More Tail, Less Mainstream

What is the Long Tail? I had no idea what the long tail was until this week! The Long Tail is exactly what I'm interested in. It's all about what isn't mainstream yet still incredibly popular. It's those books, movies, music that hardly anyone ever hears (or even knows about!), BUT it's a favorite and many people love it but just don't know about it... yet. The article I read, The Long Tail, was extremely helpful in allowing me to understand what the Long Tail is, how it works, and why it's so important to know about.

I always assume that I'm a mainstream type of person. Whatever is on the radio, whatever the newest book or movie is (that I'm aware of), is what I'm listening to, reading, or watching. I realized though that for me and many others "As we wander further from the beaten path, we discover that our taste is not as mainstream as we thought (or as we had been led to believe by marketing, a lack of alternatives, and a hit-driven culture)" (The Long Tail). In fact, as the article explains, I may click on an artists, listen to a song on YouTube, click on suggestions, find new artists, until I find one I really like who is definitely not mainstream! It's a great process, and the Long Tail is very interesting and exciting--"what's really amazing about the Long Tail is the sheer size of it. Combine enough nonhits on the Long Tail and you've got a market bigger than the hits" (The Long Tail). It means that I may start mainstream and end up in a very different location which can be a very positive thing.