What is your take on the whole Long Tail thing, especially from the perspective of how it changing the way that the 'little man' uses the power of the Internet to reach a market?
What evidence is there that the Long Tail is working, today, right now?
What sites are making it work, is it social recommendation mechanisms in action, is it a mashup method of piggy backing on other services, is it viral marketing campaigns?
I'm not thinking of your typical set up an eccomerce site and go, or plug in some CRM and it will work, type schemes here. Rather sites and services that are drawing upon the more innovative and aspirational methods to get noticed, implementing new distribution models and methodologies, that kind of thing.
If you were compiling a list of the definitive Long Tail players and technologies, who and what would be on it and why?