We are turning from a mass market back into a niche nation, defined now not by our geography but by our interests. - Chris Anderson

Talent is not universal but it is widely spread: Give enough people the capacity to create, and inevitably gems will emerge.

Our growing affluence has allowed us to shift from being bargain shoppers buying branded (or even unbranded) commodities to becoming mini-connoisseurs, flexing our taste with a thousand little indulgences that sets us apart from others.

For the first time in history, hits and niches are on equal economic footing, both just entries in a database called up on demand, both equally worthy of being carried. Suddenly, popularity no longer has a monopoly on profitability.