Welcome to Niche Nation.

• Author: Hilst, Randy
• Position: Letter to the editor

Chris Anderson and Nick Gillespie seemed to hit a wall when it came to contemplating the impact of the Long Tail on politics ("Welcome to Niche Nation," November). Anderson says, "We have a scarcity effect in our ability to act on the political system."

I don't agree. The LongTail's dynamic of choice and individual empowerment is having an indirect but profound effect on politics and the political system.

First, the political system can now no longer control the flow or content of information available on a mass basis, leaving politicians at the mercy of blogs, video cameras, and mass punditry. There are fewer and fewer hiding places.

Second, you can make a case that the free flow of information has been...