A Soulless Holiday-Shopping Strategy
Gifts are personal. Gift guides are not.
Perhaps this holiday-gifting season, you’re wondering: What do I get for my dad?
It’s a difficult question, to be sure. But if you consult a holiday gift guide, the query shifts. What do you get for a dad? Then the answer becomes as clear as an oversize whiskey ice cube: a book about an old president, something for golf or the grill, or—oh, a steak subscription! Your own dad’s personal taste might not be accounted for, but the deed will be done.
There are many understandable reasons for being; plenty of people want to outsource the labor of product research and feel comforted by the support of an expert in whatever they end up choosing. Unfortunately, the gift-guide industrial complex is likely to lead you astray.
