Chris Anderson presents a compelling case of the “long tail” – the new economics of culture and commerce. He’s got the music CD, DVD and tons of data to back up his arguments that we’re entering the “long-tail” economy, brought about by the ubiquitous internet and cheap computer technology, enabling all of us to straddle between a “head” (mainstream taste) and “tail” – niche/custom taste. It’s a “culture unfiltered by economic scarcity.”

The three forces are 1) democratizing tools of production (PC), 2) cutting the costs of consumption by democratizing distribution (Internet), 3) connecting supply and demand (Google, Itunes).

The long-tail economy is of abundance, not scarcity that contributes to the demise of the 80/20 rule, which tends to correlate to a high-fixed-cost distribution/production model. As the traditional constraint of the fixed shelf space (tyranny of shelf and physical “atoms”), the pre-filter must be selective on what to offer and put on the shelf. This is no longer true if there is no shelves; all products are available – thanks to all the small merchants brought together by the power of Amazon and Google.

At the end, the author offers the “long-tail” rules: make everything available and help me find it. Specifically, 1) move inventory way in or way out, 2) let consumers do the work, 3) one distribution method doesn’t fit all, 4) One product doesn’t fit all, 5) One price doesn’t fit all, 6) Share information, 7) Think “and” not “or”, 8 ) Trust the market to do your job – Don’t predict; measure and respond. 9) Understand the power of free.

The impact of the Internet has transformed all of our lives. I didn’t think it would have this much impact on us so soon, turning several of the old industries (like newspaper, network TV) upside down. I’m now convinced this long-tail economy is for real. The opportunities are abundant but I wonder what this means to the future job skills our children must be trained for. Does it act as one giant roller that flatten/level the playing field and global economy so much that there is really no “high-paying” profession any more, as any of the premium will be squeezed out or arbitraged out? It’s a wonderful, scary time.

This book is a hilarious and yet sad account of one’s treacherous childhood by Augusten Burroughs. My first impression after listening to this audio book was that this whole thing was probably made up. What parents of a right mind would do such a thing to a child? But the author’s parents were not normal. The father is a alcoholic professor and the mother is just not well – a bit nutty that eventually became a lesbian and then turned against her own psychiatrist, accusing him of making sexual advance against her (probably true in my opinion). Growing up in a combative family (between the parents), the author described his childhood as a life of anarchy when he was abandoned to his mother’s psychiatrist. The life in this psychiatrist’s family was truly an adventure. He discovered his own homosexuality and encountered his first sexual experience with the guy, a patient of the psychiatric in the back house. His relationship with his “step” sister was very interesting – performing singing show in the prison, walking on the ledge under the waterfall, and etc. He was able to adjust quite well.

Once again I’m amazed by how resilient a child can be in reacting to upheavals in life. The author had to face the abandonment of his mother and his father and be left a in nut house – the psychiatrist’s family, consists of members of the oddest characters. At the same time, he was growing up discovering his own homosexuality and fending off advance from a sexual predictor in the back house.

After hearing this story, one cannot help to be cynical of the psychiatric profession. The practices sounds a bit like a snake medicine, if having the curing effect at all to be called medicine. The psychiatrist’s casual use of valium and other drug is rather unethical. I honestly don’t know how frequent this is happening or this is simply an isolated incidence.

The audio book has very graphic homosexual language/description but the narration overall was excellent. It’s like listening to a story being told by the author as if the events are taking place.

Of all the characters in the story, it’s very hard to tell who is really crazy. Is craziness a symptom of exhibiting an abnormal behavior or simply not appearing credible. Some of the most credible people (like the psychiatrist) may be crazy themselves. The gunman of the Virginia Tech massacre may have exhibited the “normal” behavior with a “craziness” hidden deep inside until it blows up.

I enjoyed this audio book. The title of the book says it all – running with scissors. Seeing others running with scissors is something to behold but not to experience yourself.

Developing the “code of honor” for the team is the essence of the book.

A team must first establish first the code of honor, by which the team will operate. This is like a ground rules that sets the tone for the team. The author stresses the importance of having the team members develop the code themselves so they can abide by. A good set of code of honor will keep the team going at a time of crisis, much like the marines have been trained to support one another during combat.

A reasonable good book with good examples but did not go into details about building each function of the business team. The message is very simple; I guess the function/expertise is not as important as the cohesiveness and dynamic of a team. The audio book was narrated by the author himself. He’s a natural salesman; he delivers the message with force and conviction. I don’t think you would get as much reading the book.

Daniel Pecan Cambridge, the narrator and main character in this novel, is a rather interesting person, walks a fine line between being a paranoid and a genius – a bit autistic with lots of idiosyncrasies, some mathematic talent and a very good heart.

The book chronicles the journey of a man going from a hopeless man not capable of going outside and dependent on an intern psychiatric help, to a fully functional man enjoying a good career and a lovely partner (wife). The journey involved his admiration for his intern psychologist and her child – Teddy. The breakthrough happened during his adventure with his psychologist and Teddy to Texas, his hometown, where his grandma passed on a great deal of money to him. After this adventure, he rediscovered that he was able to overcome the constraints he sets upon himself and took significant risk and courage, which won him the girl that he has been secretly admiring – all because of his good heart towards others and innocence.

This novel has so much of the “wild and crazy” guy – the pubic persona of Steve Martin, himself. What stood up for me is how purely and innocent he interpreted the world around him, like through the lens of a child. One cannot help feeling sorry for him when he was rejected by so many women (the psychologist, the real estate lady) and cheering for him when he finally became “normal” and won the heart of the woman who’s most deserving of his affection.