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28 Nov 07

the cluetrain manifesto

cluetrain.com/ - Preview

book business cluetrain consumerism corporate-culture e-commerce economics internet marketing manifesto marketing

if you only have time for one clue this year, this is the one to
>

get...
>
Online Markets...

Networked markets are beginning to
self-organize faster than the companies that have traditionally
served them. Thanks to the web, markets are becoming better
informed, smarter, and more demanding of qualities missing from
most business organizations.

...People of
Earth

The sky is open to the stars. Clouds roll over us night and day.
Oceans rise and fall. Whatever you may have heard, this is our
world, our place to be. Whatever you've been told, our flags fly
free. Our heart goes on forever. People of Earth,
remember.

27 more annotations...

The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that
were simply not possible in the era of mass media.
Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy.
We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But
we are not waiting.
Our allegiance is to ourselves—our friends, our new allies
and acquaintances, even our sparring partners. Companies that
have no part in this world, also have no future.
We have real power and we know it. If you don't quite see the
light, some other outfit will come along that's more attentive,
more interesting, more fun to play with.
We have better things to do than worry about whether you'll
change in time to get our business. Business is only a part of
our lives. It seems to be all of yours. Think about it:
who needs whom?
When we have questions we turn to each other for answers. If you
didn't have such a tight rein on "your people" maybe they'd be
among the people we'd turn to.
- Don't worry, you can still make money. That is, as long as it's
  not the only thing on your mind.
- Have you noticed that, in itself, money is kind of
  one-dimensional and boring? What else can we talk about?
You want us to pay? We want you to pay attention.
- We've got some ideas for you too: some new tools we need, some
  better service. Stuff we'd be willing to pay for. Got a minute?
- You're too busy "doing business" to answer our email? Oh gosh,
  sorry, gee, we'll come back later. Maybe.
- We are immune to advertising. Just forget it.
- If you want us to talk to you, tell us something. Make it
  something interesting for a change.
- We like this new marketplace much better. In fact, we are
  creating it.
- You're invited, but it's our world. Take your shoes off at the
  door. If you want to barter with us, get down off that camel!
- In both internetworked markets and among
  intranetworked employees, people are speaking to each
  other in a powerful new way.
- These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of
  social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.
- However subliminally at the moment, millions of people now online
  perceive companies as little more than quaint legal fictions that
  are actively preventing these conversations from intersecting.
- This is suicidal. Markets want to talk to companies.
- There are two conversations going on. One inside the company. One
  with the market.
- In most cases, neither conversation is going very well. Almost
  invariably, the cause of failure can be traced to obsolete
  notions of command and control.
- Today, the org chart is hyperlinked, not hierarchical. Respect
  for hands-on knowledge wins over respect for abstract authority.
- Human communities are based on discourse—on human speech about
  human concerns.
- The community of discourse is the market.
- Companies that do not belong to a community of discourse will
  die.
Most marketing programs are based on the fear that the market
might see what's really going on inside the company.
Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to
the people with whom they hope to create relationships.
Companies attempting to "position" themselves need to take
a position. Optimally, it should relate to something their
market actually cares about.
Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At
them.
- People in networked markets have figured out that they get far
  better information and support from one another than from
  vendors. So much for corporate rhetoric about adding value to
  commoditized products.
- There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than
  companies do about their own products. And whether the news is
  good or bad, they tell everyone.
We want access to your corporate information, to your plans and
strategies, your best thinking, your genuine knowledge. We will
not settle for the 4-color brochure, for web sites chock-a-block
with eye candy but lacking any substance.
Markets are conversations.
Markets are conversations.
Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new
networked conversations. To their intended online audiences,
companies sound hollow, flat, literally inhuman.
- There are two conversations going on. One inside the company. One
  >
  
  with the market.
  >
- In most cases, neither conversation is going very well. Almost
  >
  
  invariably, the cause of failure can be traced to obsolete
  >
  
  notions of command and control.
  >