WEEKLY BLOG #4: The Long Tail and a Deadly Tale

As a marketer, applying the Long Tail, a concept developed by Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson means implementing new marketing techniques to build markets and a successful business. The Long Tail suggest a new way to generate profits, to sell less of the popular items and sell more of the unique and hard-to-find. This new model relies on niche communities as target consumers and to sell to them requires heavy use of online and word-of-mouth marketing strategies in social media networks and virtual communities.

There are niches for everyone in the internet. For music lovers each want his or her way of deciding what music to listen and tunes to buys. It made new media sites such as iTunes, Rhapsody and Amazon very popular because it can provide specific sounds to satisfy a demanding, self-centered audience with various musical tastes. According to Anderson, "the misses (less popular music) makes money too. And because there are so many of them, that money can add up quickly to huge new markets."

Singing It "My Way"

I have to admit, one of my prized personal possessions at home is my Magic Sing Millennium Edition Karaoke Microphone that has 1000 song titles to choose from. Like many other Filipinos around the world, I like to sing Karaoke for fun and relaxation. Not only did a Filipino invent the Karaoke, but also, Filipinos are just born music lovers, which explains our shameless public display of our vocal power. A typical Filipino gathering is not complete without a Karaoke session.

Karaoke is something that many Filipinos share with other music lovers around the world. There are large virtual communities like Ksolo and Sing Snap for Karaoke singers and a Meetup group that has 244 subgroups and more than 35,000 members from 7 countries. A niche community loyal to sappy 80's guilty-pleasure tunes perfect for anyones repertoire.

Unfortunately, in recent days, the biggest news and blog conversations on my favorite pastime are the "My Way killings" in the Philippines. The Frank Sinatra hit is so popular in Karaoke clubs that many are fighting over the song, resulting in several reported deaths. As the article suggests, the song's arrogant and narcissistic lyrics may have something to do with it. But from what I hear, killings occur because everyone has a strong opinion on how the song should be sung. Those who murder the song with out-of-tune renditions can themselves be murdered by annoyed listeners, and those who sing it well get a final curtain call from jealous rivals. Obviously, Filipinos take their singing seriously. The New York Times summed it up best: “Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers.”

Here’s a cheesy YouTube video of "My Way." Feel free to sing along . . . at your own risk.




(Image courtesy of NY Times)