Archive for October 15th, 2009:

Not long ago I was one of 50,000 people who made the pilgrimage to the book festival in Mouans-Sartoux, a small town in the foothills north of Cannes. Publishers from the region and elsewhere in France set up stands and showed off their titles. Writers, too, were there, waiting behind their little stacks, hoping to chat with a reader or sign a book. If we are about to enter a new era of electronic books and unlimited distribution, the festival was a reminder that most people are still living in a slower time of texture and paper.

So what is going to happen? The publishing industry is aswarm with utopian visions of an electronic, democratic future. Many find support in a theory developed by Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, and described in his book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More. The kernel of the idea can be said simply. In the past there were limited distribution channels (e.g., movie theaters or bookstores), meaning only a small number of products found buyers. But the Internet has created unlimited access to goods, making consumers aware of niche and obscure products and increasing demand for them. Using the terminology of the idea, demand is moving away from the head (the most popular products) to the long tail (everything else).

Here is Chris Anderson explaining the theory.

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