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The Cluetrain Manifesto
Woah.
STOP.
Hold the schmoozola ...
I went and read that manifesto thing that's sweeping the
web. You know, that 
ClueTrain Manifesto thing. It says, speaking to the corporate
stiffs and advertisers:
"if you only have time for one clue
this year, this is the one to get ... we
are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers. we
are human beings - and our reach exceeds your grasp. deal
with it."
Wow.
| The manifesto is introducing a philosophy that many
seasoned surfers already know, yet none has put into writing
as succinctly — that the World Wide Web is empowering
people. We don't have to sit and read the corporate hype
of traditional advertising. We are free to toss the "suits",
and we are, in mass numbers. We move on to the human sites
whose owners aren't afraid to reveal their limitations
and even provide links to what may be an even better site
than their own, all based on the premise that if a site
is to serve the user it must give them what they want. |
Most companies "crank out sterile happytalk that
insults the intelligence of markets literally too smart
to buy it."
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I heard a bell go off in my brain. You know, that little
ting with a light bulb? You might think the heavens opened
for me and doves began to coo. No. I've spent years learning
and practicing traditional marketing. Was all of that wasted?
But, darn-it, this manifesto thing sounds so right.
I took a second look at the content I'd written for my site.
Everything I'd said was true, and I'd followed all the traditional
rules- put my best foot forward, highlighted the prices and
told you you'd be hard pressed to find a better value...it
all sounded very pretty. But did it have substance and depth?
No. It was pure happytalk.
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Speak
in a human voice. Be "open, natural, uncontrived."
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How can I apply the human tone to this website I'm
making then. What if I spoke to you as if I were meeting
you face to face for the first time, in normal conversational
tone. How would I tell you about what I do without sounding
like a pitchman? -- like, I'm just conversing and mention
what I do in passing? I'm
a person and you're a person and, oh by the way, I make
websites and graphics for small business and personal
pages and I don't charge an arm and a leg. Hmm.
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 Oh
boy, I don't know. This means no shiny coating over my limitations.
I would have to be honest about why you wouldn't want to do
business with me, right up front. Would that drive you away
or would you appreciate that I respect your intelligence?
Sure, nobody's perfect, but no business in their right marketing
mind would admit it. That's the point though, isn't it. You
are not a demographic thing to market to.
Still, why do I find myself thinking of the poster in Fox
Mulder's office? Is this a pie tin in the sky or is it really
the way that web sites will conduct business in the future?
Should I make a traditional sell-it-to-you a la Fifth Avenue
site or just share information with you?
Then it hit me. One of my favorite quotes is, "Be the
change you want to see in the world."
Duh. I got a Clue.
The ClueTrain Manifesto website
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