A new study by a marketing professor at Harvard Business School casts doubt on one of the sacred texts of new media - Chris Anderson's 'The Long Tail'.
Anita Elberse looked at data for online purchases of music and video rentals and then compared the data with offline purchase data. In spite of the vast back catalogue of options available online, it seems that online consumers are pretty much like their offline equivalent. Purchases hugely favour a few 'hit' titles - and if anything people online are more likely to focus their spending on popular choices than offline shoppers.
It seems that what we really value is not choice, but the social aspects of consuming the same media as everyone else.
Can't say I'm sorry to see the back of this particular theory - it seemed to me that the same two businesses were always trotted out in support of it (eBay and Amazon) which didn't seem to me to be a conclusive sample.
On the other hand, if the Long Tail is a lie, the online world is a somewhat bleaker place where almost all the micro-publishers, bloggers, video artists and musicians are doomed to a life of obscurity - including your truly...
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