Comments on: The long tail is here – now what? http://www.nnyman.com/personal/2009/01/12/the-long-tail-is-here-now-what/ Niko Nyman's blog on shifting topics. Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:52:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Niko http://www.nnyman.com/personal/2009/01/12/the-long-tail-is-here-now-what/comment-page-1/#comment-216144 Niko Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:05:22 +0000 http://www.nnyman.com/personal/?p=1188#comment-216144 <p>I don't think Apple Store's closedness is making it more difficult for consumers to find things. If anything, it is making it easier, by limiting choice and offering one destination for discovery. Whether the actual purchase happens within the Apple Store's walls, you can promote iPhone/iPod software in the same way as you can promote desktop software (and this is being done).</p> <p>Another thing (which probably deserves its own blog post) is that I feel a "working Long Tail" is falsely seen as a way for niche markets to make money. I like the wording at the beginning of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail" title="The Long Tail (on Wikipedia)" rel="nofollow">The Long Tail Wikipedia page</a>, calling The Long Tail a <q>niche strategy of businesses ... that sell a large number of unique items, each in relatively small quantities </q>. It's a business strategy, but not for those <em>in the niches</em>, but for those who <em>aggregate the niches</em>.</p> <p>I'm not ready to compare the Apple Store ecosystem to the regular software ecosystem. I think the Apple Store and the music business have qualities that make them different from the regular software ecosystem: lower barrier to entry, cheaper prices, and more competition compared to market size.</p> I don’t think Apple Store’s closedness is making it more difficult for consumers to find things. If anything, it is making it easier, by limiting choice and offering one destination for discovery. Whether the actual purchase happens within the Apple Store’s walls, you can promote iPhone/iPod software in the same way as you can promote desktop software (and this is being done).

Another thing (which probably deserves its own blog post) is that I feel a “working Long Tail” is falsely seen as a way for niche markets to make money. I like the wording at the beginning of The Long Tail Wikipedia page, calling The Long Tail a niche strategy of businesses … that sell a large number of unique items, each in relatively small quantities . It’s a business strategy, but not for those in the niches, but for those who aggregate the niches.

I’m not ready to compare the Apple Store ecosystem to the regular software ecosystem. I think the Apple Store and the music business have qualities that make them different from the regular software ecosystem: lower barrier to entry, cheaper prices, and more competition compared to market size.

]]> By: Janne http://www.nnyman.com/personal/2009/01/12/the-long-tail-is-here-now-what/comment-page-1/#comment-216142 Janne Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:33:54 +0000 http://www.nnyman.com/personal/?p=1188#comment-216142 <p>I think the Long Tail needs an open ecosystem and competition to work in the first place. App store is not open nor competitive (in the sense that there are no easily accessible alternative ways of buying stuff for your Apple things). This means that your discovery is almost totally dominated by whatever Apple chooses to do - and Apple is not that hot on social stuff. Apple's power is to strengthen the relationship between you and Apple, not between you and your friends.</p> <p>You can compare this with the regular PC/Mac software ecosystem, which is both open and competitive. Yes, the head still gets the most attention, but there is money in the niches, and if one way of getting to the user's desktop does not work, you can try others.</p> I think the Long Tail needs an open ecosystem and competition to work in the first place. App store is not open nor competitive (in the sense that there are no easily accessible alternative ways of buying stuff for your Apple things). This means that your discovery is almost totally dominated by whatever Apple chooses to do – and Apple is not that hot on social stuff. Apple’s power is to strengthen the relationship between you and Apple, not between you and your friends.

You can compare this with the regular PC/Mac software ecosystem, which is both open and competitive. Yes, the head still gets the most attention, but there is money in the niches, and if one way of getting to the user’s desktop does not work, you can try others.

]]> By: Panu http://www.nnyman.com/personal/2009/01/12/the-long-tail-is-here-now-what/comment-page-1/#comment-216132 Panu Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:23:53 +0000 http://www.nnyman.com/personal/?p=1188#comment-216132 <p>Sender11 blog just discussed something related about apple's appstore. http://sender11.typepad.com/sender11/2009/01/appstores-the-blind-marketeer.html</p> <p>In general, I guess there are no free lunches. If you want to get yourself known, you must pay for it.</p> Sender11 blog just discussed something related about apple’s appstore. http://sender11.typepad.com/sender11/2009/01/appstores-the-blind-marketeer.html

In general, I guess there are no free lunches. If you want to get yourself known, you must pay for it.

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