Day of the Longtail

I came across this video on Geert Desager's blog a while back.



Since then I have spent considerable time wondering privately and publicly how many MR people are aware of the ideas introduced by Chris Anderson, Seth Godin, the authors of the Cluetrain Manifesto, and others who have tried so hard to warn us of the impending doom. So far I have not seen much cause for optimism. The overwhelming majority among us don't have a clue these ideas exist. Perhaps even more frightening is the attitude of senior managers who know what's happening but either prefer to keep their heads in the sand or passionately defend the status quo because they fear the change that is needed before our organizations are invited to play in the online sandbox. In the online world the consumers hold all the cards, and until we are prepared to play by their rules we will remain on the outside looking in.

In his new book Tribes, Seth Godin says "ideas that spead, win." These are ideas worth spreading if there is any hope to repair the lines of communication between researchers and consumers.