chris says the future of entertainment is in harnessing niche markets. the internet has allowed the proliferation of more obscure and niche forms of entertainment -- just look at youtube -- and audiences have found their way to those niches. it's similar to how job specialists make money. not a lot of people have elbow problems but an elbow doctor makes a living taking care of those who do have elbow woes. it's how google makes money off all we bloggers.
all the niche markets taken as a group creates what chris calls a "long tail" of sales -- additional sales. so for internet purveyors selling say, music, it's not just about the hit single anymore. it's also about selling a lot of independent artists' cds. woo hoo!
for example, i love drew danburry's music. he's relatively unknown, but very popular with his fans. the internet gives him a market. in fact, i might not have known of his music if not for the internet.
on another note, he says blogs are great for writers. indeed.
here's an extensive interview with chris
here's his original article in wired that started it all.
i hope drew doesn't mind that i ripped this off from his blog. funny, smutty pic of a very tall guy in cowboy boots.
