Launch Day!

This is it--the big day. And lucky for you, the last of my entirely self-promotional posts, after which we can get back to our regular diet of wonkitude and tilting at Hollywood windmills.

Here's what we've got for the launch:

A gob-smackingly huge and blush-makingly wonderful full-page New York Times ad running on page A13. Also, ads in the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Wired, Variety and email blasts from Amazon, Typepad and Wired.

A load of press, including:

• Newsweek: Will the "Tail" Kill the Water Cooler?
• New York Times: Tail is Wagging the Internet Dog
• Wall Street Journal: Can the Long Tail Wag the Dog?
• Guardian (UK): The Story of The Long Tail, and Welcome to the Age of the Aggregators
• The Observer (UK): Is Infinite Choice Too Much of a Good Thing?

A bunch of reviews, including:

• The Wall Street Journal: A Nichefied Mediaquake
• USA Today: Long Tail Hypes Future of Niches (A positive review, actually, despite the headline)
• The Economist: What the Long Tail Will Do
• Business Week: Who Needs Blockbusters?
• The New Yorker: Going Long
• Miami Herald: No Hits? No Problem. Just Sell `Everything Else' ($ archive)

Some great blog posts and reviews, including:

• Anil Dash: Long Tail in the House!
• Steven Johnson: Review (makes the excellent point that increased niche-to-niche communications means a richer, more complex culture)
• A Copyfighter's Musings: The Long Tail, now in Book Form
• Burning Light of Reason: Review

At some point I'll collate all the press and reviews into one list, but there's lots to do today. The book is at #24 right now on Amazon--please spread the word and help me take it into the top ten! I could live the irony of my book on niches becoming a hit, at least for a day or two.

Comments

[Barry Ritholtz]

Ha!

I am 3/4s thru the book -- really enjoying it.

See ya tonite!

[Sam Dutton]

Congratulations on the success of your launch. We really enjoyed your talk at ITN in London last Friday.

Couple of extra questions...

Your view of news reporting ("balance is sooo 20th century!") surprised me. Surely, there's-no-such-thing-as-objectivity is only first base when it comes to journalism?

Likewise the idea that the "long tail" is a free market controlled by sellers. Surely it's just a good old fashioned oligopoly, skilfully manipulated by Amazon, eBay, et al?

...or have I just got the wrong end of the stick?

[David]

Congratulations! Hope The Long Tail is a Blockbuster...

[cstar]

Got it yesterday. Finished it at 3 am.
I can see openings for my company through the Long Tail lense.

Thank you for this insightful and clever book. I will read it again (less avidly) and will recommend it around.
(and yes it will be finally "shelved" next to Freakonomics)

[China Law Blog]

Congrats! As the owner of a "niche" law firm and a niche blog, I salute you.

[Mike Levin]

Congratulations, Chris. I loved the book. We're already advocating it as a "must read" for anyone using our long tail writing suggestion tool, and will be putting several books in front of you for signing. See you tomorrow!

[Serge Lescouarnec]

Chris

Congratulations on the release of your book.

I have been writing my main blog 'Serge the Concierge' since March 2005 and after 360 posts I can start seeing the long tail effects.

I have not bought or read the book yet.

Have a good day

Serge
Biz:
http://www.njconcierges.com
Blog:
http://www.sergetheconcierge.com

[Darren]

My book arrived today--thanks very much. I plan to wade into it as soon as time permits.

[Chris Anderson]

Sam,

I'm not sure I'm following your "first base" question w/r/t media balance. I was essentially contrasting the US newspaper model (claimed but failed even-handedness) with the UK newspaper model (transparent advocacy). I find the second more honest, as long as it's in a market with lots of other tranparent advocates, so people can make up their own mind.

And as for the "oligopoly" comment, I'm also afraid I'm not quite following your point. Could you clarify? Email me directly and we can sort it out without taking this comment thread too far off topic.

Chris

[Richard Bliss]

Not sure how I got lucky enough to get a copy of the book last week, but I got to read it this weekend and have already passed on the recommendation to several others. Also, like several postings, my company, a niche player within a niche market, suddenly has a voice to why we are being successful.

Also, you are being too modest when you say you will only be in the top 10 for a couple of weeks. You have become the oracle for all of us in the long tail who have been overlooked, underappreciated, and written off as unimportant.

This book speaks to all of us and lets us know that we are not alone and that the future, according to Chris Anderson, is bright and bold.

Thank you again for your insights.

Richard Bliss

[Andrea Lee]

Hi Chris, many heartfelt congratulations from a long-time reader.

Question: When I click on the NY Times ad, I get an 'image not available.' I'd love to see this blush-making thing closer up!

Can you help?

Thanks! and bravo again!

a

[Griffin Caprio]

I posted a review of The Long Tail in a little different format that others. I took several other ideas that were discussed in the book and commented on them. Ideas that i thought were important in addition to the overall ideas.