Assignment 21: Reading Reflection #2

1)    What was the general theme or argument of the book?

a.     I would say that the general theme of this book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of Moreby Chris Anderson is the impact that technology has on marketing and how creative and innovative products are the future our economic drive. Anderson focuses on the advertisement of niche products to consumers via social media with the help of advanced technology. 

2)    How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

a.     This book connects and enhances what we are learning ENT3003 by providing real world scenarios of marketing strategies that our future businesses should take. 

3)   If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

a.     One idea for an exercise that I have based on this book is to have students try different marketing and technologies to spread the word about their new product, and see how it affects its popularity, or consumers perspectives of the products. For example, create different social medias and marketing tactics for a product and see what has the biggest impact on friends and family. 

4)   What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

a.     My biggest ‘aha’ moment when reading this book was probably when he mentioned that having a long tail makes up a good portion of a firm’s sale. In other words, I was surprised to read that a lot of companies get their revenue from niche products. I was also interested when I read about the different techniques that companies use to make the tail more beneficial to them.