Sunday, 21 June 2026

Seth's Blog : "In its larval state"

Thirty years ago, Cory Doctorow did an interview showing primitive inklings of the internet future (music, videos, etc. ). At the time, it was easy to dismiss it as an irrelevant toy, and most people in power did just that. Around the same time, I wrote ...
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“In its larval state”

Thirty years ago, Cory Doctorow did an interview showing primitive inklings of the internet future (music, videos, etc.). At the time, it was easy to dismiss it as an irrelevant toy, and most people in power did just that.

Around the same time, I wrote an article for Direct Marketing magazine outlining the future of email marketing. Again, most people who saw it didn’t agree enough to actually do something with it.

Now, here we are, with AI in the larval state. It’s easy to look at the very real financial and human cost, the speed bumps, the errors, and decide to just wait and see.

The real question is whether this is like the web and email, or more like virtual reality headsets.

When you make the choice to avoid becoming the most experienced person in a room (whatever room you’re in), you’re making a bet about the future.

        

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Saturday, 20 June 2026

Seth's Blog : 99% might be enough (or not)

A 100-foot long boat that's 99% complete is going to sink before it leaves the dock. That gaping hole is more than enough to do it in. On the other hand, a baked ziti that's 99% as good as the best baked ziti ever made is exactly good enough to serve in ...
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99% might be enough (or not)

A 100-foot long boat that’s 99% complete is going to sink before it leaves the dock. That gaping hole is more than enough to do it in.

On the other hand, a baked ziti that’s 99% as good as the best baked ziti ever made is exactly good enough to serve in any setting.

Mediocrity isn’t the point. Neither is perfection. The question is: what’s the best allocation of effort in order to delight our customers?

We should be clear about which category we’re working in.

        

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