Folks! Your precious photos on Facebook are not safe! Social Media is a Loser for Storing Online Photos. Can't Beat Grandma's old-fashioned Photo Album.

Yep. Social Media platforms such as Myspace, Facebook, etc. are losers for storing your photos and precious memories. If you think those precious photos of your child's graduation or your vacation, or the party or the wedding are safe on a Social Media platform's photo album space are safe, well then, guess again!

Thank god I did move many photos to "Photo Dump of Rock Stars I've Met"... But still, there are a hundred more (at least) gone forever.... I'm kicking myself. Folks! Your precious photos on Facebook are not safe! (If the link above doesn't work: http://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/04/photo-dump-of-rock-stars-ive-met-in.html)

I produced a very popular FM radio show in Tokyo called "Good Morning Garage" on 76.1 InterFM and we had many famous guests on the show over the years. The list is quite long. I had put p the photos of us and those guests on Myspace so that the fans could enjoy them too. Guess what? They're gone!

Myspace went and deleted all the photos we had on our Myspace Good Morning Garage Fanpage (photos since 2006).... Hundreds of photos of us and artists and fans etc.... All gone. They didn't even send us a notice warning us they were going to do that. 

I hate Myspace.

Check it out. Poof! And like the South Park episode at the bank, "...and it's gone!" 

Don't believe me. Check it yourself: https://myspace.com/goodmorninggarage/photos... 

We had hundreds of photos there. Many, now, are lost forever. 

The photo with Jean Jacques of the Stranglers (by the way), Jimmy Page, Joey Ramone are some of the many that are lost forever.... Seriously, hundreds of photos.... 

It's my fault though, I guess it'll be the same on Facebook later on when that crappy service goes bankrupt too. 

We need a better way to take care of our old photos. 

In a way, this kind of reminds me of owning paper gold versus physical gold; if it's not in your hands, then you don't own it....

I guess it's pretty darn hard to beat the old fashioned photo album (that grandma likes so much) for not losing photos. 

Alper Kul's "Only a Bomb to Nagasaki?"

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I have found a wonderfully done musical piece that has been edited to video for you by an artist named Alper Kul. Alper Kul is from Turkey and he works with electronic musical instruments such as the piano.

Alper Kul uploaded a fine work that I am proud to introduce to you. It is called "Only a Bomb to Nagasaki?" and is simply beautiful and powerful a the same time.

It brought great emotions and tears to my eyes. Please watch this and enjoy!

ONLY A BOMB TO NAGAZAKI ? BY ALPER KUL from Alper KUL on Vimeo.

It is true that some of the scenes are Hiroshima and not Nagasaki but I think that doesn't detract one bit from the message and the beautiful music. I expect to be hearing more from Alper Kul in the future.

Alper Kul has a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/alperkul1973?fref=ts

His Alper Kul Myspace is here.

If you write to him, tell him Mike in Tokyo Rogers sent you.

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Keywords: Alper Kul, Atomic bomb, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, World War II, Facebook, Myspace, Marketing Japan, Mike Rogers, Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Fight Back Against Facebook Prying: You Know Everyone!

The title? Yeah, I know. It's obvious that's what Facebook does. But Facebook has recently started doing something that really is troublesome.

I have been blocked from requesting friends for a while on Facebook. Facebook claims I was sending out unsolicited Facebook requests. Yes I did and no I didn't.

Let me explain. I write under a different name as some people know. It's slightly different from my real name but my real name is so common that people wouldn't know me if I didn't add my moniker especially in a place like Facebook.

Always click "Yes" - It's none of Facebook's business

So why have I been blocked? As I said, Facebook claims I've been sending out unsolicited friend requests. But I have only sent out requests to folks who operate in my circles and are heavy readers and followers of the publication that I have been a regular columnist now for nearly ten years. It's also a place where Ron Paul has been writing regularly for too. I also, in Japan, sometimes send out (but mostly receive) friend requests from many Japanese folks who are regular listeners to my radio show. I simply cannot say "No!" to them! (Why would anyone on radio alienate listeners?)

