Chris Anderson’s book title The Long Tail refers to a concept he created in 2004 to define how the curve of consumption of all sort of goods looks like today. In a world where abundance is the mainspring, the Long Tail is a curve in which the tail is very long – it actually never comes to zero – in relation to its head. This, in other words, represents the new phenomenon of consumption, boosted mainly by the Internet, where basically hits are being replaced by niches, meaning that a far larger number of products are available and being sold – and although each product sells less it is still being sold. “A very, very big number (the products in the Tail) multiplied by a relatively small number (the sales of each) is still equal to a very, very big number. And, again, that very, very big number is only getting bigger”, says Anderson (24). Before the Internet, Anderson argues, we lived in a scarce and hit-driven world. Although people have always had different preferences, in the hit-driven world they were stimulated by the market to seek the same kind of music, books, or even a basic product as flour, because they were constrained by market contingences like limited space, physical location and bottlenecks of distribution. This scenario, according to him, has profoundly changed with the unbridled availability brought about by the online world. While a small numbers of hits started to be replaced by a huge number of niches in the Tail, people realized the benefits offered by this variety and started to embrace the unconstrained supply. It is easy to understand why the Long Tail is encountering so much receptiveness: now, supply is much more determined by people’s interests and affinities than by geography, which means that the c... ... middle of paper ... ... market offers – and, again, it is so convenient. To realize that Americans are far more (and the word “far” is what matters) dependent on technology than Brazilians was surprising to me, for Brazilians do have an American-based lifestyle. But here, in contrast to Brazil, the Long Tail is already almost the sine qua non of markets. It is in fact everywhere, as mentioned before: in buying shoes, books, coats, grocery, in downloading music, videos, movies, in producing content for blogs, e-communities, reviews, recommendations. This list is endless. And what I think is more interesting about my own experience is that it demonstrates how people can be easily adapted to the new environment: I tested, I liked, and thus I am still doing it. So, I believe it is just a matter of time until the Long Tail culture becomes an imperative condition in every country on earth.
In his work, “Overselling capitalism,” Benjamin Barber speaks on capitalism’s shift from filling the needs of the consumer, to creating needs. He tells how it has become easier for people to borrow money, so that they no longer get as much satisfaction from affording necessities. He says capitalism can be good when both sides benefit, but it has overgrown and must continue creating needs, even though the only people who can afford these needs don’t have any. According to Barber, people are still working hard, but them and their children are becoming seduced by unneeded shopping. He states that people are becoming more needy, and losing discipline in their lifestyle. Additionally capitalism must encourage easy and addicting shopping to
The internet, an unregulated environment where both government and advertising agencies watch your actions and create profiles based on various traits. This is the picture painted in “The Daily You: How the New Advertising Industry is Defining Your Identity and Your Worth,” by Joseph Turow. Turow addresses the issue of how lack of government intervention and poor industry self-regulation has led to a situation where every click is analyzed to the point that even when advertisers omit the users name and address, users are still very much known. Based on these profiles, targeted ads and deals are sent to each individual, creating a class-based system that is defined by what advertisers have concluded the individual likes. The main thesis by Turow
There are many people who are driven by consumerism and many people who wish they can get in touch with that type of world. Consumers are often promoted to advertise more of the products that they are buying to get more people to buy more products. Hari Kunzru, author of “Raj, Bohemian,” creates a narrator who is obsessed with maintaining his individuality and free will in a world that is overcome with consumerism. Believes that the world takes away individuality when consumerism comes into play and how hard it is to maintain their true self. In her LA Times article “Teen Haulers Create a Fashion Force,” Andrea Chang writes about the phenomenon of teenage Youtube users who make videos that publicize their latest shopping binges. She expresses
America’s current standard of living is going to cause our demise. Consumerism is a problem throughout Americans culture since mass production began in the late nineteenth century. The obsession with consumerism has led to mindless wastes of resources, a diseased society and economic instability. Rick Wolff, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, states “economics of capitalism spread consumerism—now uncontrolled, ecologically harmful, and fiscally disastrous—throughout the United States”. Wolff’s viewpoint on consumerism aligns with mine. Believing that an economy based on promoting endless consumption is volatile and unsustainable. Consumerism can be analyzed and seen to be embedded by corporations and politicians.
development, in recent years the increase in popularity and availability of the Internet has brought about a new 'culture' to which
Upon watching the movie Brazil for the first time, the first thought which comes to mind is ‘WHAT??’. However, once past the exterior of the movie, one is able to divine its true meanings. Written by Terry Gilliam, Charlie McKeown and Tom Stoppard, Brazil was a groundbreaking movie which brought to light many issues within society which were valid in 1985 and remain so today. This text is valued because of the issues it raises, such as technology, an unwieldy government and consumerism, which are timeless issues. Brazil is based around a futuristic bureaucracy, where everything and everyone is property, there is little or no communication, and with the right forms, you can legally do whatever you want. This movie shows the flaws of such a system, that whilst aiming for perfection, is merely digging itself deeper into confusion and destroying the very society it seeks to control. Brazil is a dark comedy which shows us the consequences of handing over our lives to a faceless bureaucracy.
