[twainer]

The long tail exists for the user. For the content provider it is a myth. The long tail rewards platforms that deliver the content, not those that participate in it.

An example from the world of books:

http://www.baekdal.com/opinion/the-myth-of-the-99-cent-book/

[mseebach]

The long tail exists, full stop. What doesn't exist is an entitlement to be successful in leveraging it towards a certain end.

[twainer]

I don't say anywhere that the full tail doesn't exist, do I? I simply point out that it's very lucrative for the platform provider and not very compelling for a content provider.

What counts is attention not access: there is no long tail of attention, full stop.