About three months ago, I gave a presentation here at Worldwide Brands to our staff and some of our business partners called “The world is flat and it has a long tail”. I had just completed reading the new expanded version of Thomas Friedman’s amazing book – The World is Flat and at the time I was closely following Chris Anderson’s concepts on The Long Tail. It occurred to me that these two influential works truly captured the heart, rise, and causes of the internet retailing explosion and that anyone who is really serious about succeeding online should read or at least know about the two ground breaking ideas in these books. The World is Flat Over the last 7 years at Worldwide Brands, we have watched in awe as it has become increasingly easier and easier for manufacturers and wholesalers from ALL over the world do business with online sellers who live all over the world that sell to customers from all over the world. "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman clearly explains how this is possible and what the important factors are that influence all of our lives. It takes you through the 21st Century and how the technological advances of the Internet have completely changed the cultural and economic realities of our modern world. Want to read it? Here's the Amazon link:The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century The Long Tail "The Long Tail" started as an article in Wired magazine and then exploded into a best selling book. The title refers to the power curve of a graph that illustrates demand and sales. At the head of this graph are the main stream products that most big retail chains sell. The curve slopes down into a tail representing 'less popular' products. The phenomenon is that demand is sustained for a VERY LONG time down this tail of 'less popular' or niche products. To put it another way the total number of less popular (or niche) products sold FAR out number and out value the total number of main stream popular products. This means that Big Retail chains like Wal-mart could never hope to out sell the massive number of products that companies like eBay and Amazon sell because of the infinite shelf space and variety that can be offered in online businesses. You my friends are sitting in the middle of a very long tail of opportunity. This is a great book illustrating what we have been teaching people for a long time- Selling niche products can be VERY profitable for your online business! Want to read it? Here's the Amazon link:The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (and FREE!) I have refrained from talking about these wonderful books, because I have not had a practical example to illustrate these somewhat abstract ideas. Until now! Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins are two of Worldwide Brands oldest and most successful customers. We knew them when they were just setting out and we’ve had extensive conversations with them over the years as they have grown their businesses into multi million dollar success stories. Brad and Andy just sent me a copy of this free video that they have been sharing. It talks about how they relate their own business success to the long tail of search engine optimization. It is one of the best illustrations of why I firmly believe that the world is flat and it has a long tail. Watch it here for FREE: www.convertlinks.com/learnhow So there you have it: my top 2 reading recommendations – they will change your life (!) and you can watch this great video from Andy Jenkins and Brad Fallon for Free. Have a great Labor Day Weekend, be safe and Special thanks to Andy and Brad!