In Book V of his Principles Alfred Marshall describes what he denominated “the state of arts” of the supply and demand theory, going back to Adam Smith. The assumptions then applied to the matter was that 1) demand comes first, 2) it is up to sellers to adjust supply to demand through production and marketing, a mix where the price is the most important variable, and 3) production takes time. Marshall summarized statement 2 later on into a single phrase: “Production and marketing are parts of the single process of adjustment of supply to demand” (MARSHALL, 1919, p. 181). This set of three assumptions suggests that the basic principles of the supply and demand theory collected by Marshall from the work by some scientists were then laid, requiring therefore only the right mathematical treatment.
“Proper society did not think about making money, only about spending it.”, said Barbara W. Tuchman. This quote shows our real world, and the people that spend money, but they forget about the value of money. Nowadays people want more that they have. They forget how many things they have, and how much money they spend. Most people when they see other people having something better, and in that moment they want to have it also. Also, people forget how hard they got that money, but how easily and quickly they spend it. In the article “The treadmill of consumption” by Roberts, he says that people are willing to go into debt to buy certain products and brands. That is right that people can do crazy things to buy certain goods.
Many theorists suggest that consumption is correlated to the identity of an individual, that by purchasing goods from the mass market, it enables us to visibly establish our position within society. This differs from previous times in which a range of factors such as family histories, character and personal achievements played a significant role (Gabriel and Lang, 2006). Instead, there is the idea that the consumer has the ability to gain pleasure over objects, not just solely by the manipulation of objects, but through the degree of control over their meaning. The degree of control is developed and achieved through imagination and provides greater possibilities of pleasure experiences. This suggests that modern consumption can be seen as device that enables individuals to ‘dream’ about the desires they wish to fulfill. (Campbell, 1989: 79) (Cited in Gabirel & Lang, 2006)
A single firm or company is a producer, all the producers in the market form and industry, and the people places and consumers that an Industry plans to sell their goods is the market. So supply is simply the amount of goods producers, or an industry is willing to sell at a specific prices in a specific time. Subsequently there is a law of supply that reflects a direct relationship between price and quantity supplied. All else being equal the quantity supplied of an item increases as the price of that item increases. Supply curve represents the relationship between the price of the item and the quantity supplied. The Quantity supplied in a market is just the amount that firms are willing to produce and sell now.
For new media, the creative goods are very diverse, having a wide range of products for consumers to choose from. Video games serve as good example, as they are further categorized into action game, adventure game, board game, puzzle game, to name but a few. Even in the game itself, players or users can choose different modes to play, and customize their games as they are allowed to choose different themes or create their own Sims. Such property allows the consumers to have infinite choices and hence, infinite consumption. Also, by having all kinds of products available to them, they can enjoy the privilege, as there are higher chances for them to find the products that suit them the most.
The market price of a good is determined by both the supply and demand for it. In the world today supply and demand is perhaps one of the most fundamental principles that exists for economics and the backbone of a market economy. Supply is represented by how much the market can offer. The quantity supplied refers to the amount of a certain good that producers are willing to supply for a certain demand price. What determines this interconnection is how much of a good or service is supplied to the market or otherwise known as the supply relationship or supply schedule which is graphically represented by the supply curve. In demand the schedule is depicted graphically as the demand curve which represents the amount of goods that buyers are willing and able to purchase at various prices, assuming all other non-price factors remain the same. The demand curve is almost always represented as downwards-sloping, meaning that as price decreases, consumers will buy more of the good. Just as the supply curves reflect marginal cost curves, demand curves can be described as marginal utility curves. The main determinants of individual demand are the price of the good, level of income, personal tastes, the population, government policies, the price of substitute goods, and the price of complementary goods.
The Internet changing everything from the way we shop to the way we find driving directions. Cyberspace has become the hottest pick-up jo...
Nevertheless, one of the most important constants among all of us, regardless of our differences, is that, above all, we are buyers. We use or consume on a regular basis food, clothing, shelter, transportation, education, equipment, vacations, necessities, luxuries, services, and even ideas. As consumers, we play an essential role in the health of the economy; local, national and international. The purchase decision we make affect the requirement for basic raw materials, for transportation, for production, for banking; they affect the employment of employees and the growth of resources, the successfulness of some industries and the failure of others. In order to be successful in any business and specifically in today’s dynamic and rapidly evolving marketplace, marketers need to know everything they can about consumers; what they are want, what they are think, how they are work, how they are spend their leisure time. They have to find out the personal and group influences that affect consumer decisions and how these decisions are made. In these days of ever-widening media choices, they need to not only identify their target audiences, but they have to know where and how to reach
The other day I walked into the supermarket to buy a box of Kleenex. I was faced with a variety of colors, textures, box designs, and even the option of aloe. All these features designed for a product to blow my nose into! Selection wasn't limited to the Kleenex section, either…I found abundance in every aisle. We seem to always want more - more choices, more variety, more time. In fact, even the word "supermarket" implies a desire for more than just a simple market.