Book Review: The Cluetrain Manifesto

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual
Authors: Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger
Paperback: 190 pages
Cost: $11.20
Originally Published: 2001

Cluetrain is an odd and irreverent book. The tone of the time was probably a shock to most readers back when originally published in 2001, and even still it upholds some wry quirkiness the authors were going for as they wrote about the future of the Web. Much has changed in the world of Web since the manifesto was released, and I’m certain, not all of it to the authors liking. The web has become much more corporatized, ecommerce much more like traditional commerce and online marketing shows some vast similarities to off-line marketing. The current web isn’t quite what the authors anticipated!

But much of what the authors preach about the web being a conversation is still so very true. And amazingly, many businesses still have not figured that out. While business on the web may bear some resemblance to the off-line world, it’s still a very different place. That’s what Cluetrain is all about.

Cluetrain will help you understand that the same old processes and strategies that worked off-line for some many years, need not apply here. While there are many similarities, online and offline marketing operate very differently. The book will put you in the mindset to realize that marketing on the web can be done with new ideas, fresh strategies, and most importantly, on a person-to-person level. Throw the corporate play book away. It’s time to build a new playbook entirely.