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The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual
The Cluetrain Manifesto began as a Web site (cluetrain.com) in 1999 when the authors, who have worked variously at IBM, Sun Microsystems, the Linux Journal , and NPR, posted 95 theses about the new reality of the networked marketplace. Ten years after its original publication, their message remains more relevant than ever. For example, thesis no. 2: "Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors"; thesis no. 20: "Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At them." The book enlarges on these themes through dozens of stories and observations about business in America and how the Internet will continue to change it all.
With a new introduction and chapters by the authors, and commentary by Jake McKee, JP Rangaswami, and Dan Gillmor, this book is essential reading for anybody interested in the Internet and e-commerce, and is especially vital for businesses navigating the topography of the wired marketplace.
With a new introduction and chapters by the authors, and commentary by Jake McKee, JP Rangaswami, and Dan Gillmor, this book is essential reading for anybody interested in the Internet and e-commerce, and is especially vital for businesses navigating the topography of the wired marketplace.
321 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
112 people are currently reading
3221 people want to read
About the author
Rick Levine
101 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
January 23, 2009
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. On one hand I am a believer in the basic messages of the book. Corporations are shells, corporate speak is a joke, people need to be themselves and the web provides a platform to do so on a scale never before available.
On the other hand the writing is arrogant. It comes off as we know better than the world and people who like to use spell-check or make decisions are sheep. The following paragraph I read while on a plane. I wanted to absolutely scream after reading it but thought better as that may have put me in Guantanamo.
That paragraph and this one
Both of these are examples of the tone of the book. Either you are flying by the seat of your pants, going against the corporate grain or you are sheep. I don't buy it and it made this book difficult on many levels. Its has a forced coolness, an arrogant take that is very hard to like even if you believe in the message.
That being said I would recommend you read the book because it will remind you that you are human and to act like one. There are some very good messages as well. Unfortunately the voice of the messenger is pretty damn irritating.
On the other hand the writing is arrogant. It comes off as we know better than the world and people who like to use spell-check or make decisions are sheep. The following paragraph I read while on a plane. I wanted to absolutely scream after reading it but thought better as that may have put me in Guantanamo.
Sometimes we run from our fallibility by being decisive. But doubt is the natural human state, and decisiveness -- more addictive than anything you might shoot into your veins -- is often based on a superstitious belief in the magic of action.
That paragraph and this one
If you need to hear how the professional voice sounds, dig out any memo you wrote four years ago and compare it to how you’d write an e-mail about it now. A professional memo obeys implicit rules such as one page is best, no jokes, admit no weakness, spellcheck it carefully, and send it to as few people as possible.
Both of these are examples of the tone of the book. Either you are flying by the seat of your pants, going against the corporate grain or you are sheep. I don't buy it and it made this book difficult on many levels. Its has a forced coolness, an arrogant take that is very hard to like even if you believe in the message.
That being said I would recommend you read the book because it will remind you that you are human and to act like one. There are some very good messages as well. Unfortunately the voice of the messenger is pretty damn irritating.
February 22, 2013
A few technocrat rebels & geeks got together and wrote a blog about the changing terrain of business and organizations with the advent of the web. Someone, thought it was a good idea to craft a book out of all this … I certainly don't. A few decent thoughts here but they should have stayed in a blog because the book, in totality, is painfully boring. It's too hostile, too repetitive, poorly states the problem and offers very little toward a solution. Written in 1999, before Blogs, Facebook & Twitter, the list of communication technologies is cute: Email, Mailing List, Newsgroups & Chat. There is clearly some foresight here that predicts that we as humans will be quickly reaching new heights in finding & forming relationships, voicing our opinions and organizing to collaboratively do work as well as organizing against injustice. Businesses will have to adopt and usefully intertwine themselves in a human-to-human conversation. Businesses can no longer be tall white towers with a controlled PR message; they need to dynamically permeate through countless forming cells of interaction. Top-down, command & control methods need to replaced by hyperlinked organizations that are decentralized, open, direct, transparent, borderless and most importantly, a little bit broken. Erring should be a safe practice. That's it. That's the message. Skip the book & go get some tea.
May 2, 2020
(The first of two reviews of this book.)
This article was heard on the radio program "The Computer Report," which is broadcast live on WCAP in Lowell, Mass., and is syndicated on WBNW in Boston and WPLM in Plymouth, Mass.In the beginning was the voice.
The authors don't use that phrase, but that's the sense of what they have to say.
By voice, they don't mean sound, rather they mean personal expression, the kind of self-revelation that comes when you speak candidly or type rapidly and the words just flow, without the typical self-censoring of corporate-speak.
For them, everything that matters about the Internet seems to be related to voice.
Markets are "conversations." And companies that don't realize that and don't participate fully and honestly and openly are locking themselves out of the online marketplace -- and hence out of any marketplace at all.
The efficient internal operation of companies, as well, depends on open dialogue, which is made possible by Internet technology, but which runs counter to the corporate culture of many large companies.
This is a favorite theme of mine, as well -- that knowledge management means nothing if people don't share information, if the corporate culture, instead, favors information hoarding as a mark of status and a means of personal advancement. They make the point that the current opportunity evolved from earlier advances, including the total quality effort associated with Deming. They quote Deming as saying "drive out fear." If employees are afraid of speaking up, quality efforts are basically doomed. And the same applies now over corporate intranets. The real value to be gained comes with employees feel free to candidly share their insights, inspirations, and criticism.
And customers and partners, also want to be dealt with candidly, without the hyperbole and the fuzzy jargon of press releases and brochureware. They want to be able to talk with real people who understand their concerns and will try to give them real answers.
Many companies have been reluctant to head in that direction, for fear of legal liability if "unauthorized" employees make unedited statements to the outside world. The authors make the point that the loss of business from not speaking with a clear voice, from not letting responsible and caring employees help customers, is probably far greater than any liability. If you don't take part in the conversation that is the marketplace -- through email, forums, newsgroups, etc. -- you simply won't stay in business for very long. And if your employees don't have the confidence and experience of speaking out clearly in their own voices over your corporate intranet, chances are good that they won't be able to effectively help customers over the Internet.
The authors convincingly, eloquently, irreverently, and humorously point out the typical mistakes and the right direction. But they refuse to provide a formula for success -- a neat list of things you need to do to put your company on track. While the problems seem obvious -- once they have been pointed out -- there's no cookie-cutter solution.
They provide a mock 12-step program for Internet business success:
Relax
Have a sense of humor
Find your voice and use it
Tell the truth
Don't panic
Enjoy yourself
Be brave
Be curious
Play more
Dream always
Listen up
Rap on
They conclude, "There may not be twelve or five or twenty things you can do, but there are ten thousand. The trick is you have to figure out what they are. They have to come from you. They have to be your words, your authentic voice.
"... The lesson is: don't wait for someone to show you how. Learn from your spontaneous mistakes, not from safe prescriptions and cautiously analyzed procedures. Don't try to keep people from going wrong by repeating the mantra of how to get it right. Getting it right isn't enough any more. There's no invention in it. There's no voice...
"Scary isn't it? Good. You ought to be scared. That's a realistic reaction. You want comfort? Invent your own. Exhilaration and joy are also in order. But face the facts: the tracks end at the edge of the jungle."
This article was heard on the radio program "The Computer Report," which is broadcast live on WCAP in Lowell, Mass., and is syndicated on WBNW in Boston and WPLM in Plymouth, Mass.In the beginning was the voice.
The authors don't use that phrase, but that's the sense of what they have to say.
