New Apple iBook - Master Class with Eric Ries (opens in new tab)

"iBook" is an old plastic laptop that Apple used to sell. Things that iBooks can display are simply called "books" (or PDFs).

I read all of the copy twice.

The first time through, I was convinced this was a mildly funny parody.

The second time, I was only half-convinced.

This is a real product, and he's marketing it like a Ginsu knife to be absurdist/ironic, right? Those guys sold a lot of knives...!

Come to think about it, aspiring entrepreneurs are the ultimate market to target. They'll be willing to do anything and spend any amount of money to become the next Zuck.

That's where the real genius of people like Ries lies.

This is not the equivalent of selling pickaxes in a gold rush - it's more like selling plastic gold nuggets in a gift shop after the gold mines have long since been depleted.