Long Tails Invade the Land of Rocking Chairs

Even if we'd rather read recipes, "the long tail" and "powerlaws" are inescapable. Memes we hear more & more of. Why success builds success, Pareto's predictable imbalance... see comments also on the other side of it:

the value of “solidarity goods” – of reading the same blogs as your friends – reveals a lot about why audiences cluster around a small number of available information/entertainment products.

When talking about media, especially electronic media, the “currency” value of sharing the same media experience at the same time has substantial social and commercial cachet.

Via Virginia Postrel, whose work on "the variety revolution" is related.