When I read the http://cluetrain.com article a few weeks back I started thinking about the willingness of companies to adapt in this new market. The internet is not a place where you can just hide information, no matter how much people may try. There are many companies that are starting to attempt to adapt to this new place, but if you think from the standpoint of the company I can see how it would be hard for the consumer to trust them. Companies are known for being secretive, lying, and using manipulation to sell there ideas or products. The problems with the lies are that once you put them onto the internet, they can be viewed, analyzed, and torn down. These lies, once sold by “old” advertising are not holding up enough anymore. When the market was far enough away to watch commercials on television, they could not ask questions, or express complaints. They either bought the advertisement or they didn’t. The point that I’m trying to make is that in this new market the consumers now have a place to voice their opinions, share them with others then if need be they can complain. Cluetrain is trying to stress the point that there needs to be a conversation with the consumer, because if they are smart they wont just run and hide from the inevitable.
There are four lines that I wanted to look at.
First is number twenty nine.
29. Elvis said it best: "We can't go on together with suspicious minds."
Cluetrain is trying to convey the fact that there needs to be trust when connecting a company with the customer. When information is held back behind closed doors, the customer doesn’t have trust, and in a new situation where the consumer can see that there is something being hid, there cannot be that relationship.
The second one is numbers thirty four and thirty five.
34-35.To speak with a human voice, companies must share the concerns of their communities. But first, they must belong to a community.
When I read through all of the ninety five these two stood out to me, because it seems to be a basis for what comes after it. These companies are missing something huge, identification. The identification they need to sell their items or ideas. The only way to truly identify with other humans is by showing that side. Humans feel the need to see the humanity in people. When I think about these companies with all their power and money and un-concern for human rights, I do not identify. The company voice is not human, it is capitalistic. That tone does not satisfy people face to face. The second part of that line is very important. They need to make an effort to become a part in a community so that they can connect to their market in a different, but satisfying way.
To wrap up what I’m saying, companies will have to jump onto the wave into a new progressive market, that’s why I agree with this last line I chose very much.
57. Smart companies will get out of the way and help the inevitable to happen sooner.
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