27A reading reflection 3
The Long Tail
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The general theme and the argument of the book are that in online markets, lots of niche goods tends to outsell fewer hit sells.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
The book puts emphasis on producing the product and distributing more than focusing on making a perfect product. This relates to the course because the class puts emphasis on getting the product out there.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
I would have students come up with multiple business ideas that are decent but not perfect.
4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
The quote "Up until now, the focus has been on dozens of markets of millions, instead of millions of markets of dozens" by Chris Anderson really stood out to me. Most people focus on getting successful, but mediocre sales in multiple products can also be beneficial.
I think that targeting niche opportunities is a wise thing to approach. If you can get some sort of product that at least improves a market a little, it could be more profitable than a large scale venture in an already saturated market. I know this can be difficult because it forces us to be more creative instead of trying to hang our heads in the clouds with the monster companies that overtake the markets now.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting. I never thought of product selling like that before. I loved your exercise. While some of the exercises did ask you to consider some of the more negative sides of your business, there was always an expectation that your business or product had to be more than decent. A reminder that not every product needs to be perfect would definitely be a great exercise.
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