史蒂文 :: Release 2.0

I've just finished reading both iCon and The Long Tail. My conclusion is that Steve Jobs is himself a Long Tail. From Apple to neXt to Pixar and likely Disney, with the first PC, to iTunes, kids films and likely user generated content he seems to be gradually moving down the tail towards entertainment for the individual.

iCon was interesting - it certainly gives a frank opinion of Steve Jobs and you leave the book not sure sure whether he is a nice guy or all in it for himself, and whether he was very skillful or very lucky.

The Long Tail is an interesting read. I was amazed to read that when video's first emerged they were priced as much as $80 per film - a reaction to the fact less people would be going to see the film in the pictures - of course, the reality being video actually increased their reach.

So doesn't make you wonder how long they will react against cheaper music and film and at what point they will realize tat reducing the cost actually reaches out to a far larger audience who will consume more, for less. The key of course is getting the user to listen to that first song, or wactch that first video and then link them into a wealth of music and film they would never have discovered in the first place and which would have sat rotting away somewhere.

I even came to start appreciating how video may work on an iPod - short films really sound like something that may work. If i could watch something for 5-15 minutes it would fit nicely into my travel routines (rarely do i travel for longer, other than long distance).
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