By voice, they don't mean sound, rather they mean personal expression, the kind of self-revelation that comes when you speak candidly or type rapidly and the words just flow, without the typical self-censoring of corporate-speak.
For them, everything that matters about the Internet seems to be related to voice.
Markets are "conversations." And companies that don't realize that and don't participate fully and honestly and openly are locking themselves out of the online marketplace -- and hence out of any marketplace at all.
The efficient internal operation of companies, as well, depends on open dialogue, which is made possible by Internet technology, but which runs counter to the corporate culture of many large companies.
This is a favorite theme of mine, as well -- that knowledge management means nothing if people don't share information, if the corporate culture, instead, favors information hoarding as a mark of status and a means of personal advancement. They make the point that the current opportunity evolved from earlier advances, including the total quality effort associated with Deming. They quote Deming as saying "drive out fear." If employees are afraid of speaking up, quality efforts are basically doomed. And the same applies now over corporate intranets. The real value to be gained comes with employees feel free to candidly share their insights, inspirations, and criticism.
And customers and partners, also want to be dealt with candidly, without the hyperbole and the fuzzy jargon of press releases and brochureware. They want to be able to talk with real people who understand their concerns and will try to give them real answers.
Many companies have been reluctant to head in that direction, for fear of legal liability if "unauthorized" employees make unedited statements to the outside world. The authors make the point that the loss of business from not speaking with a clear voice, from not letting responsible and caring employees help customers, is probably far greater than any liability. If you don't take part in the conversation that is the marketplace -- through email, forums, newsgroups, etc. -- you simply won't stay in business for very long. And if your employees don't have the confidence and experience of speaking out clearly in their own voices over your corporate intranet, chances are good that they won't be able to effectively help customers over the Internet.
The authors convincingly, eloquently, irreverently, and humorously point out the typical mistakes and the right direction. But they refuse to provide a formula for success -- a neat list of things you need to do to put your company on track. While the problems seem obvious -- once they have been pointed out -- there's no cookie-cutter solution.
They provide a mock 12-step program for Internet business success:
Relax
Have a sense of humor
Find your voice and use it
Tell the truth
Don't panic
Enjoy yourself
Be brave
Be curious
Play more
Dream always
Listen up
Rap on
They conclude, "There may not be twelve or five or twenty things you can do, but there are ten thousand. The trick is you have to figure out what they are. They have to come from you. They have to be your words, your authentic voice.
"... The lesson is: don't wait for someone to show you how. Learn from your spontaneous mistakes, not from safe prescriptions and cautiously analyzed procedures. Don't try to keep people from going wrong by repeating the mantra of how to get it right. Getting it right isn't enough any more. There's no invention in it. There's no voice...
"Scary isn't it? Good. You ought to be scared. That's a realistic reaction. You want comfort? Invent your own. Exhilaration and joy are also in order. But face the facts: the tracks end at the edge of the jungle."
October 14, 2009
Expanding on their website launched in 1999 (actually, expanding on the book published that expanded on the website), the four authors add additional commentary to their original work(s) and review how the Internet has changed business.
There are some good nuggets aboard this train.
First, you have to get past the voices. Oh, the writers are very proud of their voices. They explain how humanity hid its voices for The Corporation. They explain how the Web will free voices - has freed voices - and how if you don't find A Voice and talk in A Voice, then your business will fail.
Perhaps they're making up for lost time for their many years of hiding their voices. The voices must be stretched to check for their limits - the same way a 42-year-old at his college reunion tries to tailgate the same way he did as a senior.
You must also get through the tone, which can rail against business the same way a jilted lover proclaims all the failures of his or her beloved.
At times, the authors strike a tone similar to teenagers who sneaked into the office, turned on the P.A. system, and barricaded the doors - determined to have as much fun as they can squeeze into their minutes in the Sun.
That said, I'm convinced that markets are conversations. I'm convinced that conversations sound humans, and that ignoring those conversations means missing opportunities. I'm convinced that hyperlinks mean that networks can be as powerful as hierarchies within organizations. That smart companies can connect conversations that occur inside and outside the corporate firewall. That one of the changes wrought by the Internet and the World Wide Web is the lack of scarcity. That this abundance and this connectedness offer unique possibilities and challenges for all of the "people of Earth" - business and market.
So don't misread my warning about voice and tone. Set those aside as you read it. This book offers four viewpoints (eight, now, with the new chapters and forward) of how to use the power of the Web to listen and to speak with your customers.
There are some good nuggets aboard this train.
First, you have to get past the voices. Oh, the writers are very proud of their voices. They explain how humanity hid its voices for The Corporation. They explain how the Web will free voices - has freed voices - and how if you don't find A Voice and talk in A Voice, then your business will fail.
Perhaps they're making up for lost time for their many years of hiding their voices. The voices must be stretched to check for their limits - the same way a 42-year-old at his college reunion tries to tailgate the same way he did as a senior.
You must also get through the tone, which can rail against business the same way a jilted lover proclaims all the failures of his or her beloved.
At times, the authors strike a tone similar to teenagers who sneaked into the office, turned on the P.A. system, and barricaded the doors - determined to have as much fun as they can squeeze into their minutes in the Sun.
That said, I'm convinced that markets are conversations. I'm convinced that conversations sound humans, and that ignoring those conversations means missing opportunities. I'm convinced that hyperlinks mean that networks can be as powerful as hierarchies within organizations. That smart companies can connect conversations that occur inside and outside the corporate firewall. That one of the changes wrought by the Internet and the World Wide Web is the lack of scarcity. That this abundance and this connectedness offer unique possibilities and challenges for all of the "people of Earth" - business and market.
So don't misread my warning about voice and tone. Set those aside as you read it. This book offers four viewpoints (eight, now, with the new chapters and forward) of how to use the power of the Web to listen and to speak with your customers.
October 8, 2020
Evidently this book was something of a sensation in the business world when it came out in 1999, but I had never heard of it before. A version with several new sections was added in 2010, with the authors evaluating their thoughts from ten years down the line.
The Cluetrain Manifesto is about the impact of the internet on businesses and the adjustments that the authors believe need to be made for businesses to be successful in the internet age. The strange name is taken from a joke ("The clue train stopped in several times but they refused to take delivery.") Perhaps the one thing that people seem to have taken from the text is the phrase "markets are conversations."
The authors excoriate businesses that don't talk straightforwardly with their clients, don't empower their employees to talk freely with each other and customers, and hide behind corporate jargon. They suggest we have come a long ways from the early days when buyers and sellers engaged in conversation directly in markets, but that the internet is returning some of those old features to our lives, as buyers can search product reviews and generally find information much more easily that in the pre-internet days.
This may have been bold talk in 1999, but in 2020 it feels pretty tame. A lot of what the authors said has in fact come to pass, just take a look at the ways companies talk to people on Twitter. Parts do feel somewhat repetitive, and like most any book that you'd find in the business section, there is a certain vacuous quality to discussing the ins and outs of commerce. The book is a big step up from some of the awful books you may have been forced by an employer to read (hello One Minute Manager) but in the end it is still about how we sell stuff.
The Cluetrain Manifesto is about the impact of the internet on businesses and the adjustments that the authors believe need to be made for businesses to be successful in the internet age. The strange name is taken from a joke ("The clue train stopped in several times but they refused to take delivery.") Perhaps the one thing that people seem to have taken from the text is the phrase "markets are conversations."
The authors excoriate businesses that don't talk straightforwardly with their clients, don't empower their employees to talk freely with each other and customers, and hide behind corporate jargon. They suggest we have come a long ways from the early days when buyers and sellers engaged in conversation directly in markets, but that the internet is returning some of those old features to our lives, as buyers can search product reviews and generally find information much more easily that in the pre-internet days.