So, I have sent out requests. Not a lot. But have done it. 

I get many more friend requests than I send out by a ten-fold, but now I realize why people can get blocked. It's because, recently, when you accept a new friend on Facebook, it has has been asking, "Do you know this person outside of Facebook?" Of course, I always answer, "Yes!"

Why do I do this? It's NONE OF FACEBOOK'S DAMNED BUSINESS!

I think it is just another reason why Facebook sucks.

I hear that young people aren't using Facebook and I think that's fine. I won't miss Facebook when it goes the way of Myspace. Why should you or I miss Facebook if that happens? ... Do you miss Myspace?

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For more on a related story, read: Facebook could soon track your every movement

Facebook, the biggest social network on the planet with more than a billion users, seems to want to know even more about you. More precisely Facebook seems to want to track you at all times. At least that’s the gist of a report from Bloomberg that came out on Monday and says that Facebook is working on a smartphone application that would track users’ location even when the app isn’t opened. According to this report the app itself would be used to track a user and alert him whenever friends are nearby but the actual use of the app is so that Facebook can serve you localized ads.

Why Facebook Will Go Bankrupt?

I getting a lot of feedback from Japanese friends that they are getting "burned out" on Facebook and that they are beginning to think it is a waste of time and boring (that was fast!) 

Many are complaining about boring posts from friends like photos of what people had for lunch or their desserts... Or pictures of their kids...

It gets tiring. Like I said, I'm sensing a loss of excitement in Japan over Facebook. When the average Joe-Suzuki loses interest so fast, then that spells problems in Japan.

Besides that, Facebook can't make any money on their website. Their big plan to save the company rests solely upon the notion that their mobile platform will generate enough revenues to pay of the party.

Sorry, folks. No way. No one has figured out a way to make mobile advertising work. Facebook isn't going to be able to do so, either.

Facebook finishes the week down (and another drop after hours)

I don't really mind ads on my PC or Facebook (I never click them, either) but, on my iPhone, with the small screen, the last thing I want on there is advertising. Space is a premium on a mobile phone screen and I can't imagine that anyone wants to see advertising on that small space cluttering up the view.

It's hard enough to see what's on the screen as it is without pop up ads and more noise.

Facebook is not going to be able to figure out how to make mobile advertising work... I doubt that anyone will for a long time, if ever.

Nevertheless, people are still hoping for better results from Facebook.

From Motley Fool: A Fool Looks Back:

Despite the chatter that the social-networking website is fading in popularity, having a whopping 955 million monthly active users is a 29% increase over the past year. And despite concerns about mobile and monetization in general, revenue growth at a 32% clip shows that the company is making more money per user.

Right! Never mind the fact that research shows 40% of all Facebook users are Spammers. From 40% of Facebook's Supposed 900 Million Users Don't Exist:

“Social spam can be a lot more effective than e-mail spam,” says Mark Risher, chief executive officer of Impermium, which sells anti-spam software. “The bad guys are taking to this with great abandon.”

Spammers create as many as 40 percent of the accounts on social-media sites, according to Risher. About 8 percent of messages sent via social pages are spam, approximately twice the volume of six months ago, he says. Spammers use the sharing features on social sites to spread their messages. Click on a spammer’s link on Facebook, and it may ask you to “like” or “share” a page, or to allow an app to gain access to your profile."

I also added:

"Woo-boy! Did I say "Facebook shares in the mid-20s by December?" I did. Good. But I was wrong. Look for the mid-10s!" 

OK. I was wrong. I said mid-20s by December. It's not even August yet and they are in the low-20s. Mid 10s? Quite possibly. I like this prediction for 2012.

Facebook since IPO: Down 38% in three months. Down 47% since IPO.

But what about Facebook's other success stories, you say? OK. How about Zynga, the Facebook game that many said was one of the high points for Facebook? Yeah. That's a Cinderella story. From Reuters:


Zynga shares have fallen 70% since its December 2011 Initial Public Offering. The investigation stems from concerns that Zynga misrepresented and/or failed to disclose materially adverse facts about its business and financial condition. Furthermore, certain Zynga executive officers sold a combined 43 million shares of Company stock during the second quarter of 2012, shortly before Zynga reported poor financial results. 

