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, retargeting you with whatever product you searched for but didn’t buy. Then, they raised the stakes and put listening devices in your homes (Siri and Alexa), not to help you, but rather to improve their ability to target you with ads.

By 2013, I was pretty disillusioned. Michael Hinshaw and I wrote a book called Smart Customers, Stupid Companies. It was my final attempt to fire a shot across the bow of large companies, imploring them to use tech to serve, rather than just sell.

It didn’t work.

But lately I see real progress. Technology has evolved to the point that individuals can band together to achieve many of the things we used to need companies to achieve.

That is fantastic news. But there’s still a bit of a problem. The learning curve for individuals is pretty steep. There’s a ton of jargon to wade through: Web3, DAO, blockchain, cryptocurrency…

Fortunately, I’ve spent the past ten years writing, much of it on social media. My plan is to increasingly use my time to write for—and with—innovators who understand these emerging technologies better than I do, leveraging my ability to demystify complex subjects.

You can learn more about me at Kasanoff.com.

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, retargeting you with whatever product you searched for but didn’t buy. Then, they raised the stakes and put listening devices in your homes (Siri and Alexa), not to help you, but rather to improve their ability to target you with ads.

By 2013, I was pretty disillusioned. Michael Hinshaw and I wrote a book called Smart Customers, Stupid Companies. It was my final attempt to fire a shot across the bow of large companies, imploring them to use tech to serve, rather than just sell.

It didn’t work.

But lately I see real progress. Technology has evolved to the point that individuals can band together to achieve many of the things we used to need companies to achieve.

That is fantastic news. But there’s still a bit of a problem. The learning curve for individuals is pretty steep. There’s a ton of jargon to wade through: Web3, DAO, blockchain, cryptocurrency…

Fortunately, I’ve spent the past ten years writing, much of it on social media. My plan is to increasingly use my time to write for—and with—innovators who understand these emerging technologies better than I do, leveraging my ability to demystify complex subjects.

You can learn more about me at Kasanoff.com.