The cluetrain manifesto: the end of business as usual

Abstract

From the Publisher: The Cluetrain Manifesto burst onto the scene in March of 1999 with ninety-five theses nailed up on the Web. Within days, www.cluetrain.com had ignited a vibrant global conversation challenging sacred corporate assumptions about the very nature of business in a digital world. Soon, executives across the country were lining up to sign the manifesto. This is the book that delivers on that buzz. Written by four of the liveliest voices on the Web, Cluetrain Manifesto illustrates how, through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter-and getting smarter faster than most companies. Today's markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny, and often shocking. Companies that aren't listening to these exchanges are missing a dire warning. Companies that aren't engaging in them are missing an unprecedented opportunity. The Cluetrain Manifesto gets its name from a veteran executive from a now defunct Fortune 500 firm describing his company's plummet by saying: The clue train stopped here four times a day for ten years and they never took delivery. In other words, they didn't seize the opportunities that were before them, fell out of touch with their market, and lost to the competition as a result. The Cluetrain Manifesto takes you deeper into the new order of business than any other book this decade, presenting a stunning tapestry of anecdotes, object lessons, parodies, war stories, and suggestions, all aimed at illustrating what it will take to survive and prosper in the fast-forward world on the wire. Business as usual is gone forever-this is your wake-up call. About the Author: Rick Levine is the author of the Sun Guide to Web Style. Christopher Locke has worked for MCI and IBM, and has written extensively for Forbes, Information Week, Internet World, and Industry Standard. Doc Searls is the senior editor for Linux Journal. David Weinberger has written for Wired and is a regular commentator on NPR.