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.