Christopher S. Penn's Awaken Your Superhero - Latest Comments in The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Re: The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Kfir Pravda — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:37:52 -0000

PS - agree with Chris re the guide.

Re: The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Kfir Pravda — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:36:27 -0000

Happy to see that the debate about internet TV viewership continue to generate responses.
Vergel - What makes you think that enough people would buy a t-shirt to make the creators rich?
Justin - and I thought to show my mom a "something to be desired" episode, but I'll skip that :) Seriously, guys, aggregatirs will make money, and i have no problem with that.
BUT we can still make money on our own - be that with Vergel's method, or by creating a brand. We need to improve our marketing, and we can do that now, as most target audience using social media tools. If we don't that, we won't be able to make money. simple.

Re: The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Whitney — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:33:28 -0000

Seth Godin talks extensively about being the best at what you do and not settling for being average. The complaint in books like "The Cult of the Amateur" is that there is so much average out there- why aren't people satisfied with leaving the creation of art to artists? Just because everyone can have a voice, should they?
MY POV is that if you're going to bother to do something, try to make each attempt the top of your game; don't settle and accept "good enough". The extent of your market to "sell" your product is defined by the product- will you have mass market appeal, like Nike, or niche appeal? Can you afford to saturate your niche? What sets you apart from others in the niche- what makes you special and willing to rise above the crowd of good enough?

Re: The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Vergel Evans — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:56:13 -0000

I've said it before and I'll say it again... (not directed at anyone in particular, but to the whole podcast/new/social/media scene)

Generate revenue by growing a secondary product based on your first product. Screw the long tail... forget this whole "be the best at something"....

The reality is, people consume media ALL THE TIME. If you are producing media; what media products have you produced for the fans who want to own your media? What have you provided for them to purchase and own beyond your initial offering?

Be it a t-shirt, sticker, or anything. Give the fans who want to own a piece of the media they consume... media that you created, something they can buy into and be a part of. The rest will work itself out.

If you're trapped producing products for people to consume, but aren't focusing some of your energy on products for the fans who like what they've consumed... re-focus and create those secondary products.

Howard Stern did it with his voice... and subsequent product offerings. It's not rocket science... The road has already been paved.

Re: The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Christopher S. Penn — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:18:44 -0000

Ah, but that's the real killer: the aggregator monetizes, but the aggregator keeps the lion's share of the profits for the service they provide. After all, what is Google if not an aggregation and indexing service?

If anyone is waiting for an aggregator to come monetize them, it's going to be a real long wait.

Re: The Long Tail Will Kill You, Jeff Pulver

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:16:01 -0000

It's a double-edged sword: podcasters are afraid to set boundaries because this new medium allows us to do ANYTHING... including being "best in the world" at something that absolutely no one else is searching for.

Being the best podcast aggregator has value.

Being the best podcast about Tonka trucks also has value -- but to how many people?

Must we wait for an aggregator to monetize us from the skies? The answer is yes, if everyone is doing the equivalent of Tonka truck podcasting.

(And I wouldn't expect Kfir's mom to tune in to that, either.)