In traditional democracies, small numbers of people can have significant influence while the majority have only limited opportunities to participate. Jason Kitcat looks at a concept that could change the e-democracy landscape.
Wired editor, Chris Anderson, unleashed a whirlwind of discussion when his article
'The Long Tail' appeared in the October 2004 issue of Wired. He had found a useful way of getting to grips with just
how digital technologies can shift the landscape, particular for commerce. The Long Tail caught on because his pitch wasn’t overly simplistic. There were no "information wants to be free" mantras nor the Internet changes everything type assertions. It was backed by real world numbers from real businesses.