As Karl Denninger says about Facebook: 

"As for my price target on the company I will simply note that there is very strong technical support at $0."


For 2013 and beyond, look for Facebook to drop out of existence (or do their best Myspace imitation) by 2015.

Facebook is a Failure as a Marketing and Sales Tool - Here's Data!

Marc Sheffner posts an incredibly interesting article at the Searching For Accurate Maps blog about how Facebook is actually a losing proposition when it comes to marketing and promotion. 

Actually, I suspected so. I'm glad Marc put up some real numbers for people to get into.


Please refer to End of Facebook?

Ad Age, a six-week study of Facebook’s Fan pages showed a mere 0.45% of fans engaged in any way beyond clicking “Like.” This indicates that Facebook fan bases and actual engagement aren’t the same thing.

The average engagement for the 10 brands with the largest fan bases (like Harley Davidson, Nike and Porsche) was 0.36%. The highest engagement was in the alcohol category and the lowest in laundry detergent, social platforms and apps.

In other Facebook marketing news, my colleague Brian Croner reports that “world famous Sun Valley Ski Resort here in Idaho, invested their entire $950,000 ad budget in Facebook advertising in 2011 and it bombed. It bombed so bad in fact, they fired their marketing director. Last year they had more snow than they knew what to do with and still couldn’t pack the hotels after using FB exclusively.

Read more at Accurate Maps. 


Looking at how badly Groupon is dropping, refer to Groupon Shares Fall Off a Cliff, Down 42% Since IPO, Facebook had better IPO as soon as possible because I suspect that the actual value of these social networks could be close to zero. I already know that Facebook is losing money. 


Don't forget that, just a few years ago, Myspace was the King of Social Networks... Today? They closed their office in Japan last month.


Could Facebook be a few years behind Myspace?

Grim Dylan All Girl Grunge / Punk Band from UK - Cool Japan "Images" Used in Cool Rock Videos

Grim Dylan is an excellent new all girls grunge / punk band from Derbyshire in the UK. 

Here's what their bio says about them:

Grim Dylan is a female trio from the Midlands.
A manifestation of pounding drums, gravelly guitar riffs, melodic vocals and alternating bass lines. Grim Dylan kicks, shoves and pushes to the forefront of the angry girl punk scene. 

With a rapidly growing fan base and distinctive styles of writing these girls refuse to be silenced.

You can also download three of their songs for free at Reverb Nation! 

http://www.reverbnation.com/grimdylan 


I mention Grim Dylan today because we have been playing them a lot on the radio here in Japan and the reception from fans has been excellent. Also, while not an official video, a fan of theirs made this promotional video using scenes from the movie Sucker Punch. These scenes show that, in spite of the bad news of the 3/11/11 disaster, Japan and images of Japan, are still considered quite cool for young people. Enjoy!

Check out Grim Dylan's Myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/grimdylan

Blogging More Powerful Than Twitter

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I know a lot of people who spend zero time blogging but spend a lot of time on Twitter. Even though I have written many times before about what I think is the poor future of Twitter. I do use Twitter several times everyday. But I do get the impression that Twitter may be setting itself up for a fall.

I think that if you don't blog and just Twitter, and expect to use that for some kind of sales, marketing or promotion, you are kidding yourself. If you don't blog and want to use Twitter just for fun, then that makes sense to me.

I can easily imagine Twitter becoming like Myspace in three years. Does everyone remember when Myspace was the all the rage? I do. I even ran a huge Myspace community page with thousands of  "friends." I haven't touched that Myspace page in over a year. Myspace is a pain.

I'm not the only one who thinks Myspace is dead.

There are several reasons that I think Twitter is heading for uselessness. First, over 60% of all Twitter users quit in the first month. I also get tons of tweets from people nowadays that say, "Want to get thousands of followers on Twitter?" I the click their link and go to their Twitter bio page and see that they have fewer followers than I do. Then, Twitter is down far too often. Follow that with the Twitter censors and manipulates its "Trending" nonsense and you've got a service that, seems to me, is heading for a fall.