This may have been bold talk in 1999, but in 2020 it feels pretty tame. A lot of what the authors said has in fact come to pass, just take a look at the ways companies talk to people on Twitter. Parts do feel somewhat repetitive, and like most any book that you'd find in the business section, there is a certain vacuous quality to discussing the ins and outs of commerce. The book is a big step up from some of the awful books you may have been forced by an employer to read (hello One Minute Manager) but in the end it is still about how we sell stuff.
October 29, 2011
Oh! My! God! I have no idea what the long term impact of this book is going to be on my life as I just finished it. I do have a gut feeling it is going to be very profound. What I can say is that it has already made an impact in the short term in that I redefined my job role because of it. I used to be a Marketing Manager, now I "have and facilitate conversations. It just happens to be through different communication channels."
As a punk and anarchistic who just happened to stumble into the corporate world 15 years ago, this book clarified a lot of things for me. I now know why I always felt slightly frustrated. Because the corporate uniform never fitted me. So I also decided to trade it in for my personal uniform, which is going to be much looser, I can tell you that. More Johnny Cash then Italian designer striped shirts. All Facebook and Twitter, no PR. I still enjoy the corporate world, I'm enjoying it my way from now on. I'll let you know how the corporate world is going to enjoy me and my new ways.
Being 10 years old, some people have written similar books, but what makes this one stand out is the tone. The authors truly speak in their own, distinctive voices and that's what makes it a very personal book. A lot of the books that came later have tried to make this manifesto into Management blabla. Which if you read and nderstand the book is a contradiction. And probably why I never enjoyed those books so much.
If you work for a corporate organization read this and apply it to your job. If you are a consumer, read this and use it to expand your awareness and use the messages within the book to give you back control as a consumer.
As a punk and anarchistic who just happened to stumble into the corporate world 15 years ago, this book clarified a lot of things for me. I now know why I always felt slightly frustrated. Because the corporate uniform never fitted me. So I also decided to trade it in for my personal uniform, which is going to be much looser, I can tell you that. More Johnny Cash then Italian designer striped shirts. All Facebook and Twitter, no PR. I still enjoy the corporate world, I'm enjoying it my way from now on. I'll let you know how the corporate world is going to enjoy me and my new ways.
Being 10 years old, some people have written similar books, but what makes this one stand out is the tone. The authors truly speak in their own, distinctive voices and that's what makes it a very personal book. A lot of the books that came later have tried to make this manifesto into Management blabla. Which if you read and nderstand the book is a contradiction. And probably why I never enjoyed those books so much.
If you work for a corporate organization read this and apply it to your job. If you are a consumer, read this and use it to expand your awareness and use the messages within the book to give you back control as a consumer.
August 15, 2011
Probably one of the quintessential collaborative works of the Internet age. Long before Web 2.0 was a term being used by the mass media, these four men envisioned the future. What makes this 10th anniversary edition so exceptional is the return these authors make to re-examine their original work.
Having read the book I can now count myself as one of the many who say "Cluetrain verbalized a sentiment I've had for many years in a way that just made simple sense." From business to business relationships to personal relationships and how this information laden ages affects us all, Cluetrain had some pretty deep insights 10 years ago.
For people who can't imagine that a book can make so much sense allow me to quote a popular movie:
"I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad." ~ The Matrix (1999)
I did know. Now I understand it also.
Having read the book I can now count myself as one of the many who say "Cluetrain verbalized a sentiment I've had for many years in a way that just made simple sense." From business to business relationships to personal relationships and how this information laden ages affects us all, Cluetrain had some pretty deep insights 10 years ago.
For people who can't imagine that a book can make so much sense allow me to quote a popular movie:
"I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad." ~ The Matrix (1999)
I did know. Now I understand it also.
June 20, 2018
First 1/4 of the anniversary edition is very interesting. For someone to predict community centric organizations on the internet in 2000 is amazing.
Unfortunately the book itself ends up dry, as most of the examples are not relevant.
Unfortunately the book itself ends up dry, as most of the examples are not relevant.
September 6, 2012
Even though this book was written over 10 years ago, the majority of it is still relevant today. In the 10th Anniversary Edition the authors take the time to evaluate how their work has held up.
One of the great things about this book is how it suggests that the internet is a conversation and that markets are made up of human beings. It is easy to see in today's world how the internet has leveled the playing field between business and the consumer. One example of this is the ability via Twitter for celebrities to interact with their fan base in real time.
While most of the book is still applicable, there are some things that aren't. For example it says that, "we are immune to advertising." If we were immune to advertising there wouldn't be any pop-up ads.
I felt that one of the major oversights in the book is that the premise of the 95 theses assumes that everyone will get on board with the internet. That certainly isn't true today, and I'm not sure it will ever be true.
While the book may be a little dated, it is still a great book to read with relevant principles.
One of the great things about this book is how it suggests that the internet is a conversation and that markets are made up of human beings. It is easy to see in today's world how the internet has leveled the playing field between business and the consumer. One example of this is the ability via Twitter for celebrities to interact with their fan base in real time.
While most of the book is still applicable, there are some things that aren't. For example it says that, "we are immune to advertising." If we were immune to advertising there wouldn't be any pop-up ads.
I felt that one of the major oversights in the book is that the premise of the 95 theses assumes that everyone will get on board with the internet. That certainly isn't true today, and I'm not sure it will ever be true.
While the book may be a little dated, it is still a great book to read with relevant principles.
June 7, 2010
The problem w/ updating a book like this w/ new content by the authors 10 years later is that it almost makes reading the original book unnecessary outside of some classroom like exercise. The first half of this new edition of CLUETRAIN basically involves all the authors returning to discuss what they got or wrong on their original manifesto of 10 years ago. So by the time you finish reading that material up front, it's pointless to go back and read the original stuff: they basically tell you the important parts up front.
There are no terribly obvious flashes of brilliance here either. By 2010, everybody knows about the humanist movement of employees and customers who want to force businesses to become more human. This is almost a prehistoric version of a social business manifesto, which sounds cool until you read it and go "DUH!" The lessons are good and the tone is engaging, but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone seeking true insight about modern social business.
There are no terribly obvious flashes of brilliance here either. By 2010, everybody knows about the humanist movement of employees and customers who want to force businesses to become more human. This is almost a prehistoric version of a social business manifesto, which sounds cool until you read it and go "DUH!" The lessons are good and the tone is engaging, but I wouldn't recommend this for anyone seeking true insight about modern social business.
January 2, 2009
Think you understand the power of the web? Read the Cluetrain to set your compass.
April 17, 2017
It's held up well, but so much has changed. One line continues to echo in my mind, "All marketing is word of mouth."
October 15, 2020
"Sort of smart but definitely annoying."
October 7, 2017
This book is dated. I'm guessing that when it came out in 2000 (and the website that inspired it in 1999), it might have been groundbreaking, but now, with 17+ years of Internet usage behind us, almost everything in the book seems obvious or naive, and it's not worth reading.
I read the 10th anniversary edition of the book, which has a ridiculously long foreword from each of the authors. The intro is almost as long as the rest of the book, which is a bad thing, because the intro seems to meander randomly from topic to topic: chocolate, marketing, look how amazingly prescient we were, Obama, Internet, Gore, Oprah, Maslow. Bleh.
The rest of the book is a mix of platitudes that feel hollow and over-simplified, with occasionally interesting predictions. Some of these predictions turned out to be correct, such as the desire for people to be social online and the importance of corporate intranets, and some turned out to be laughably false, such as the idea that *only* authenticity works in marketing (despite countless examples of crappy companies becoming extremely successful by fooling consumers).
