Dictionary

long tail en · NOUN

Etymology

In the marketing sense popularized by journalist Chris Anderson in 2004, alluding to the long tail of a power law distribution.

Meanings

1. (capitalized, sometimes) Sales made for less usual goods within a very large choice, which can return a profit through reduced marketing and distribution costs.
   • What’s really amazing about the Long Tail is the sheer size of it. Combine enough nonhits on the Long Tail and you’ve got a market bigger than the hits. 2004 October, Chris Anderson, “The Long Tail”, in Wired, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Jan 2016:
   • “I would like to tell you that the Internet has made such a level playing field that the Long Tail is absolutely the place to be, that there's so much differentiation, so much diversity, so many new voices. I'd love to tell you that that's in fact how it really works. Unfortunately, it's not,” Schmidt said. 2014, Astra Taylor, quoting Eric Schmidt, chapter 4, in The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN:
2. The tail of a distribution that represents the rare occurrence of extreme values.

Forms

Relateds

tail risk · big head · power law

Translations (1)

fr longue traîne (sales made for less usual goods)

wikipedia: Chris Anderson (writer)