Today
we are looking at “leveraging the long tail”, the second last of
the patterns defined by Tim O'Reilly at a Web 2.0 conference many
years ago. This pattern refers to the Web 2.0 market strategy to
reach to the outer/smaller markets, not just relying on the popular
mass produced success of the industrial era. The online world allows
businesses and individuals to reach to many more people than
traditional business models, thus allowing a normally small market to
now be larger by removing the geographical boundaries, or the limiting
factor of shelf space. The business or individuals no longer needs
to be the “hit”, just create a good product or service catering
to your target market.
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| Picture by Hay Kranen / PD |
The
image above shows a graphical representation of leveraging the
long tail, as defined by Chris Anderson. The left is the dominate
mass market, and the right is the long tail. As you can see they both
have the same volume.
Reddit
is a social news site that displays news based on community votes,
and user personal preferences. Users vote content either up or down.
Its a very simple concept, and the site layout has been kept concise.
Users share links to content or create their own content, and the
community votes on whether they like or dislike.
So
how does a simple site like Reddit represent a concept like
leveraging the long tail? Reddit don't just have popular news stories
like on the news, or in the newspapers. They have stories from all
over the globe on varied topics. Content is grouped by topic which
allows users to find relevant stories based on interest. Users can
eliminate unwanted stories from their front page by choosing to
subscribe to topics.
The
advantages of online distribution means Reddit can provide unlimited
content without regard for “shelf space”, a strong factor
influencing printed magazines and newspapers. This method of
distribution eliminates print cost, and allows access to worldwide
markets.
Another
advantage is content is provided immediately, there is no delay
waiting for printing or distribution. Unfortunately due to this
immediate availability, users can submit rubbish, although this can
be voted out, it cannot be stopped from happening in the first place.
This kind of community wisdom contributes to Reddit's success. Users
believe in the community, so as a community work to keep things
relevant. User generated content also gives a sense of community,
and ownership. Users want others to read their work, or follow their
suggested links, so spread the word on behalf of Reddit.
In
conclusion, Reddit conforms to the “leveraging the long tail”
pattern by not just targeting the large mass market, but providing
content for everyone, even those with niche interests.
References:
Good Post
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DeleteHey there again elizabeth, you continue to to post some really great material on your blog!. You really nailed the understanding of the concept (first paragraphs) this week just like every other week. I wont lie i often visit your blog and read what you have to help myself understand the topics a little bit better. Be proud of this!. Your example for this week was kind of unexpected, i had never even thought of Reddit, i was always stuck in the mindset of big sites selling items. Reddit does provide services but in a different way, i think it takes a great mind to look at a site like this and apply it to our topic of leveraging the long tail. Reddit does this very well, it provides a truckload of stuff, some of which will not be of any interest to a lot of users, just like any other site that sells items (amazon, ebay etc). Great post and thanks for the great read this week, i look forward to the last post for this portfolio.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your positive comments, really appreciated. I found it hard to explain the pattern clearly this week, and picking a site took a while.
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