5 ms·

All you need are 1,000 true fans

35 points by vpdn 16y ago

pchristensen 16y ago
Followup: http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/04/the_reality_of.php http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/04/the_reality_o... Some nagging details: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-about-1000-true-fans/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-ab...
vpdn 16y ago
"...the point of this strategy is to say that you don't need a hit to survive. You don't need to aim for the short head of best-sellerdom to escape the long tail. There is a place in the middle, that is not very far away from the tail, where you can at least make a living [..] It's a much saner destination to hope for."
aw3c2 16y ago
Robert Rich wrote a long reply to this: http://robertrich.com/1000-true-fans-an-answer/ http://robertrich.com/1000-true-fans-an-answer/ It's been 2 years since I read it but if I recall correctly it was worth it.
- wallflower 16y ago
  > The sort of artist who survives at the long tail is the sort who would be happy doing nothing else, who willingly sacrifices security and comfort for the chance to communicate something meaningful, hoping to catch the attention of those few in the world who seek what they also find meaningful. It’s a somewhat solitary existence, a bit like a lighthouse keeper throwing a beam out into the darkness, in faith that this action might help someone unseen. Wow. Best essay on honesty in passion vs life I've read in a long time. Thank you for posting this!
- barry-cotter 16y ago
  So did John Scalzi. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-about-1000-true-fans/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-ab...
jdietrich 16y ago
Not remotely news. I appreciate the sentiment, but this is a two year old article from someone who has been heavily linked to on HN. I've been seeing a lot of this sort of thing lately and it's really starting to get on my wick - this isn't nearly as egregious as links to 30+ year old hacker folklore, but I still find it irksome.
- wmf 16y ago
  Until there is a "Hacker Canon" site to collect these links, people will keep posting them here.
  - jdietrich 16y ago
    You're absolutely right. In the spirit of HN, I'll build just that. No idea what such a site should look like, but I guess I'll start with a wiki and go from there.
  - petercooper 16y ago
    This has been done on the Ask HN front: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive .. But having a large, tagged groups of HN-posted "must reads"/reference library would be cool.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
sreitshamer 16y ago
The message I got from this was: find a niche and deliver a great product for it.

35 points by vpdn 16y ago

Followup: http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/04/the_reality_of.php http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/04/the_reality_o... Some nagging details: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-about-1000-true-fans/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-ab...

vpdn 16y ago

"...the point of this strategy is to say that you don't need a hit to survive. You don't need to aim for the short head of best-sellerdom to escape the long tail. There is a place in the middle, that is not very far away from the tail, where you can at least make a living [..] It's a much saner destination to hope for."

aw3c2 16y ago

Robert Rich wrote a long reply to this: http://robertrich.com/1000-true-fans-an-answer/ http://robertrich.com/1000-true-fans-an-answer/ It's been 2 years since I read it but if I recall correctly it was worth it.

wallflower 16y ago
> The sort of artist who survives at the long tail is the sort who would be happy doing nothing else, who willingly sacrifices security and comfort for the chance to communicate something meaningful, hoping to catch the attention of those few in the world who seek what they also find meaningful. It’s a somewhat solitary existence, a bit like a lighthouse keeper throwing a beam out into the darkness, in faith that this action might help someone unseen. Wow. Best essay on honesty in passion vs life I've read in a long time. Thank you for posting this!
barry-cotter 16y ago
So did John Scalzi. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-about-1000-true-fans/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/03/12/the-nagging-details-ab...

jdietrich 16y ago

Not remotely news. I appreciate the sentiment, but this is a two year old article from someone who has been heavily linked to on HN. I've been seeing a lot of this sort of thing lately and it's really starting to get on my wick - this isn't nearly as egregious as links to 30+ year old hacker folklore, but I still find it irksome.

wmf 16y ago
Until there is a "Hacker Canon" site to collect these links, people will keep posting them here.
- jdietrich 16y ago
  You're absolutely right. In the spirit of HN, I'll build just that. No idea what such a site should look like, but I guess I'll start with a wiki and go from there.
- petercooper 16y ago
  This has been done on the Ask HN front: http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive .. But having a large, tagged groups of HN-posted "must reads"/reference library would be cool.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]

sreitshamer 16y ago

The message I got from this was: find a niche and deliver a great product for it.