The key to personal web design is adapt your content and interface by trying to identify the user’s purpose based on whatever information available to you, especially including his previous interactions with your site (or application).
The essay had some great points which i agreed with (I've been a huge fan of personalization since MyYahoo!), but this one statement didn't sit well with me:<p>"Imagine walking into a grocery store and all the items you never buy are automatically filtered away, leaving only what you really want to buy."<p>...that's a typically geek guy mindset! I know this sounds shocking to some folks but there are actually people who enjoy the act of shopping because they don't know what they're looking for; and most importantly the serendipity of discovering something they didn't expect to see.<p>Example: Tonight i went into a bodega looking for very specific things, and then at the checkout counter I discovered a Halva candy bar which is unusual for said shop. Not only did I leave with my chocolate sesame bar, but when I told the kid behind the counter what it was he grabbed one for himself. So had i just found what I was looking for, it would have been a very dull experience.