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| If the Internet is truly overturning the long-held dogmas of business, then who are the Web’s great theorists and didacts? Its Martin Luther, or its Karl Marx? Who is articulating the meaning behind the changes that are roiling society? The four authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, would have you believe it’s them. Or, rather, the four of them plus the rest of the world. For, the basic thesis of The Cluetrain Manifesto is that the Internet empowers everyone by breaking down boundaries between consumers and producers, employees and bosses, corporations and the public, you and me. The authors are hardly subtle about their ambitions. The title of the book (whose reference to a cluetrain stems from the idea that businesses need to get a clue about the Internet) deliberately evokes thoughts of Marx’s The Communist Manifesto. Inside, the authors advance 95 theses, mimicking the 95 Theses that Luther published, challenging the established order of his day. This approach risks looking presumptuous. Are these guys really comparing themselves to Luther and Marx? But the authors pull it off by providing some substantive ideas and by making it clear that they don’t, in fact, take themselves too seriously. The book reminded me of Abbie Hoffman’s rambling Yippie manifesto, Steal This Book, both in style and substance. In essence, the book argues that the Internet is a Trojan Horse. It’s now inside the world of business, transforming it from within. As an example, Thesis #46 says that "a healthy intranet...is more radical than the agenda of any union." IBM tried to change its pension plan but found that employees were using the corporate intranet to organize opposition. IBM backed away from most of the changes. Thesis #62 says that "markets do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They want to participate in the conversations going on behind the corporate firewall." The authors say that, because the Internet has made it easy for people to communicate, canned PR department information has lost all credibility. Customers would rather talk directly with people inside the company—and they now can. According to the authors, the Internet demands open conversations among all sorts of people who rarely communicated before. Employees now can—indeed, must—talk freely and directly to their bosses, competitors, suppliers, and customers. As a result, company cultures are changing. The book tells of a marketing person at a software company who began publishing an internal "zine" titled "Forecast This!," providing his outspoken view of the market and the company’s marketing efforts. The maverick newsletter would have been unthinkable before the Internet came along, but the salespeople love its candor. Like most polemics, The Cluetrain Manifesto has its limitations. It’s repetitive because it’s structured as seven essays, each written by a different author or combination of authors. It’s also too long—five times as long as The Communist Manifesto and 50% longer than the classic The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. Some of the ideas, while provocative, are nonsense. Here’s one: "Screw Deadlines." But for every wacky idea, there are 10 good, thought-provoking ones. And, although the book doesn’t try to provide a cogent set of recommendations, the Web site, www.cluetrain.com, offers 39 "Clues You Can Use"—such as "Turn intranets into extranets" and "Burn your mission statement." Readers have added 51 of their own ideas, including "Scrap HR" and "Treat employees like customers." The name, workplace, and e-mail address for each person who posts an idea are listed, allowing other readers to respond directly. The collaboration and discussion are great examples of the authors’ main theses at work, and of how a Web site and book can work together. (In fact, The Cluetrain Manifesto started out on the Web, when the authors posted their 95 theses in March 1999 and asked those who agreed with them to sign the manifesto.) If you are a raving radical about the Internet, you’ll find the authors to be kindred spirits. Even if you’re not, the book provokes new ways of thinking about business. It may even turn you into one of those radicals.
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