From hopelessly romantic meditations on favorite cats, to screeds so funny you’ll blow coffee out your nose, to collective code for alternative operating systems: we’re all expressing ourselves in a new way online — a way that was never possible before, never before permitted. And make no mistake, speech once freed is a powerful drug. Get used to it; it ain’t going back in the box. What does this mean for electronic commerce? Take a wild guess. We’re not those neatly predictable consumers business remembers from yesterday. We got a taste of something else, and we like it. We’ll make it ourselves, and defend it with a ferocity that might surprise most businesses. If you’re a business, believe us: it’s a surprise you’d just as soon skip. We’re in the market for lots of things, but the market we see ourselves in is more like that ancient marketplace. Tell us some good stories and capture our interest. Don’t talk to us as if you’ve forgotten how to speak. Don’t make us feel small. Remind us to be larger. Get a little of that human touch.