“Leveraging the Long Tail” refers to recognizing the Internet as a network bulked predominantly by niche content, and the importance of algorithmic data management and referral to ‘reach the edges, not just the tail’. Essentially, data is disseminated into niche interests (the long tail) like blogs, personal web-scapes, feeds and what-have-you, and restructured and assembled by search engines (Google and AdWords) and other aggregation tools for unprecedented exposure of less popular products/services. Big businesses like Google (renowned for paving the way for search algorithms) have taken Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail into their web strategies as we begin to realise that the future entails catering to ‘the shallow end of the bitstream’.

The web’s social networking is a blessing where small or individually-owned businesses come to the fore via global recommendations and referral – e.g. an Australian coin collector bids for an item previously considered unattainable, sold privately overseas (probably via eBay, one of the largest global product aggregators). Enjoyed products and/or similar products are referred to (blog posts, forums, reviews, ratings, algorithms, internal analysis of ‘clicks’) for added levels of niche market exposure, fuelling mass revenue opportunity for previously stifled markets.

We’ve begun to break away from the sole outlook that traditional ‘popular products are the route to success’ to realising the effects and profitability of embracing less popular products to a global market that, lo’ and behold, caters to niche interest – and can even collectively exceed the revenue of items of mainstream trends. Other reasons for the Internet’s sustainable shift toward less popular products include:

  • Lifted physical limitations of the traditional brick-and-mortar stores. The web can play host to a practically infinite number of sales stock while mitigating time, labour and financial costs associated with traditional businesses, providing instant leeway for ‘lower value’ items.
  • Products can be listed even prior to production, provided almost on-demand (or at least predictably), and product customization increases (e.g. Deviant Art’s custom print sizes), eliminating business needs for stock rotation to remain in-keeping with current trends.
  • The web can leverage DIY consumers in ways unprecedented by the traditional marketplace.

While the long tail doesn’t just relate to web marketing, and can even extend to Facebook, Digg or Flickr’s system structure by broadening exposure of its network edges and heightening awareness of who/what exists/is available (another post in itself). I’d like to use our newfound understanding as a precursor of an analysis of art aggregator Deviant Art’s ‘leveraging of the long tail’.