Remarkable

Within minutes (5 at most) of hearing a speaker mention a book today in a hotel meeting room just off Union Square in San Francisco, I had checked the inventory of a Border's store across the street, discovered that they had the book in stock, purchased it and was again sitting in the meeting room with the book in my hands.  This vignette illustrates the power of the web for connecting with customers, made real by ubiquitous free WiFi in SF and a store willing to put its inventory on line.  Remarkable.  Very close to a Purple Cow (see Seth Godin's blog).