The third thing that bothers me about Twitter is that I do know that people are Twittering, but how many are actually reading?

I have written before that, if you are only pushing "Sell! Sell! Sell!" then why would anyone read or even follow you? You must give away great FREE content or no one will bother. I make it a point to give away great free content religiously everyday on my blog....

And that gets me to my point of this particular blog. I have encouraged many people to start blogging. Some do, some don't. The ones who have and have been diligent about it, have reaped rewards and they thank me... The ones who haven't have been taking what I call the "Lazy man's way out" and that was by using Twitter instead of blogging.

Like I said, Twitter is useful, but without a base, without a blog, just writing tweets and directing people to other sites besides your own is not efficient. It's lost productivity.

Well, now, luckily for me, someone has come out with data to support my opinion that Twitter may not be the silver bullet for disseminating information on the Internet that everyone thinks it is.

PR Daily News Feed the newsletter about Public Relations and Marketing in the Age of Social Media writes:

PR’s heavy hitters aren’t embracing Twitter

This one is confounding. Powerful people in PR are, in some cases, absent entirely when it comes to social media. In July, PRWeek released its “Power List” of the industry’s top 25 professionals. Less than half of them have a Twitter account, reports the PR 20/20 Blog. “Of these 12,” writes PR 20/20, “five have never posted a status update; four of those don’t have a photo for their account; three don’t have bios; one protects his tweets; four tweet on occasion, approximately once per week; however, most information shared is self-promotional (personally or for the company).” Clearly the old guard and ways of the older Jedi still persist. Either that or these folks are “too damn busy” for social media. 

Sure Twitter is useful still. But where will it be in three years? The jury is still out. I think that one can easily calculate just how many different people are really sending out Tweets by looking at their Twitter account. Seems to me I keep seeing the same people.... Throw on top of that the 60% who quit after the first month and it makes you wonder about that guy who has 10,000 followers. 10,000 is an impressive number, yes... But have 1/2 those people quit already and never view Twitter?

But with my blog, I know for a fact that 500 ~ 600 or more people are visiting and reading. This is a number that has been increasing by at least 10% a month consistently. They come because they want what I have to offer; Japan and marketing and a place to get creative ideas. And that is, hopefully, interesting and useful content for free. Blogging can't be beat if you want to do sales or marketing.   You can guess that I believe a blog, offering great, free and useful information, updated daily is critical.

Read more about effective blogging daily and better Google rankings here.

Read more about effective blogging for companies here.
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Keywords: blog, blogging, Mike Rogers, Twitter, Marketing Japan, Tweets, PR, marketing, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Myspace, Google

Marketing Japan: Number of US Companies Using Blogs for Marketing Rising...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I just ran across an article that made me feel a bit vindicated. I often meet people who think that the meaning of the terms "Social Media" or "Social Media Marketing" extend to things like Twitter, Facebook,  Myspace and Pick and stop there. I do not agree at all.

I think that if you believe that just putting information out on Twitter is good enough for Social Media Marketing (SMM) then you are not even doing 1/4 of what needs to be done. 

I firmly believe that a solid, well-written, interesting blog, that is updated at least once a day with useful and free information, is critical to the success of any Internet marketing program. Whenever climbing any great mountain (your marketing target) any expedition team will need a good base camp (your blog).

Now, Adweek data seems to come out and confirm what I have suspected. It is estimated that, by 2012, 43% of all US companies will be using a blog for marketing. That's smart. From the article: 

In many studies, company use of social networks and Twitter outpaces the use of blogs, but the platforms are not mutually exclusive. "Companies are finding that blogs fill a specific niche that other forms of social media do not," said eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna.

"Marketers perceive blogs to have the highest value of any social media in driving site traffic, brand awareness, lead generation and sales -- as well as improving customer service,

So, it seems to me that the lesson here is obvious: Twitter, etc. is good as a snack (but has many problems on the horizon), but somewhere down the line, people need to sit down to a proper meal. It's going to take at least two years of dedication to build a reputable and credible blog... I reckon it's best to get started ASAP.

