long tail? depends on what you are talking about. previously, companies couldn't focus on the long tail because there were many limitations. For example. say

long tail? depends on what you are talking about. previously, companies couldn't focus on the long tail because there were many limitations. For example. say you want to sell sodas, there are only so many types you can fit on a truck / shelf, etc. Then came the internet, so the idea was you could chase the long tail and sell xyz soda that only .01% of the market would drink. the problem is, people tend to do things that fit Dirichlet distributions, and a consequence of that is double jeapardy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_jeopardy_(marketing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_jeopardy_(marketing) the part in the link thats important is that brands with lower market share aka 'niche' products, people also tend to buy less frequently. I see this all the time dealing with people. someone will be like 'i love x, its the bset, i dont understand why people dont love x so much, people who love y aren't dedicated as i am'. (y being the mass liked thing). but when you crunch the numbers, almost always people who like y consume y more than the zealot x. even more damning, the majority of the time the x zealot actually consumes y more than x.