One of the smartest technologists I know sent me an e-mail the other day. He said, “If I send you a book, will you read it?” I said yes, and I am glad I did. The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired Magazine, is one of those books that I am always told I MUST read — and indeed it turns out to be very useful.
Essentially, The Long Tail reviews what we have learned from Amazon, Netflix, e-bay, Google and a variety of Internet businesses and knowledge and network tools such as Wikipedia about the impact of the Internet on markets and culture. Not suprisingly, volume and economics are moving out of mass markets and into niche markets. The specific details and case studies on how that is happening is quite fascinating.
Anderson is silent on the greater framework of global governance and the centralizing powers of technology as it is currently applied in politics, financial markets and warfare. However, understanding the lessons learned from consumer goods businesses and social networking is inspirational for those exploring wider, de-centralizing alternatives.
Wikipedia has a good overview and your local books store are likely to have the book for sale.
Wikipedia — The Long Tail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail
Powell Books — The Long Tail
http://www.powells.com/