This site contains edited extracts from Chris Anderson's acclaimed business book The Long Tail, published in the U.K. by Random House.
The ideas from this book have spread quickly beyond just the web - and are now part of the very way we look at business and culture in the 21st century.
We urge you to read and share these ideas under the Creative Commons terms below.
(You could also just buy the book )
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An Apt Studio site.
How Technology Is Turning Mass Markets Into Millions Of Niches
In 1988, a British mountain climber named Joe Simpson wrote a book called Touching the Void, a harrowing account of near death in the Peruvian Andes. Though reviews for the book were good, it was only a modest success, and soon was largely forgotten. Then, a decade later, a strange thing happened. Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, another book about a mountain-climbing tragedy, became a publishing sensation. Suddenly, Touching the Void started to sell again.
Booksellers began promoting it next to their Into Thin Air displays, and sales continued to rise. In early 2004, IFC Films released a docudrama of the story, to good reviews. Shortly thereafter, HarperCollins released a revised paperback, which spent fourteen weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. By mid-2004, Touching the Void was outselling Into Thin Air more than two to one.
‘Read this brilliant and timely book if you want to get a look at the future of business’
Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google
‘The natural successor to the “tipping point” in the field of big business ideas’
Guardian
"The ideas in this book are going to be talked about for the next ten years... get a copy now. It's worth it." Seth Godin
The Long Tail is now available in paperback. You can buy direct from Random House UK, Amazon.co.uk and Waterstones, or find it in any good bookstore.
Read more about The Long Tail