- Anderson mentioned that “unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it in service after service”. It is true that we are in a world of abundance instead of scarcity because of the rise of online distribution and retail.
- Anderson brings out the point that we actually have no sense of what we want. We usually find out more in the catalogues which we like more than the mainstream one.”The more we explore alternatives, the more we’re drawn to them”.
- According to the 80-20 rule (Pareto’s principle), people assumed that only 20 percent of major studio films, TV shows, games and mass-market books will be hits. We think that “only hits deserve to exist”. However, Anderson argues that the 21st century is not only about hits but equally about misses. Since digital services have “no shelf space to pay for”, a hit and a miss become equally economic footing. “Popularity no longer has a monopoly on profitability”.
- The Long Tail is about the idea that the media “will find an audience, even if it’s just a few people a month. somewhere in the country”.
- “The biggest money is in the smallest sales.” There is a market bigger than the hits in the Long Tail by getting over the economics of scarcity.