The Long Tail

As part of my corporate indentured servitude in the advertising industry, we're frequently rounded up and forced to listen to a guest lecturer (usually a technology type) who delights in telling us how we're hopelessly backwards and out-of-touch.

This time it was the editor of a pop-technology magazine. He talked about something called "The Long Tail" and managed to use both "fractal" and "power law distribution" in the same speech and without even a bit of irony.

The point is always the same:

- TV advertising is dead!
- Audiences are becoming infinitely fragmented!!
- Blogs are great!!!!!!!

Everyone nods in unison, agrees we are hopelessly backward and out-of-touch, grabs the free sandwiches and then goes back to work.

It's not that the resident genius is wrong - he just displays a profound ignorance about the realities of product marketing, existing media business models, and the entrenched interests of almost everyone in preserving the status quo.

When you ask him a simple question like "Who wants to write a blog about dishwashing detergent?" He says something condescending and idiotic like "Maybe your client (giant consumer products company) should sell organic soap. Organic products are going to be very BIG!"

Thanks wizard. I'll take that under advisement.

I'm probably just jealous. I wish someone paid me to be a genius.