The biggest issue is that, despite the book's insistence on the importance of storytelling, there are very few actual stories in the book itself. It's too high level, with few concrete examples. It's also very, very repetitive: Here's the summary: "Internet is good. Top down management is bad. The web will set you free. Use your voice." Repeat that about 1,000 times, and you've got the gist of the book.
In short, you're probably just better off skipping the book and just doing a quick scan of the website: http://www.cluetrain.com/.
As always, I saved a few good quotes as I read:
"Markets are conversations."
"In just a few more years, the current homogenized “voice” of business—the sound of mission statements and brochures—will seem as contrived and artificial as the language of the 18th-century French court."
"The customers who once looked you in the eye while hefting your wares in the market were transformed into consumers. In the words of industry analyst Jerry Michalski, a consumer was no more than “a gullet whose only purpose in life is to gulp products and crap cash.” Power swung so decisively to the supply side that “market” became a verb: something you do to customers."
"There is no demand for messages. The customer doesn’t want to hear from business, thank you very much. The message that gets broadcast to you, me, and the rest of the earth’s population has nothing to do with me in particular. It’s worse than noise. It’s an interruption. It’s the Anti-Conversation."
"We learn a lot about the voices we hear through their humor. Having a sense of humor tells us that you have some distance from yourself and the dreadful seriousness of your concerns. It is, in most cases, a prerequisite for personal authenticity—if you’re not laughing at yourself, are you really being honest about yourself? After all, you are—like all of us—a ridiculous creature."
"A veterinarian using TechnoLatin might say that a dog serves as a platform for sniffing, is an open environment for fleas, and that it supports barking."
I read the 10th anniversary edition of the book, which has a ridiculously long foreword from each of the authors. The intro is almost as long as the rest of the book, which is a bad thing, because the intro seems to meander randomly from topic to topic: chocolate, marketing, look how amazingly prescient we were, Obama, Internet, Gore, Oprah, Maslow. Bleh.
The rest of the book is a mix of platitudes that feel hollow and over-simplified, with occasionally interesting predictions. Some of these predictions turned out to be correct, such as the desire for people to be social online and the importance of corporate intranets, and some turned out to be laughably false, such as the idea that *only* authenticity works in marketing (despite countless examples of crappy companies becoming extremely successful by fooling consumers).
The biggest issue is that, despite the book's insistence on the importance of storytelling, there are very few actual stories in the book itself. It's too high level, with few concrete examples. It's also very, very repetitive: Here's the summary: "Internet is good. Top down management is bad. The web will set you free. Use your voice." Repeat that about 1,000 times, and you've got the gist of the book.
In short, you're probably just better off skipping the book and just doing a quick scan of the website: http://www.cluetrain.com/.
As always, I saved a few good quotes as I read:
"Markets are conversations."
"In just a few more years, the current homogenized “voice” of business—the sound of mission statements and brochures—will seem as contrived and artificial as the language of the 18th-century French court."
"The customers who once looked you in the eye while hefting your wares in the market were transformed into consumers. In the words of industry analyst Jerry Michalski, a consumer was no more than “a gullet whose only purpose in life is to gulp products and crap cash.” Power swung so decisively to the supply side that “market” became a verb: something you do to customers."
"There is no demand for messages. The customer doesn’t want to hear from business, thank you very much. The message that gets broadcast to you, me, and the rest of the earth’s population has nothing to do with me in particular. It’s worse than noise. It’s an interruption. It’s the Anti-Conversation."
"We learn a lot about the voices we hear through their humor. Having a sense of humor tells us that you have some distance from yourself and the dreadful seriousness of your concerns. It is, in most cases, a prerequisite for personal authenticity—if you’re not laughing at yourself, are you really being honest about yourself? After all, you are—like all of us—a ridiculous creature."
"A veterinarian using TechnoLatin might say that a dog serves as a platform for sniffing, is an open environment for fleas, and that it supports barking."
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January 22, 2018Bildiğimiz İş Dünyanın Sonu: Cluetrain Manifestosu
Cluetrain Manifestosu: “Dünyanın insanları… Güçlü bir küresel sohbet başlamış durumda. İnternet sayesinde insanlar güncel bilgileri paylaşmanın yeni yollarını baş döndürücü bir hızla keşfediyor. Bunun doğrudan bir sonucu olarak da pazarlar akıllanıyor ve hatta çoğu şirketten daha hızlı akıllanıyor.
Bu pazarlar konuşmadan ibaret. Pazarın üyeleri doğal, açık, samimi, doğrudan, komik ve çoğu kez de şaşırtıcı bir dilde iletişim kuruyor. Anlatırken, şikayet ederken, şaka yaparken veya ciddi konuşurken bile insan sesi gerçektir. Taklit edilemez.
Halbuki çoğu şirket, sadece misyon ifadelerinin, pazarlama broşürlerinin veya santral telefonu meşgul olduğunda tekrarlanan nakaratların sakinleştirici ve mizahtan uzak monotonluğundan ileri gidemez. Aynı ses tonu, aynı yalanlar. Bütünleşmiş pazarların kendilerine uygun şekilde konuşmayı beceremeyen veya bunu istemeyen şirketlere saygı duymamasına şaşırmamak gerek.
…” diye başlıyor.
Bu cümleler bugün pazarlama ve iletişim sektöründe bulunan çoğunluk tarafından kabul edilecektir. Çünkü, sosyal medyanın yaygın olduğu, kullanıcıların mobil cihazlarını her 10 dakikada bir kontrol ettiği bir dönemde, iletişimde sınırların kalktığı, sınırsız müşteriye erişimin çok kolay olduğu çağda. Bahsedilen sohbet ortamı zaten yaşanıyor. Gayet normal, bildiğimiz şeyler değil mi?
O zaman daha fazla reklam verelim. Kimsenin varlığından haberdar bile olmadığı ama arka tarafta sayaçların katlanarak döndüğü banner reklamlar olsun. Fenomen kampanyası yapalım. Konu alakasız olabilir ama erişimi çok fazla. WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing) en etkili silah. Bu silahı düşmanımız, pardon velinimetimiz müşteriler üzerinde kullanalım. Bir hashtag oluşturup sohbeti bir başlık altında toplayalım. Ama içinde markamızın adı da geçsin. Herkes bizi konuşsun. Bir de olumsuz yorumları yok edelim. Bizim sunduğumuz hizmete layık olmayanlar onlar… Bu tarz konuşmaların uzayıp gittiği, hemen her gün toplantı odalarından yükseldiği, ajans ve marka ekiplerinin birbirlerini bu yöntemle motive ettiği bir dönemdeyiz.
Cluetrain Manifesto‘su, sosyal medya platformlarından, bloglardan, web 2.0’dan, mobil cihazlardan hatta internet balonundan çok önce, 1999 yılında farklı şehirler yaşayan dört teknoloji meraklısı ve uzmanın internet üzerinden gerçekleştirdikleri, internetin iş dünyasını ve toplumları nasıl dönüştüreceğine yönelik sohbetleri sonrasında ortaya çıktı. Bildiğimiz iş dünyasının sonunun geldiğini, insanların artık kendi aralarında sınırsız şekilde konuşmaya başladığını, şirketlerin ise yapay söylemlerle bu sohbete dâhil olamadıkları ve eninde sonunda dönüşmeye veya yok olmaya mahkum olduklarını açıkça gözler önüne seren 95 maddeden oluşmaktadır.
