One of the key points that Chris Anderson makes in “The Long Tail is that:
“If the 20th- century entertainment industry was about hits, the 21st will be equally about misses.” Because the “misses” will be more accessible, they will also be more popular. However, probably due to a lack of space, Anderson leaves us to imagine the implications of this long tail on our popular culture. It is interesting to consider what its effects could be.

Once the market doesn’t force the hits on us, once we can easily access everything else, will the “hits” be significant? For example, will the genre of “Pop,” which sounds to me to be somewhat artificially, generically, and expensively produced, cease to be popular enough to support its production costs? Like Anderson writes, we will probably never lose our “hit” mentality, but what will happen to the many TV shows, magazines, and radio shows dedicated to chronicling and exploring all the “hits” of our shared popular culture? Will there still be popular articles with widespread appeal that explain what Avril Levigne does in her free time? Could these previously universally appealing themes to some degree be replaced by internet groups that target specific audiences with specific interests? I’m sure that there are many other (and probably smarter) people who have written on the subject of the impact on our culture of the internet’s accessibility, but its fun to think about what could happen.

Beyond that conjecture, I question validity of one of Anderson’s points. As other have mentioned in their posts, I wonder about using the fact that over half of Amazon’s sales come from the books that wouldn’t be carried by Barnes and Noble as an example to support the Kevin Laws’ statement that: "The biggest money is in the smallest sales." If I can’t find a book at Barnes and Noble, or doubt that I would find it in a bookstore, I’ll look for it online on Amazon. Just because Amazon’s sales might favor the lesser side of the spectrum of popularity doesn’t mean necessarily that consumer’s money is in that corner. It could just mean that buyers who want less popular content are going to Amazon instead of local bookstores. The same effect probably occurs with Netflix and many of the other online businesses that Anderson mentions. Many people, my father being one, seem to use Netflix for the movies that they can’t find at their local movie rental stores. If Netflix’ sales indicate that there is a lot money in the “long tail,” it may be because many customers go to Netflix specifically to find the titles that the “long tail” encompasses. However, despite possibly exaggerating the extent of the long tail, I think Anderson makes a great argument in for it, and it is a fascinating effect of the internet that I had never really considered before.