral has it nailed and it reminds me that i need to get off my tail…
Kudos.

By: Sanjay Kumar

Sanjay Kumar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:04:10 +0000

This is really not a question of either/or. Steve – to your point, the area under the curve is not 0, either on the left or on the right.

From what I have seen, large corporations are inherently inefficient in reaching to niche markets. The ROI does not make sense for them. However, even they cannot afford to ignore long tail. They develop an eco-system of partners and small businesses that create niche in two ways : 1. customizing/specializing the products for a niche market, and 2. reaching out to small segments.

For us as small business owners, while we all fancy a blockbuster hit, the amount of investment needed to make one, and hence the risk is very very high. Naturally- we tend to play in the so-called long tail.

-Sanjay