 |
At the very top, a small number of A-list blogs have thousands of sites with inbound links pointing toward them, driving huge amounts of traffic. Everyone else—the B-list and C-list blogs—has very few links and thus a much smaller readership. Curves like this exist in many fields: A tiny number of movie stars get more roles than all the others, and a small number of rich people own the vast majority of all the world’s wealth.
Is all lost for the B- and C-list bloggers? Not according to “long tail” theory. Wired magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson has made a study of the geometry of the curve and argues something surprising: Because the tail goes on infinitely, the C-list, in aggregate, has a much larger audience than does the thin A-list section. This means there are infinite niches for B- and C-size blogs: The TiVo blog! The Minnesota Republicans blog! The Lost blog! Each will have much smaller audiences than the A-list—Gawker, Engadget, Daily Kos—but advertisers will pay to reach such well-focused niches.
Email
Print
Albert Camus and Literary Obsession 
True Blood's Guilty, Addictive Appeal
Brüno Takes Aim at Homophobia 
Summer Food, Drinks, and Outdoor Events
Views, Biking, Art, and More at Governors Island
Marea's Lofty Ambitions and Luxurious Seafood 
Three Make-Ahead Summer Party Menus 
Why Does Ruth Madoff Inspire Such Hate?
Pedro Espada's Constituency of One
NYC Prep Turns New York Into a Joke
Our Annual Guide to Summer in the City