Cluetrain.com sitesi üzerinden yayınlanır yayınlanmaz büyük ilgi gören Manifesto binlerce kişi tarafından imzalandı. İmzalayanlar arasında akademisyenler, pazarlama guruları, mühendisler, öğrenciler, ev hanımları, politikacılar gibi hemen her kesimden insan vardı. Çünkü internette sohbete dâhil olan herkes artık hiçbir şeyin eskisi gibi olmayacağını biliyordu. Sadece şirketler, saklandıkları kurumsal kalelerin ardında, tüzel kişiliklerine güvenerek belki de, bu değişimin farkına varmak istemedi. Hâlâ da olayın vehametinin farkına varmış değiller demek çok da yanlış olmaz. En azından pek çoğu için…
Cluetrain Manifestosu yayınlanmasının üzerinden geçen 19 yıl sonunda baktığımızda, yer alan pek çok maddenin hâlâ geçerliliğini koruduğunu görebildiğimiz bir kehanet gibi duruyor. Sosyal medya platformları ile miyarlarca insan ağda birbiri ile iletişim kurdu ve manifestoda belirtilen pazar, sohbetlerden oluşur önermesi gerçekleşti. Ancak manifestoda eleştirilen ve sohbete gerçek anlamda katılmayı beceremeyen şirketler bu sohbeti sadece kendi soğuk reklam mesajlarını iletmek için bir fırsat olarak görmektedir. Sohbete katılmak yerine hala güçlü oldukları sanayi dönemindeki gibi işlerinin yolunda gideceğini varsaymaktalar. Tek taraflı iletişimlerini sürdürmeye devam etmeye çalışmaktadırlar. Bildiğimiz iş dünyasının sonu maalesef geldi. Dönüşüm başladı. Hem de öyle tek günde geçecek bir fırtına gibi değil, seneler sürecek bir fırtınanın içerisinde iş dünyası. Bir yanda birbiri ile sınırsız iletişimi olan müşteriler ve çalışanlar, diğer yanda korumaya çalıştıkları sanayi döneminden kalma anlamsız sınırlar ve iletişimden uzak yapılar.
İş dünyası bunu kendi kendine yaptı aslında. Askeri amaçlarla başlayan Arpanet ağı bir grup teknoloji meraklısının elinde internet dediğimiz kavrama dönüştü. Dünyanın her yerinden binlerce insan hiç de kolay olmayan yöntemlerle burasını kendi sohbet alanı olarak geliştirdi. Kimisi evine kurduğu sunucularla katıldı bu sisteme, kimi yazılar yazdı, kimi elindeki kaynakları yükledi. Bir süre sonra bu gelişim ivmesi o kadar arttı ki şirketler bu yeni oyun alanını fark ettiklerinde iş işten geçmiş. Aslında hâlâ tam olarak anlayabilmiş değiller. İnternetin sadece daha fazla insana ürün gösterip onlara daha fazla ürün satmaya çalışmanın dijitalleşme olduğunu düşünüyorlar. Sohbete katılmayı bir becerebilseler aslında pazar dedikleri yerde ürünlerini geliştirmek, satmak ve yaymak için ihtiyaçları olan tüm bilgiler konuşuluyor. Sadece onlar farkında değil. Bu dinlememe hastalığı şirketlerden kişilere de geçmiş durumda. Geçtiğimiz hafta bu konuya değinmiştim.
Gündem içinde takılıp kalınca işin aslını ve temelini sorgulamayı unutan bir modern çağ insanı için önemli tespitler de yer alıyor Cluetrain Manifestosu’nda. Pazar, ticaret, alışveriş kavramları binlerce yıldır varlar. Zaman zaman kullanılan araçlar değişse de temelde yapılan mübadele aynı esaslar üzerine dayanıyor. Sanayi Devrimi ve sonrasındaki ekonomik düzenle kaybolan pazarda sohbet kavramı internet ile birlikte hayatımıza tekrar geri döndü. Artık üreticiyle direkt iletişime geçip, bize özel bir ürün siparişi verebiliyor, ürün hakkında uzun sohbetler yapabiliyoruz. Sanayi dönemi şirket-müşteri ilişki kuralları kökten yıkılmış durumda.
Doc Searls, Christopher Locke, Rick Levine ve David Weinberger‘in 2000’li yıllarda yaşaşan ilk internet balonundan hemen önce yayınladıkları 95 maddelik manifesto pek çok yönüyle günümüzde de geçerliğini koruyor. 2009 yılında 10. yıl özel baskısı için yazarların yeniden gözden geçirdiği kitaba göz atmanızda fayda var. Tom Peters‘ın deyimiyle eğer sinirleriniz bozulduysa bu kesinlikle iyi bir şey.
Aşağıda Cluetrain Manifestosu‘nun asansör özetini bulabilirsiniz. Tüm manifestoya www.cluetrain.com adresinden erişebilirsiniz. Ancak ilk 3 maddeyi buraya da yazmak istiyorum.
1- Pazarlar konuşmalardan oluşur.
2- Pazarlar demografik bölgelerden değil insanlardan oluşur.
3- İnsanlar arasındaki sohbetler insancadır. İnsan sesiyle yapılır.
Asansör Özeti
“Ne zaman bağlantılı pazarlar kurum içi ağlarla birbirine bağlanmış çalışanlarla karşılaştığında, internetin yarattığı sürekli bağlantı, işinizin içini ve dışını, yani hedef pazarınızı ve çalışanlarınızı dönüştürüyor.
İnternet aracılığıyla hedef pazarınızdaki insanlar birbirleriyle konuşmak için yeni yollar keşfediyor. İşiniz hakkında konuşuyorlar. Birbirlerine gerçekten insani seslerle gerçekleri anlatıyorlar.
Kurum içi ağlar ile en iyi çalışanlarınızı organizasyon şeması dışında birbirine bağlıyor. Bunlar inanılmaz ölçüde üretken ve yenilikçi. Birbirlerine gerçekten insani seslerle gerçekleri anlatıyorlar.
Pazarlarınız ve çalışanlarınız arasında yeni bir sohbet gelişiyor. Bu onları daha akıllı hale getiriyor ve insani seslerini yeniden keşfetmelerini sağlıyor.
Şimdi önünüzde iki seçenek var. Ya göstermelik kurumsal dil ve gösterişli broşürlerin ardına saklanırsınız.
Ya da sohbete katılırsınız.”
Kamil Mehmet ÖZKAN
Cluetrain Manifestosu: “Dünyanın insanları… Güçlü bir küresel sohbet başlamış durumda. İnternet sayesinde insanlar güncel bilgileri paylaşmanın yeni yollarını baş döndürücü bir hızla keşfediyor. Bunun doğrudan bir sonucu olarak da pazarlar akıllanıyor ve hatta çoğu şirketten daha hızlı akıllanıyor.
Bu pazarlar konuşmadan ibaret. Pazarın üyeleri doğal, açık, samimi, doğrudan, komik ve çoğu kez de şaşırtıcı bir dilde iletişim kuruyor. Anlatırken, şikayet ederken, şaka yaparken veya ciddi konuşurken bile insan sesi gerçektir. Taklit edilemez.
Halbuki çoğu şirket, sadece misyon ifadelerinin, pazarlama broşürlerinin veya santral telefonu meşgul olduğunda tekrarlanan nakaratların sakinleştirici ve mizahtan uzak monotonluğundan ileri gidemez. Aynı ses tonu, aynı yalanlar. Bütünleşmiş pazarların kendilerine uygun şekilde konuşmayı beceremeyen veya bunu istemeyen şirketlere saygı duymamasına şaşırmamak gerek.
…” diye başlıyor.