For further information on this subject, and how you can find help for yourself, click here. As always, it's all free and there are no signups or surveys!

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Keywords: Blog, Twitter, Pick, Myspace, Facebook, Adweek, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Marketing Japan: Like Japanese Rock? Music Japan Plus!

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers


In France, Japan, and all things Japanese are hugely popular and growing in popularity daily! I will get to that in a minute! Read on! 

People who knows me well or read this blog often will know that I am a devout advocate of specialization. It doesn't matter what you do, I believe that you must specialize or die.

The examples of this abound all around us.

Vamps are a new Japanese visual kei unit that is staple on Music Japan Plus

Take my oft sited example of family restaurants; sure Denny's has everything, but nothing is especially delicious. If, in your town, there was a Denny's (and four or five others like Denny's around it) but there was also a delicious sushi shop, Chinese restaurant, French, Italian, great Steak-house, Starbucks, Mexican, etc., etc., would you go to the Denny's?

I don't think most people would.

That's why our economy and the world are changing so very radically today; the Long Tail has been born (all hail the Internet) and specialization is quickly becoming the king!

Japan Expo in Paris Pop from 2009

Now, I'd like to introduce a site to you that is operating in Japan that is definitely niche marketing (but, in my opinion, will have to become more and more focused as time goes on!) I want to do this today because, from my radar, because of things like Hatsune Miku (the singing android) and other hard-to-pinpoint-factors, it seems that Japanese pop music is getting hugely popular in, get this, France!

Yes, yes... I didn't believe it at first, either... But some friends just came back from France and confirmed this for me: In France, Japan and everything Japanese is exploding in popularity! They even have a Japan Expo in Paris every year!

That site is called Music Japan Plus and gets my highest rating for a site totally dedicated to Japanese music. The site is also in Japanese and English and several other languages.

Music Japan Plus has information mostly focused on J-Pop, J-Rock and "visual-kei" artists. It also has an online shopping E-commerce component, articles, and artist database, forums and prizes! They also have their own Youtube, Myspace and Facebook.

So, if you're really into niche music and Japanese Rock (or the Plastic Trees) is your thing, then you need to check out Music Japan Plus. Click here to go directly to Music Japan Plus (English site).

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Keywords:
Music Japan Plus, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, Vamps, Plastic Trees, J-Pop, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, J-Rock, Visual-kei, Youtube, Myspace, Facebook

Marketing Japan: A Primer on the Long Tail

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers


What is the Long Tail?


The Long Tail is transforming our lives and our businesses. If you are considering ways to improve your business and your life, then you do need to understand what the Long Tail is and its ramifications.


Anyone who wishes to do any business utilizing the Internet or any Social Media needs to fully understand the Long Tail in order to improve on whatever it is they are doing. That includes Facebook, U-Stream, blogs, Mixi, blogging, video-blogging, Myspace, vlogs, Pick, Linkedin or Twitter.

In fact, if you are involved in any of the above, then you are a part of the Long Tail.


Recently, my partner and I went to a satellite TV station here in Tokyo, Japan that is not doing too well... In fact, they are all worried about their future and the future of their station. (Incredibly, there are old media people who seem not to be worried about their station's - and their future - but this blog is for people who are not brain-dead.) Over these last 5 - 10 years, advertisers have been abandoning satellite TV (as they have been abandoning all other Mass Media formats) and spending their marketing and advertising yen in different areas.


Not only have advertisers been abandoning them, but, even more alarming for them is that the viewers have been getting off the sofa and doing other things too. Subscription Music TV is no longer cool like it used to be. And why should it be? Why do I have to sit through ten crappy videos to maybe see one I like when I can go on YouTube or Myspace and see what I like immediately? (Both YouTube and Myspace are excellent examples of the Long Tail in practice).


