My first book argued that companies should treat individuals like, well, individuals. I argued that companies should remember what customers tell them and—this is the important part—use that information to benefit the individual. You know what happened next. We got 1-Click ordering, but not much more. One after another, the giant startups turned to the dark side: advertising. These “innovators” started targeting customers, instead of serving them. They literally chased you around the Web, ret...

My first book argued that companies should treat individuals like, well, individuals. I argued that companies should remember what customers tell them and—this is the important part—use that information to benefit the individual. You know what happened next. We got 1-Click ordering, but not much more. One after another, the giant startups turned to the dark side: advertising. These “innovators” started targeting customers, instead of serving them. They literally chased you around the Web, ret...