While Chris Anderson brings up interesting points in The Long Tail article, I think it is important to realize the article was written in 2004. Over the past 12 years, the media spectrum has changed significantly. Anderson points out the rise and fall of Rhapsody. Today, we have Spotify and Pandora. Although Blockbuster is out of business, now we have Redbox and Apple TV. Even though Netflix existed in 2004, it has evolved into a revolutionary streaming service that caters to the culture of binge-watching and our addictive personalities.
Personally, I was reluctant to give into Netflix. I am a stingy college student who doesn't like spending money on intangible objects. I also feared I would have no self-control if I always had TV shows at my fingertips. I held out as long as I could before finally giving it a try. Of course, I was hooked. I understand what all the hype is about - there are countless shows that you can spend hours upon hours watching. Netflix combats the boredom we face in everyday life. Netflix provides vast options for entertainment.
As a company, Netflix is doing it right. It addresses the issue that people are never satisfied, so they are continually releasing seasons of both classic and new shows. In addition, they are even putting out original content that is receiving critical acclaim. In the long term, Netflix predicts that online streaming will take over TV entirely. I'm not convinced that the economics of long tail media is such an issue. Netflix is a service that is in demand, and the number of subscribers who pay for streaming supports this statement. Other media services should follow in Netflix's footsteps; evolve to what audiences want, instead of wallowing in what audiences used to crave.
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