The Big Idea
It has been an accepted fact for decades now that hits rule. Popular culture today is consumed by hits-- people cant help but talk about them, select them, and in general try to understand them. Executives from many different industries constantly rack their brains trying to come up with the next big seller.

Yet at the rate things are going, hits are beginning to rule less. Number one may still be number one, but the number ones dont sell as much as they used to. Hits are not the economic force they used to be; markets have fragmented into millions of niches.

The main difference between then and now is that consumers of today have far more choices than ever before. This incredible amount of choice is resonating in a very big way with modern-day consumers; they increasingly favor markets that provide the most choice. A new market is coming to fruition-- a market of multitudes and niche products that, thanks to the Internet and other such sources, is easier and cheaper to reach than ever before.

This book is about that market. It takes a look at niches, which are emerging as the new big market alongside the hits. The massed group of niches has always existed, but thanks to modern-day conditions the cost of reaching this group has fallen dramatically, and as a result it has become a force to be reckoned with.

About the Author
Chris Anderson - Chris Anderson is the editor in chief of Wired magazine, the Conde Nast monthly covering technology, innovation and culture. He is also the author of "The Long Tail," which first appeared as an article in Wired in October 2004 and is being expanded into a book to be published by Hyperion in July.