1. cluetrain the cluetrainManifesto Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger A Social Media Knowledge Benchmark Robbie Agar MKTG 6900A Fall 2009
2. The Cluetrain Manifesto Theses 1. Markets are conversations. 2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors. 3. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted ina human voice. 6. The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that weresimply not possible in the era of mass media. 8. In both internetworked markets and among intra-networked employees, people are speaking to each other in a powerful new way. 7. [How? Because] Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy. 10. As a result, markets are getting smarter, more informed, more organized…. 13. What’s happening to markets [i.e. getting smarter] is also happening among employees. A metaphysical construct called “The Company” is the only thing standing between the two. 14. Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new networkedconversations. To their intended online audience, companies sound hollow,flat, literally inhuman.
3. The Basic Idea The connectedness of the Web is transforming what’s outside (markets) andinside (employees) your business Internetworked Markets (Consumers) Fort Business Intranetworked Workers conversations conversations There’s a new conversation among and between your market and your workers. You can padlock the doors and lift the draw-bridge. OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION.
4. The Historical Narrative Ancient markets created conversations However, mass production, mass marketing and mass media drove a wedge between the two The Industrial Revolution meant no more personal conversation, no more “craft”, no more human element The Internet permits, no-no, requires businesses to start speaking to their customers … in a HUMAN voice.
5. The Modern Imperative Talking in a human voice doesn’t mean more brochure-ware… It means tearing down the walls separating your business (i.e. fort work) and employees from consumers by letting them answer support questions, post product plans…. even talk about the Maple Leafs Stanley Cup parade route. No cloak of officialdom - Lighten up and Loosen up!
6. The Hyperlinked Organization Markets are now smarter, but so are employees Old businesses rely on hierarchy, structure, secrecy, planning However the web’s is and businesses need to be Hyperlinked Decentralized Hyper Time Open Direct Access Rich Data Broken Borderless
7. General Review One or two slides (approx.) Your Review of the book What was valuable? What could have been handled better? What was the quality of the evidence?
8. General Review Insightful but extremely abstract Very theoretical, not particularly practical Simplistic, easier said then done Thoughts about having an open conversation with the market are valuable The web changes the power dynamic between consumers and producers People want to hear the human voice
9. General Review Evidence is convincing but anecdotal Individual examples but no companies were provided in support of argument The Saturn example.
10. SMM Focused Takeaways One to three slides (approx.) What did this book contribute to our general understanding of social media marketing? Definitions? Different kinds of social media? Marketing purposes/uses? Where are certain kinds stronger/weaker?
11. SMM Focused Takeaways Marketing isn’t about driving axes into our customers heads – it’s about creating conversations Companies can’t be silent Repeating the party line is the quickest way to public mockery The message doesn’t always need to be positive, but it needs to be genuine
12. SMM Focused Takeaways SMM has implications beyond the marketing department Corporate culture Corporate structure Employee Incentives/disincentives The web places control of “brands” in the hands of consumers Don’t like your position? The answer isn’t to reposition, but to change who you are!
Notes de l'éditeur
Throughout most of human history – markets were places of conversation (about politics, society, and business). People could tough and feel wares, they would talk to the craftsman. There was a connection between producers and consumers.The Industrial Revolution swung marketing into a supply side activity. It was no longer a craft. It was about interchangeable workers making interchangeable goods. Mass production was followed by mass marketing. We implement strategies at target markets launch marketing campaigns. Sounds like warfare on the market, it’s something you did to customers. The authours said they drove an axe into our brains, and kept on whacking in hopes it sticks.However, these days the media tools which permitted corporations to flog away at businesses are now in the hands of consumers, and they’re a flogg’n back. We eagerly share our experiences, with other consumers, and the whole market gets smarter.So what do marketers do? Stay quiet? No. They start talking to customers. They speak in marketing/corporate/legal lingo that’s inauthentic, filtered, and uninteresting. So, through interactive websites? NO!
We can all tell the difference between a human voice and brochureware… Guess which we listen to, and guess which we consider to be marketing babble.Companies can’t be afraid of talking to these people through informal channels. Stop worrying about staying on message. Lighten up and loosen up.They give 2 contrasting examples. The first is Intel which released a defective chip. Techies joked about it. Then a reporter published it. Intel CEO (Andy Grove) heard about the mess and posted on the forum saying they would replace for some part of the market. People wanted to engage Grove but there was no response, no conversation. People got angry, Intel got killed in the press and none of Intel’s allies came to its defence. They understood how bugs happen but the techies were just as silent as Grove was to them.Contrast to United who had 1 employee talking about the Shuttle service it just launched. He acknowledged problems with the system and helped customers navigate it. They were overwhelmingly appreciative. When the company found out he was told not to talk to them anymore. After a revolt from his newfound friends, he was allowed back online.The conversation’s happening with these companies, it’s up to them to join in and talk. Talk that is, in human speak.
Command and control management is the mantra of the powerful.But the web is transforming not only how customers interact but how employees do as well. They’re getting tired of the same old marketing and HR policy babble. They’re not afraid to create their own magazines which flame the company’s latest load of BS.These employees are using the web to organize, plan, and communicate. Although those activities are happening in a vastly different fashion. The new organization needs to be:Hyperlinked – anyone can link toanyone else, the destruction of hierarchy, titles and their implied “turf” (VP of Western Sales). It’s who you know!Decentralized – Centralization of planning and control hasn’t worked historically and it doesn’t work here; people can be self reliantHypertime – Hyperlinked people aren’t motivated by deadlines but by the laws of connection. They get things done quickly because they want to.Open Direct Access - Fort business want to keep it secret, the internet wants it published. It also wants to control what information its employees read. The web wants all information available to all.Rich Data - Corporate databases have information but no context. The web however is seemingly endless amount of context. It is one the richest form of information transmission we have. Need to live off stories, not off statistical models, it’s how we learn.Broken – we need to recognize we’re not perfect and neither is the web. We need to come to terms with being wrong. The internet is slightly broken and that should be OK. Borderless - The web has no boundaries businesses however like putting up walls. You can attend any meeting, view any intranet.
We’ve all done readings about flatter, decentralized, organizations which empower their workers.It’s difficult to conclude that all workers can succesfully motivate themselves.Huge spectre of legal liability.Tends to believe that the internet emerged out of nowhere, there is no regulatory structure for it. There is. W3C etc..