For those of you who aren’t aware of it yet The Cluetrain Manifesto was 95 theses, and later a book, written over ten years ago by four very smart guys about what the internet was really about and how it was going to impact our lives. It was hugely successful and influenced many of us who care passionately about these new tools we have been given.
When Stephen Waddington very kindly described having a pizza with me as one of the highlights of his year last year, he described me as “the embodiment of The Cluetrain”. This was about as big a compliment as I get! I often describe myself as a Cluetrain missionary as the ideas in the manifesto and the book lie behind all of my work, and still get me excited as to their potential to really impact people’s lives and make the world a better place.
However there is still much to be done! We have only scratched the surface of what we can do with the internet to make a real difference. We have allowed it to be hijacked by those interested in maintaining the status quo. We have mostly remained passive consumers rather than active participants. This has prompted two of the original writers of The Cluetrain, now friends of mine, David Weinbergererger and Doc Searls, to offer New Clues.
In the spirit of the original Cluetrain Manifesto this is a list of theses and thought provoking insights that address the issues we face now and what we can do about them. I was lucky enough to get an early peak and have been bursting to use the very quotable insights in the new list. And now I can and so can you!
The Obvious? 