The Cluetrain Manifesto - The Impact of The Internet and The Manifesto's Expectations

The Impact of The Internet and The Manifesto's Expectations

There is little doubt that the Internet has changed the way people communicate across the world; whether the world has been changed exactly as 'The Cluetrain Manifesto' charges is another thing. There are certainly new ways of communicating; in some cases businesses have benefited and in some others businesses have been hurt badly.

Whether human beings have gained the type of power ascribed to them when they talk human to human across the Internet is still to be proven. Some bloggers have caught the limelight from time to time, just as the proponents did with 'Cluetrain', and perhaps they may be onto something, but not exactly what they stated in the manifesto.

Fundamental to 'The Cluetrain Manifesto' was the premise that the Internet provided a new and unique forum for communication that would ultimately shift the nature of business communication and marketing. Essentially, the change that is central to this text is one of breaking down corporate barriers and forming a conversation between those within and those outside a corporation — online marketing would be more about holding conversations with people rather than broadcasting half-truths about products and services.

The authors of the manifesto suggested that such a shift would occur through substantial and pervasive changes in current company-to-consumer interaction. Communication would shift from mission statements and marketing media aimed at consumer segments to open dialogues or conversations between businesses and consumers.

Since publication, however, some state that the use of mass-media marketing has not fundamentally shifted from its use within organizations as the key means of communicating with consumers. Advertising on the Internet has grown over the intervening years, it remains, in some cases, an online version of the same style of mass-media marketing.

Although a number of companies have aimed to achieve customization of marketing material to the point where it is tailored to a single individual, in many cases this remains a one-way dialogue which is the antithesis of what the authors propose as the ideal.

However — there is an undeniable sea-change taking place with companies who are starting to reach out and ask to join conversations — earning the right to speak with citizens rather than just expecting it.

It is unlikely the authors of the manifesto had exact timeframes expected for all aspects and the popularity, engagement levels and acceptance of commercial communication will continue to be limited until the principles of the manifesto are applied more.