Guy Kawasaki writes about ideas from a new book by John Jantsch:

Narrow the market focus. Create a picture of the ideal client: what they look like, how they think, what they value, and where you can find them. Start saying no to non-ideal clients.

Differentiate. Strip everything you know about your product or service down to the simplest core idea. Make sure that the core idea allows you stand out.

Think about strategy first. Take everything you’ve done in steps one and two and create a strategy to own a word or two in the mind of your ideal client and prospect.

Create information that educates. You are in the information business, so think of your marketing materials, web sites, white papers, marketing kits as information products, not "sales" propoganda.

News.com writes:

The Internet in 2016 will be an all-encompassing digital playground where people will be immersed in an always-on flood of digital information, whether wandering through physical spaces or diving into virtual worlds.

That was the general picture painted in a draft report obtained by CNET News.com that summarizes the conclusions of several dozen pundits who met at the first Metaverse Roadmap Summit last May to prognosticate the "pathway to the 3D Web."

Within 10 years, the report suggests, people may wear glasses that record everything around them. They will likely see little distinction between their real-world social lives and their interactions in digital, 3D virtual worlds. And they'll increasingly turn to services like an enhanced Google Earth that are able to present data on what's happening anywhere, at any time, as it unfolds.

Andrew Gelman reviews the new book by Nassim Taleb. "The book is about unexpected events ("black swans") and the problems with statistical models such as the normal distribution that don't allow for these rarities. From a statistical point of view, let me say that multilevel models (often built from Gaussian components) can model various black swan behavior. In particular, self-similar models can be constructed by combining scaled pieces (such as wavelets or image components) and then assigning a probability distribution over the scalings, sort of like what is done in classical spectrum analysis of 1/f noise in time series."

Dave Winer writes: "By 2007, with search integrated into society at a very deep level, and only getting deeper -- it seems like it's way past time to fix this. And we know how to do it, and it's not even very hard...How? Integrate social networking and search and learn what people who I'm connected with, people like me, choose when they search for RSS and adjust the results accordingly. It's collaborative filtering applied to search."

The New York Times writes: "A company called ShopText has introduced a system that lets people buy products instantly using text messages, a process that eliminates the need to go to a store or even visit a Web site. For instance, a woman seeing an ad for a pocketbook in a magazine can order it on the spot simply by sending the text code found beside the item through her cellphone...At the center of the technology is ShopText, a small company in New York that takes the orders, charges the consumer’s credit card and ships out the merchandise. To use the system, a consumer must first place a phone call to ShopText to set up an account, specifying a shipping address and card account. After that, all purchases can be made by thumb."

Dear Abhishek,

We have done quite some travelling this year. In May, we went to Pune twice to attend my cousins’ weddings. In July, we went to Bangalore. In December, we went to Sankeshwar (near Ahmedabad) and Surat (where your SaifaliMasi lives with her husband and Niyati-didi). We also went to Bangalore and Chennai. Most visits have been short ones – about three days or so.

I like taking trips with you because it gives us more time together. You also get to see different places and people. I don’t know how much you will remember but that is not the point. All of these become experiences for you. Travelling in trains and planes, seeing the world outside, sleeping not on beds but perhaps on a dinner table or a shoulder – these travels help make you more adaptable.

There is this one evening I remember. We had gone to the National Handloom Exhibition in Bandra in Mumbai. Your mom was window-shopping at the various stalls. That left the two of us to walk around. You saw another, slightly older kid playing with a ball. And you instinctively went to him and started playing together. Suddenly, without saying a word, you both were happily kicking the ball around. Two complete strangers, laughing together, oblivious of the world around. Why can’t we grown-ups learn from you?

There were a couple of scares we had with your health. This was when you had bronchiolitis in August. Your mother called me in he afternoon saying you are going to have to be admitted to the hospital. I was a little shocked – you seemed quite okay in the morning. In the hospital, they had to clear your chest congestion by nebulisation and put you on the drip. Seeing you there with all those medical things around scared me. But you were brave. You didn’t cry. You just patiently waited till you got better. And in two days we were home.

This February, we had to get an operation done for hernia. It was hard making you go through it, but we had no choice. We were in the hospital for a day. You don’t remember much about it, but it was a tense period as you were getting operated. We knew nothing untoward would happen, but still…

Another evening I remember is New Year’s Eve. We went to Granth bookshop in Juhu. And then, we (just you and me) went to Little Italy for a little meal. Can you imagine that – just the two of us together in a restaurant on New Year’s Eve! We ordered some bread and nachos, ate the stuff, and came back home. You played around the restaurant as if it belonged to you! (We were early so there weren’t others in the restaurant.)

You first identified yourself as “Aapap”. It’s a word which means many things, but it mostly means you will do things yourself! It’s a signal of your growing independence. It’s a sign you are growing up. It’s a reminder of your increasing confidence. It feels nice to hear that. Now, you call yourself “Abhi.”

Of course, there are times, when I wish I could freeze time. And then, I look at you. You are so happily living through each moment. And that’s when I let that thought pass – you are growing up, minute by minute, day by day. I have to be more like you – enjoy the present and not worry about the future. We’ll live it as it comes, right?!

Tomorrow: Memories (continued)