The Polka Long Tail And The Pittsburgh Steelers

It looks like the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl again but that's not why I'm writing this.

Back in October 2004 Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired Magazine, published an article and referred to something he called The Long Tail. In 2006, Chris expanded on his article and published the book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More. In both the article and the book Chris explains how the Internet enables businesses to sell a large selection of goods in small quantities to a large population of customers at minimum cost.

Selling online extends the life of digital content almost infinitely. This makes sense - think about your favorite song or television show when you were a kid. The next time you're at your local WalMart look around - think you'll find that song or every (or even any) episode of you favorite show? Probably not. Chances are you'll find it and will always be able to purchase it somewhere (iTunes, Amazon, etc) on the web - that's the Long Tail.

So back to my title..... what do the Pittsburgh Steelers and Polka music have to do with Chris Anderson and the Long Tail?

In the 1970's my in-laws, polka musicians Happy Louie and Julcia, recorded a song titled The Pittsburgh Steelers Polka. It pretty much sat on the shelf for the past 30 years or so - they'd sell a few albums here and there with the song on it. A little over a year ago Louie and Julcia began putting their songs up on iTunes and more recently Amazon.

Fast forward to today - the Steelers song has gone viral. A search of the Pittsburgh Steelers on iTunes brings The Pittsburgh Steelers Polka up as number one on the songs list. Another search of the "World Genre" Top Ten in iTunes brings The Pittsburgh Steelers Polka up as number 6.

You can listen to a portion of the song on YouTube here.


If you want the whole song you can get it on iTunes here or on Amazon here.

Go Steelers!

Polka Jamming at Center Court - Basketball Hall of Fame

Occasionally I diverge from technology and education here.....

Last Saturday night (Oct 25, 2008) my in-laws, Happy Louie and Julcia, were honored at the Krakus Festival held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. This year the event celebrated the 400th anniversary of the first known North American Polish settlement in Jamestown, Va. Polish people were first invited to this country for their skill at producing soap, glass and potash.

Proceeds from the festival will be used to fund improvements to The Polish Center of Discovery and Learning at Elms College. The center, according to their website, is a LIVING MONUMENT, which celebrates the many contributions, past and present, of the Polish people and their descendants to the economy, the arts, and sciences of our nation. The mission of the Center at Elms College is to provide guidance and support materials to schools and other institutions wishing to introduce Polish topics to their students, to offer a variety of workshops, exhibits, concerts, conferences, seminars, films, plays, lectures and other events which focus on the history and cultural traditions of the Polish people in Europe and the United States, and preserve objects representative of the folkarts and material culture of the Polish people in America.

Entertainment at the festival included music by the Eddie Forman and Echo orchestras along with Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push. Gabby and Eva, my two classically trained violinist daughters, got a chance to play with Lenny and his band.



Beautiful music Gabby and Eva..... congratulations Louie and Julcia..... it was a very special evening.