Bu cümleler bugün pazarlama ve iletişim sektöründe bulunan çoğunluk tarafından kabul edilecektir. Çünkü, sosyal medyanın yaygın olduğu, kullanıcıların mobil cihazlarını her 10 dakikada bir kontrol ettiği bir dönemde, iletişimde sınırların kalktığı, sınırsız müşteriye erişimin çok kolay olduğu çağda. Bahsedilen sohbet ortamı zaten yaşanıyor. Gayet normal, bildiğimiz şeyler değil mi?
O zaman daha fazla reklam verelim. Kimsenin varlığından haberdar bile olmadığı ama arka tarafta sayaçların katlanarak döndüğü banner reklamlar olsun. Fenomen kampanyası yapalım. Konu alakasız olabilir ama erişimi çok fazla. WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing) en etkili silah. Bu silahı düşmanımız, pardon velinimetimiz müşteriler üzerinde kullanalım. Bir hashtag oluşturup sohbeti bir başlık altında toplayalım. Ama içinde markamızın adı da geçsin. Herkes bizi konuşsun. Bir de olumsuz yorumları yok edelim. Bizim sunduğumuz hizmete layık olmayanlar onlar… Bu tarz konuşmaların uzayıp gittiği, hemen her gün toplantı odalarından yükseldiği, ajans ve marka ekiplerinin birbirlerini bu yöntemle motive ettiği bir dönemdeyiz.
Cluetrain Manifesto‘su, sosyal medya platformlarından, bloglardan, web 2.0’dan, mobil cihazlardan hatta internet balonundan çok önce, 1999 yılında farklı şehirler yaşayan dört teknoloji meraklısı ve uzmanın internet üzerinden gerçekleştirdikleri, internetin iş dünyasını ve toplumları nasıl dönüştüreceğine yönelik sohbetleri sonrasında ortaya çıktı. Bildiğimiz iş dünyasının sonunun geldiğini, insanların artık kendi aralarında sınırsız şekilde konuşmaya başladığını, şirketlerin ise yapay söylemlerle bu sohbete dâhil olamadıkları ve eninde sonunda dönüşmeye veya yok olmaya mahkum olduklarını açıkça gözler önüne seren 95 maddeden oluşmaktadır.
Cluetrain.com sitesi üzerinden yayınlanır yayınlanmaz büyük ilgi gören Manifesto binlerce kişi tarafından imzalandı. İmzalayanlar arasında akademisyenler, pazarlama guruları, mühendisler, öğrenciler, ev hanımları, politikacılar gibi hemen her kesimden insan vardı. Çünkü internette sohbete dâhil olan herkes artık hiçbir şeyin eskisi gibi olmayacağını biliyordu. Sadece şirketler, saklandıkları kurumsal kalelerin ardında, tüzel kişiliklerine güvenerek belki de, bu değişimin farkına varmak istemedi. Hâlâ da olayın vehametinin farkına varmış değiller demek çok da yanlış olmaz. En azından pek çoğu için…
Cluetrain Manifestosu yayınlanmasının üzerinden geçen 19 yıl sonunda baktığımızda, yer alan pek çok maddenin hâlâ geçerliliğini koruduğunu görebildiğimiz bir kehanet gibi duruyor. Sosyal medya platformları ile miyarlarca insan ağda birbiri ile iletişim kurdu ve manifestoda belirtilen pazar, sohbetlerden oluşur önermesi gerçekleşti. Ancak manifestoda eleştirilen ve sohbete gerçek anlamda katılmayı beceremeyen şirketler bu sohbeti sadece kendi soğuk reklam mesajlarını iletmek için bir fırsat olarak görmektedir. Sohbete katılmak yerine hala güçlü oldukları sanayi dönemindeki gibi işlerinin yolunda gideceğini varsaymaktalar. Tek taraflı iletişimlerini sürdürmeye devam etmeye çalışmaktadırlar. Bildiğimiz iş dünyasının sonu maalesef geldi. Dönüşüm başladı. Hem de öyle tek günde geçecek bir fırtına gibi değil, seneler sürecek bir fırtınanın içerisinde iş dünyası. Bir yanda birbiri ile sınırsız iletişimi olan müşteriler ve çalışanlar, diğer yanda korumaya çalıştıkları sanayi döneminden kalma anlamsız sınırlar ve iletişimden uzak yapılar.
İş dünyası bunu kendi kendine yaptı aslında. Askeri amaçlarla başlayan Arpanet ağı bir grup teknoloji meraklısının elinde internet dediğimiz kavrama dönüştü. Dünyanın her yerinden binlerce insan hiç de kolay olmayan yöntemlerle burasını kendi sohbet alanı olarak geliştirdi. Kimisi evine kurduğu sunucularla katıldı bu sisteme, kimi yazılar yazdı, kimi elindeki kaynakları yükledi. Bir süre sonra bu gelişim ivmesi o kadar arttı ki şirketler bu yeni oyun alanını fark ettiklerinde iş işten geçmiş. Aslında hâlâ tam olarak anlayabilmiş değiller. İnternetin sadece daha fazla insana ürün gösterip onlara daha fazla ürün satmaya çalışmanın dijitalleşme olduğunu düşünüyorlar. Sohbete katılmayı bir becerebilseler aslında pazar dedikleri yerde ürünlerini geliştirmek, satmak ve yaymak için ihtiyaçları olan tüm bilgiler konuşuluyor. Sadece onlar farkında değil. Bu dinlememe hastalığı şirketlerden kişilere de geçmiş durumda. Geçtiğimiz hafta bu konuya değinmiştim.
Gündem içinde takılıp kalınca işin aslını ve temelini sorgulamayı unutan bir modern çağ insanı için önemli tespitler de yer alıyor Cluetrain Manifestosu’nda. Pazar, ticaret, alışveriş kavramları binlerce yıldır varlar. Zaman zaman kullanılan araçlar değişse de temelde yapılan mübadele aynı esaslar üzerine dayanıyor. Sanayi Devrimi ve sonrasındaki ekonomik düzenle kaybolan pazarda sohbet kavramı internet ile birlikte hayatımıza tekrar geri döndü. Artık üreticiyle direkt iletişime geçip, bize özel bir ürün siparişi verebiliyor, ürün hakkında uzun sohbetler yapabiliyoruz. Sanayi dönemi şirket-müşteri ilişki kuralları kökten yıkılmış durumda.
Doc Searls, Christopher Locke, Rick Levine ve David Weinberger‘in 2000’li yıllarda yaşaşan ilk internet balonundan hemen önce yayınladıkları 95 maddelik manifesto pek çok yönüyle günümüzde de geçerliğini koruyor. 2009 yılında 10. yıl özel baskısı için yazarların yeniden gözden geçirdiği kitaba göz atmanızda fayda var. Tom Peters‘ın deyimiyle eğer sinirleriniz bozulduysa bu kesinlikle iyi bir şey.
Aşağıda Cluetrain Manifestosu‘nun asansör özetini bulabilirsiniz. Tüm manifestoya www.cluetrain.com adresinden erişebilirsiniz. Ancak ilk 3 maddeyi buraya da yazmak istiyorum.
1- Pazarlar konuşmalardan oluşur.
2- Pazarlar demografik bölgelerden değil insanlardan oluşur.
3- İnsanlar arasındaki sohbetler insancadır. İnsan sesiyle yapılır.
Asansör Özeti
“Ne zaman bağlantılı pazarlar kurum içi ağlarla birbirine bağlanmış çalışanlarla karşılaştığında, internetin yarattığı sürekli bağlantı, işinizin içini ve dışını, yani hedef pazarınızı ve çalışanlarınızı dönüştürüyor.
