In the October '04 issue of Wired magazine, Chris Anderson wrote an article that has gotten alot of play called "The Long Tail". In it he posits that "The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream." Meaning, in the digital world a download is a download. For example, Apple's iTunes store does care whether the song you download is a top ten hit or a one-off alternative track, they charge you the same $0.99. And since network storage space is so affordable, Apple can house a billion songs very cost effectively. They have no need to do an ROI analysis by artist. Anderson's point is, in the digital domain, most of the revenue in the future will come from the "Long Tail" of content that is not necessarily mainstream but receives attention, and therefore generates revenue, nonetheless.
This concept is totally applicable to other things as well. On this blog I argue that we should have more control over our own destiny when it comes to high-tech products and applications. If electronic products could be easily built and applications easily written by end users you could quickly find yourself in a similar "Long Tail" situation where those gadgets and apps are offered up for consumption. Instead of songs, you'd download software applications, written to satisfy not some ambitious business plan but merely to satisfy what may actually be a very, very specific issue. Instead of some dead-end electronic gizmo built to satisfy the needs of the many, you get a highly targeted device aimed squarely at your needs.
I think it makes enormous sense.
