 | magellan (176)
05/01/2006 |  There's actually a geeky, Web 2.0 term for this - it's called "The Long Tail."
Pre Internet, popular culture was mostly blockbusters. Everyone watched whatever was on the major networks, listened to whatever was on the radio, and basically consumed according to a "bestseller" culture.
Now, stuff like the Internet and Cable TV allows folks with bizarro tastes to find each other, and allows Web sites to create stuff and actually make a business by gearing towards these very niche markets.
The term "the long tail" refers to the long tail of the curve that plots demand... in other words, if you imagine the head of the curve being searches for things like "Britney Spears", and the long tail of the curve being searches for things like "small furry venomous creatures." What the Internet does is it extends the Long Tail out almost indefinitely. Indeed, half of all Google searches are only performed once per month.
Here's a picture and more information about The Long Tail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail
(3 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | kamylienne (80)
05/01/2006 | Ah. Welcome to the internet.
Whatever obscure interest you may have, whatever bizarre kinky fetish you might be interested in, there's probably a chatroom dedicated to it out there somewhere, for better or for worse.
(1 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