İnternet aracılığıyla hedef pazarınızdaki insanlar birbirleriyle konuşmak için yeni yollar keşfediyor. İşiniz hakkında konuşuyorlar. Birbirlerine gerçekten insani seslerle gerçekleri anlatıyorlar.
Kurum içi ağlar ile en iyi çalışanlarınızı organizasyon şeması dışında birbirine bağlıyor. Bunlar inanılmaz ölçüde üretken ve yenilikçi. Birbirlerine gerçekten insani seslerle gerçekleri anlatıyorlar.
Pazarlarınız ve çalışanlarınız arasında yeni bir sohbet gelişiyor. Bu onları daha akıllı hale getiriyor ve insani seslerini yeniden keşfetmelerini sağlıyor.
Şimdi önünüzde iki seçenek var. Ya göstermelik kurumsal dil ve gösterişli broşürlerin ardına saklanırsınız.
Ya da sohbete katılırsınız.”
Kamil Mehmet ÖZKAN
May 22, 2024
There is the manifesto at the start of the book and it is the most useful thing here. This is quite dated but many of the recommendations and general outlook while lauded is often criticized for not coming to pass. I think that is just because folks aren't paying attention.
Anything from Arab Spring to DJT getting voted in to the current boycott of Loblaw's can be seen coming from here. As evocative of a explanatory piece, it is very little prescription on how to do business differently.
There are things that businesses have been doing different to appear to be engaging in a conversation with consumers but very little has changed on the deep level. I guess that is why folks are disappointed here. There is no good answer on how to push a business towards the conversation. I am guessing that like at any party, you don't know how that relationship is going to go so it is very hard to put a business plan to it. However, the opposite of when it goes wrong, it is very obvious that it is about missing your customers.
Anything from Arab Spring to DJT getting voted in to the current boycott of Loblaw's can be seen coming from here. As evocative of a explanatory piece, it is very little prescription on how to do business differently.
There are things that businesses have been doing different to appear to be engaging in a conversation with consumers but very little has changed on the deep level. I guess that is why folks are disappointed here. There is no good answer on how to push a business towards the conversation. I am guessing that like at any party, you don't know how that relationship is going to go so it is very hard to put a business plan to it. However, the opposite of when it goes wrong, it is very obvious that it is about missing your customers.
January 10, 2018
I should re-read this. I bought it when I was self-teaching myself digital marketing. Tara Hunt recommended. Really good look at how early internet thinkers wanted the internet to be. Good ideas but somehow a LOT of them didn't happen. But for a little bit, they were happening and it was exciting. This was a manifesto but now it's probably a history book.
October 1, 2019
Good for people that are new to the internet. Anyone here new to the internet?
Jokes aside, I can see how this was new thought when it was originally published. Doesn't hold up 20 years later if you've been involved in the marketing or technology industries, or are a consumer that remembers what business was like before the 2000s.
Jokes aside, I can see how this was new thought when it was originally published. Doesn't hold up 20 years later if you've been involved in the marketing or technology industries, or are a consumer that remembers what business was like before the 2000s.
February 15, 2023
Muy interesante en su momento, pero el tiempo le ha pasado por encima. En algunos aspectos se veía venir que aquello no era tan sencillo (BYOD, Concentración de servicios). Explica muy bien el espíritu de una época ya pasada.
November 8, 2018
Simplistic, patronising, arrogant, snarky, dumb.
May 3, 2020
Bit dated...
August 31, 2020
It is all about people relationships
October 21, 2021
This book did nothing for me.
Read
August 26, 2022Interesting historical piece; some great insights about markets and the web. And then came Facebook.
September 20, 2022
a longing for community is nice, but not everything goes. And it is all over the map. I may be suffering from a 22 year lag!
June 27, 2021
I read this book and write this review in May 2016.
I think it’s time to put The Cluetrain Manifesto in the vault. For 17 years it has been touted as the life changing marketing book that everyone should read. It’s now 2016 and while some still need to adopt the practices, more marketers have taken the manifesto and improved on it. Many years ago.
There are now better books to learn from and more advanced lessons to learn.
For those who aren’t familiar with this book, it started as a website back in 1999. Many still considered the Internet a new thing and many businesses hadn’t gone further than putting their brochures online and calling it a website.
Then a group of marketers came along with the Cluetrain Manifesto and put it onLine. The manifesto was an innovative list of the future of business. It included things like talking with your customers, and using public relations and breaking down barriers to created integrated experiences. Does it sound run of the mill? It is now, but in 1999 that was innovation. And it was published as a book.
Ten years later the book was still selling strong enough for a new edition. Extra chapters were added, a reflective introduction set the scene. It’s still much-loved now. I put a photo of it on Instagram today and a couple of marketers told me “great choice”. It was the second edition that I read.
The book starts by listing all 95 theses of the original manifesto. It’s the best part of the book.
The next 73 pages (of 290) is an introduction to the new edition. Seventy-three pages. It refers to a lot of what’s different, which maybe I missed the point on because it came before the original book, so I didn’t have them for reference. I was confused. The book then has the original text (well, I assume it’s the original from the Style Book used), and a couple of semi-case studies at the end.
I am trying to work out if I’m being overly critical, but I suspect it’s just that the Cluetrain Manifesto is now too old to be relevant. There are still mentions of MySpace and AOL. Transport companies seem to rule supreme. Sure retargeting is too new, so the mention of platform barriers is valid, but I would have enjoyed updates to include mobile commerce. Maybe I was also swayed by the old StyleBook. Internet and web were capitalized. URLs still started with the Ws. It was off-putting. I expected more updates in a second edition. Maybe I should think of it as a commemorative edition.
WHO SHOULD READ THE CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO?
There are a few people who could get something from reading this. If you still. Think B2B is a thing, then definitely read this. The same for those who think Facebook is a fad and LinkedIn is only for job searches. Then read H2H by Bryan Kramer.
Wow, so this broke my streak of positive reviews. The Cluetrain Manifesto isn’t a bad book. It was amazing for its time. We just need to take it off the pedestal and put it in the cupboard, where it belongs.
I think it’s time to put The Cluetrain Manifesto in the vault. For 17 years it has been touted as the life changing marketing book that everyone should read. It’s now 2016 and while some still need to adopt the practices, more marketers have taken the manifesto and improved on it. Many years ago.
There are now better books to learn from and more advanced lessons to learn.
For those who aren’t familiar with this book, it started as a website back in 1999. Many still considered the Internet a new thing and many businesses hadn’t gone further than putting their brochures online and calling it a website.
Then a group of marketers came along with the Cluetrain Manifesto and put it onLine. The manifesto was an innovative list of the future of business. It included things like talking with your customers, and using public relations and breaking down barriers to created integrated experiences. Does it sound run of the mill? It is now, but in 1999 that was innovation. And it was published as a book.
Ten years later the book was still selling strong enough for a new edition. Extra chapters were added, a reflective introduction set the scene. It’s still much-loved now. I put a photo of it on Instagram today and a couple of marketers told me “great choice”. It was the second edition that I read.
The book starts by listing all 95 theses of the original manifesto. It’s the best part of the book.
The next 73 pages (of 290) is an introduction to the new edition. Seventy-three pages. It refers to a lot of what’s different, which maybe I missed the point on because it came before the original book, so I didn’t have them for reference. I was confused. The book then has the original text (well, I assume it’s the original from the Style Book used), and a couple of semi-case studies at the end.