Don't be confused, just because this particular station is a digital satellite station, don't think they are not in trouble; they are... Admittedly, though, they are in much better shape than a dinosaur such as TV Tokyo or TBS is, but that is only because they do not have over a thousand employees like those terrestrial stations do. Most of these satellite stations in Japan have anywhere between 40 - 80 employees so their books - and their chances of survival - are much better than the major terrestrial TV stations.


Nevertheless, even though they are a satellite TV station, their business philosophy is still strongly rooted in analogue type of thought; and this will be their downfall if they don't act soon.


The station in question has been struggling through a few years of trying to figure out how to utilize the Internet to help survive as a broadcasting station but they have come up short consistently every time... I think the problem lies in that they can't get their heads around the fact that they will have to stop thinking like a TV station and start thinking like an Internet business in order to survive.


After having several meetings with them, I think I've figured out what their basic fundamental problems are: they do not understand the Internet (they think it is a crutch to support their TV broadcasting and they haven't a clue as to what the Long Tail is and what it means to them.


Up until now, and for the foreseeable future, broadcasters in Japan are, and will be, stuck in old-fashioned thinking. They still use their web pages as a place for one-way communication to their viewers. Simply put, their web pages are boring and, frankly speaking, only serve as an online TV Guide listing for the program schedules.


Not exactly the kind of content that is going to start a buzz or an overnight Internet sensation.


They also do not understand how the web can be an avenue for creating new business and money streams... It is my guess that this particular station probably loses about ¥200,000 ~ ¥500,000 yen (about $2,000 ~ $5,000 (USD) per month on their web page when they could be - should be - making money from their web site, like so many others do.


Of course, we had been trying to explain to them about the concept of Web 2.0 and creating "community" by giving away free, interesting content online, but for some reason, they never seemed to quite "get it." Oh, they seemed to understand that something has to be done, but couldn't put their finger on what exactly that it is that has to be done.


I gather that after our meetings they would go back to their company meetings and say things to their compatriots like "Yeah! Mike says we have to do Social Media and Social Marketing! He says we have to be more intelligent about our online business and in creating community! He says we have to put content online and giveaway content free..."


Then the boss would retort, "Why?" and then that's where the confusion came in... I'm sure the room would grow quiet.


But finally, at this last meeting, I think I have gotten through to them as to why they need to act. Finally, I believe that I explained it in a way that makes sense to them. And that explanation was the Long Tail. (Please understand that I am a professional speaker so if I had trouble explaining this to these good folks, I can imagine how hard it must be for most!)


So, now let me give you an EXTREMELY short explanation of what the Long Tail is. I also have a link below to Chris Anderson's bible on the subject, "The Long Tail" that I strongly recommend!

Highly recommended: Chris Anderson, The Long Tail 

The Long Tail explains is how things have changed in these last 10 years or so.


At the head of the tail (the top), there are your standard Brick and Mortar shops and businesses; shops that have limited retail space. In my example, I'd like to use Tower Records.


Tower Records is probably the most famous of the old style record stores. Everyone knows them... I used to go there  lot. Unfortunately, I figure they have a very bad future and won't be around in 10 years. In spite of having a huge amount of floor space, Tower cannot possibly carry everything.


Tower takes a risk on ordering product and having to distribute that product to their various stores. They have to guess how many of each product each store can profitably sell. It is inevitable that they will guess wrong.


For example, the new NOFX record comes out and a kid wants to buy it in the Tower Records Shinjuku store, but the Shinjuku store is just sold out - while the Tower Records Shibuya store still has 5 copies. What happens to the kid at the Shinjuku Tower Records store? He goes to another record shop nearby, in Shinjuku, and buys what he wants... Tower Records loses a sale.


For companies like iTunes, or Amazon, who work on the Long Tail, this is a huge advantage for them over the traditional retailers; they have no shelf space (well Amazon does too - to a degree - but they started MP3 and download business too).


