Loving and Hating Long Tail Economy

The long tail economy can either be a nuisance or blessing, which it is to you depends on your preference for having options.  For some infinite options are overwhelming; they would rather have a few selected choices to them available opposed to an endless array. For these people, the long tail is a nuisance. The hit-driven economy of the 20th century was much more comforting because the limited number of hits saved them time and effort in deliberating between options. 

For others the long tail is a blessing. Their fringe interests were largely neglected in the hit-driven economy, but now given the plethora of options available on Netflix and Amazon they finally have easy ways to access media that cater to their niche interests. 

These two groups of people aren't self-contained; they regularly overlap. I think most people fall on a spectrum of being overwhelmed with choice and appreciating options. In fact, while I love Netflix because it allows me to find and watch many obscure foreign TV shows, I have often browsed Netflix for hours while not actually watching anything because I can't make a decision. Failing to make a decision because there are too many options is actually a common psychological phenomenon - it's called analysis paralysis. 

New media needs to work on managing analysis paralysis for their consumers when adopting a long tail business strategy. Netflix and Amazon have been successful because they have highly adaptive algorithms that manage suggestions based on past preferences, but these still need work because people routinely click away from both sites having failed to make a decision during their limited time with their limited resources. In my opinion,  solving this dilemma comes down to realizing the value of curated content in addition to nearly endless options.  For example, great concept would be combining editorial forums and social with platforms like Netflix and Amazon in order to provide more specific collections for consumers. It's just an idea but I think, this dilemma will become an increasing issue as more media businesses adopt the long tail strategy.