I am trying to work out if I’m being overly critical, but I suspect it’s just that the Cluetrain Manifesto is now too old to be relevant. There are still mentions of MySpace and AOL. Transport companies seem to rule supreme. Sure retargeting is too new, so the mention of platform barriers is valid, but I would have enjoyed updates to include mobile commerce. Maybe I was also swayed by the old StyleBook. Internet and web were capitalized. URLs still started with the Ws. It was off-putting. I expected more updates in a second edition. Maybe I should think of it as a commemorative edition.
WHO SHOULD READ THE CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO?
There are a few people who could get something from reading this. If you still. Think B2B is a thing, then definitely read this. The same for those who think Facebook is a fad and LinkedIn is only for job searches. Then read H2H by Bryan Kramer.
Wow, so this broke my streak of positive reviews. The Cluetrain Manifesto isn’t a bad book. It was amazing for its time. We just need to take it off the pedestal and put it in the cupboard, where it belongs.
April 28, 2020
The tagline of the book, markets are conversations (full: markets are transactions, conversations, relationships) is thought provoking and inspirational. It immediately realigns one’s perspective to recognize all that’s wrong with the state of business. Great. But it is also easy to get carried away with this perspective and assign too much negativity from this perspective, whereas, in fact, the Internet has turned up some highly desirable enterprises also, such as Ebay, Netflix, 99designs, Indiegogo, Kickstarter, etc. Nevertheless, it is critical to remember that the Internet is not just a technology, rather it is a paradigm whose workings are intentionally coded in technical standards that result in the provisioning and maintenance of net neutrality: A medium where everyone can converse without privilege. There is tremendous effort and grit that goes into maintaining these standards, as indeed most, if not all, profit seeking enterprises don’t care for the ideals enshrined in these standards. Constant struggle is the right advice, and for that to happen people have to be periodically reminded of the Internet’s ideals.
I read through about half the book and then stopped. I found the new chapters boring, except for the one by Weinberger, and the ideas in the relatively limited length of the original content that I read seemed to have crossed my attention in the course of other readings in articles, blogs, books, etc., such that I didn’t find it informing in 2020. Your mileage may vary.
There’s one aspect of the authors’ agenda that I find hard to agree with: The desire to be anonymous while conversing on the Internet. It does not sit well with notions of truthfulness, genuineness, real conversation, being oneself, etc. Of course, the good intentioned reason is to be able to converse on any topic with anyone without fear of intimidation. But I feel that the threat of intimidation should be dealt with by other means, not by hiding behind pseudonyms. Pseudonymous conversations are short of true human conversations, and the method carries with it hints of what the authors despise about corporations’ synthetic communications with customers.
I read through about half the book and then stopped. I found the new chapters boring, except for the one by Weinberger, and the ideas in the relatively limited length of the original content that I read seemed to have crossed my attention in the course of other readings in articles, blogs, books, etc., such that I didn’t find it informing in 2020. Your mileage may vary.
There’s one aspect of the authors’ agenda that I find hard to agree with: The desire to be anonymous while conversing on the Internet. It does not sit well with notions of truthfulness, genuineness, real conversation, being oneself, etc. Of course, the good intentioned reason is to be able to converse on any topic with anyone without fear of intimidation. But I feel that the threat of intimidation should be dealt with by other means, not by hiding behind pseudonyms. Pseudonymous conversations are short of true human conversations, and the method carries with it hints of what the authors despise about corporations’ synthetic communications with customers.
April 7, 2010
A brilliant work. Hard to believe that it was written ten years ago since it applies so well to today. These guys must be prophets!
Tons of amazing insights that are spot on. The authors do have an arrogant tone in their writing which becomes annoying at times, but generally makes the reading more enjoyable.
My biggest problem with this book is that the authors have a flawed view of human nature that invalidates many of their conclusions/solutions. They make great insights about the problems in business and marketing, but many their solutions rely on believing that people will do good, they want to work hard, they want to perform well, they want to go above and beyond, it is only their environment that is holding them back. They believe that if management just got their act together and stopped oppressing and trying to control their employees that they would suddenly work harder and better, being free to do what they knew really needed to be done (better than management) and being free to speak authentically as themselves rather than as a corporate mouthpiece. While I agree that if people really behaved in those ways, it would be great. However, while I am sure that this is true for some individuals, most would not respond so positively. Human nature is fallen and most people, given no rules or structure, will not naturally be inclined to do their best, seeking out the good of others (i.e., the company, the customers, etc.). Rather, they will seek their own comfort and good first, doing the bare minimum to get by.
Even with this shortcoming, this is a must read book. It opened my mind and got me thinking in new ways that I won’t soon forget.
Tons of amazing insights that are spot on. The authors do have an arrogant tone in their writing which becomes annoying at times, but generally makes the reading more enjoyable.
My biggest problem with this book is that the authors have a flawed view of human nature that invalidates many of their conclusions/solutions. They make great insights about the problems in business and marketing, but many their solutions rely on believing that people will do good, they want to work hard, they want to perform well, they want to go above and beyond, it is only their environment that is holding them back. They believe that if management just got their act together and stopped oppressing and trying to control their employees that they would suddenly work harder and better, being free to do what they knew really needed to be done (better than management) and being free to speak authentically as themselves rather than as a corporate mouthpiece. While I agree that if people really behaved in those ways, it would be great. However, while I am sure that this is true for some individuals, most would not respond so positively. Human nature is fallen and most people, given no rules or structure, will not naturally be inclined to do their best, seeking out the good of others (i.e., the company, the customers, etc.). Rather, they will seek their own comfort and good first, doing the bare minimum to get by.
Even with this shortcoming, this is a must read book. It opened my mind and got me thinking in new ways that I won’t soon forget.
February 17, 2017
Expanding on their website launched in 1999 (actually, expanding on the book published that expanded on the website), the four authors add additional commentary to their original work(s) and review how the Internet has changed business.
October 23, 2011
Bueno otro que comento de la lista del 2008-2009.
Conseguí este libro gracias a un ofertón que hicieron los de Ediciones Deusto en que lo vendían por 1 céntimo de euro, del que me enteré a través de internet (como debe de ser). El libro recoge una serie de artículos originados a partir de las conversaciones y el trabajo de varios autores, todo ello partiendo de 95 tesis que publicaron con el nombre de Cluetrain manifesto y que podéis encontrar en español aquí. No voy a darle 5 estrellas como hicieron Microsiervos, sobre todo por que algunas partes se me hicieron un poco rollo y por eso le doy 4 estrellas. Pero en general me gustó bastante y aunque lo que cuentan parecen obviedades visto en 2009, en 1999 debía ser la bomba. Historias como las críticas en los foros sobre como trataban a los clientes los talleres oficiales de coches de una marca, que luego provocaba un descenso en la ventas era algo con lo que las empresas no contaban.
Conseguí este libro gracias a un ofertón que hicieron los de Ediciones Deusto en que lo vendían por 1 céntimo de euro, del que me enteré a través de internet (como debe de ser). El libro recoge una serie de artículos originados a partir de las conversaciones y el trabajo de varios autores, todo ello partiendo de 95 tesis que publicaron con el nombre de Cluetrain manifesto y que podéis encontrar en español aquí. No voy a darle 5 estrellas como hicieron Microsiervos, sobre todo por que algunas partes se me hicieron un poco rollo y por eso le doy 4 estrellas. Pero en general me gustó bastante y aunque lo que cuentan parecen obviedades visto en 2009, en 1999 debía ser la bomba. Historias como las críticas en los foros sobre como trataban a los clientes los talleres oficiales de coches de una marca, que luego provocaba un descenso en la ventas era algo con lo que las empresas no contaban.
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