Forget squeezing millions from a few megahits at the top of the charts. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream.

In 1988, a British mountain climber named Joe Simpson wrote a book called Touching the Void, a harrowing account of near death in the Peruvian Andes. It got good reviews but, only a modest success, it was soon forgotten. Then, a decade later, a strange thing happened. Jon Krakauer wrote Into Thin Air, another book about a mountain-climbing tragedy, which became a publishing sensation. Suddenly Touching the Void started to sell again.

What happened? In short, Amazon.com recommendations. The online bookseller’s software noted patterns in buying behavior and suggested that readers who liked Into Thin Air would also like Touching the Void. People took the suggestion, agreed wholeheartedly, wrote rhapsodic reviews. More sales, more algorithm-fueled recommendations, and the positive feedback loop kicked in.

This is not just a virtue of online booksellers; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for the media and entertainment industries, one that is just beginning to show its power.

“The long tail” or Why the future of business is selling less of more is Chris Anderson’s latest book.

During the concert of Raised Fist last wednesday, I had a chat with this girl called Cindy from Belgium. She is a photographer – or rather Rock photographer – and she just launched a book entitled “Girl at the rock show“, a “publication dedicated to rock show photography from all over Europe”.
Here is the link to the book, here to her photography site, here to her picture galleries, and here to some pictures of the concert we were at with Tits. Anyway I’m getting too old for this kind of concerts

 I finished reading this really inspiring book : “Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman”, written by Yvon Chouinard, legendary climber, surfer, entrepreneur, environmentalist, philanthropist and proud founder of Patagonia Inc.

Let My People Go Surfing shows how, by keeping an explorer’s spirit, it’s possible to blend work, play and social duty—and be all the more successful as a result. The book outlines Chouinard’s philosophies on product design, production, distribution, branding, finance, management, and environmental responsibility. Patagonia, Inc. perfectly illustrates just how far a business can go in the direction of long-term sustainability and good citizenship, while Yvon Chouinard is an inspiring example of how far an individual can go in the direction of making his life a grand adventure. Speaking to a diverse audience, from the outdoor enthusiast to the die-hard environmentalist to the business school graduate, Let My People Go Surfing is a stirring memoir and business manifesto from which everyone can draw inspiration.