A key component to understanding the Long Tail is shelf space. Businesses and organizations that cannot capitalize on the Long Tail have space restrictions. For each centimeter of shelf space, Tower Records must make a certain amount of money in return. In this case, Tower Records cannot possibly have enough shelf space to have everything, floor space costs money. So, Tower Records can only sell the hits or any CD that they might reasonably expect to sell more than ten or twenty (or, preferably, several hundred).


Philosophically, it is obvious that when one tries to be friends with everyone, they are friends with no one. This is why I predict that, say, InterFM will go bankrupt by end of 2012, maybe sooner. I also predict TV Tokyo insolvency by end of 2014.


But back to the Long Tail.


Tower Records, TV and radio stations have only so much "shelf space" they are confined to a physical world. But, take iTunes for example; iTunes has no space restrictions. iTunes carries millions of titles and their catalogue grows daily. How many titles does the biggest record store in the world carry? 30,000? 100,000? And each of those titles cost money to carry; they must pay the rent. Shelf space costs money!


How much does it cost iTunes to carry some bits on a server that has 3 million titles on it? Almost nothing and it's getting cheaper by the day.


Look at the chart below. At the left are my examples above: Tower Records and the TV and radio stations. They only have so much space, space costs money; they have to cut off somewhere what product they are going to carry or broadcast. THAT is the point where the Long Tail begins.

I have marked the cutoff line in Red. To the right of that red line (and, by the way, including everything to the left of that cutoff line) are the products that a company like iTunes carries.


You'd think that, to the right, this line eventually goes to zero. It doesn't. It never goes to zero. The market is growing exponentially (in spite of what the major labels are saying) and because people are being offered more and more choice, they are taking it. Today we are witnessing a cultural explosion of DIY people and new artist's, authors, publishers, musicians, comedians, producers, writers and more. The end is not anywhere in sight.


The Long Tail is providing us with much more freedom of choice.


And here is the kicker, because storage of data on bits costs nothing, then places like iTunes, Amazon (MP3, E-Books), etc. can store hundred's of thousands, no millions of titles... More, if they wish... And it costs them almost nothing. It will be Game Over once the rights issues are resolved.


Now, look at the chart above again.


To the left are the old stores and old media. At the bottom is the Long Tail of the new media. It is a fact now, since people are being offered so much more choice, that "Apple said that every one of the then one million tracks in iTunes had sold at least once (now the inventory is twice that)." This means that, cumulatively, that the products in the Long Tail add up to a significant portion of iTunes business... As the tail gets longer, it is merely a question of time (probably a relatively short period of time) when the Long Tail's total sales will surpass those at the head of a traditional retailer.


What will that mean for our culture, entertainment and economy?


Even with this explanation, I knew, from experience, that I still had to educate my friend's at the satellite TV station to be able to go to their boss and explain to him why we had to reform their Internet business....


I did that. Now, if you need any more convincing, take my chart and turn it vertical. Now the end of the Long Tail is at top and it is still extending.

Where does your business want to be in the next few years? 

At the right or on the bottom?

And the bottom, well, the popularity segment is shrinking as can be witnessed by dropping sales of major artists and Rock radio...


Now, where do you and your business want to be in the next few years? At the top right or at the bottom?


Utilize the benefits of the Internet to, not only benefit your current business, but to reform and revitalize it. Understanding the Long Tail is key. Now that's not just smart, it's good business and intelligent marketing.


Note: For a more detailed explanation of the Long Tail, I highly recommend reading Chris Anderson's "Why The Future of Business is Selling Less of More - The Long Tail"


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Keywords:
Internet, Marketing Japan, Subscription Music, E-Books, Myspace, Tower Records, entertainment, Apple, video-blogging, Mike Rogers, Subscription Music TV, Japan, blogs, Tokyo, satellite TV station, Shibuya, economy, Chris Anderson, NOFX, marketing, Pick, Amazon, U-Stream, TV Tokyo, marketing,  Linkedin, entertainment, PR, Terrestrial TV, blogging, Social Media, Modern Marketing Japan, advertising, Long Tail, Mixi, Facebook, vlogs, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, FM stations, Twitter, Shinjuku, Youtube, iTunes, culture, TBS, The Long Tail, DIY,