Cluetrain Manifesto

After reading the 95 thesis' from the Cluetrain Manifesto, I felt that many were confusing and hard to relate to, but there were also a great amount that are very relatable. The most interesting one that I found, was #12, "There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone." I thought this was a great one. It is very true in today's world more than it ever was 10 years ago when this was written. Our access to the internet gives us the oppurtunity to talk with people that have used the products and have either liked them or not. We are able to get a breakdown. Going to company websites gives us the ideal look of what the product may be, but searching further about this item gives us the true answer of whether it is good enough. All the big items that I buy, I research about them a little bit. For example, I just purchased a new cell phone. It looked cool on television, on the website and in the store, but was it worth the money? I searched around on th internet and found awesome results. It helped me stray away from certain phones and help me choose the one I would get my money's worth. Another example would be Ratemyprofeessor.com. Going into a new semseter is always worrisome, but when you are able to get feedback from previous students, you get to know the professor more and decide if you want to take their course or not. This thesis is a perfect one becuase we often find ourselves looking for the answers that the corporate world wants to hide from us. Talking to other consumers gives us the true answers, sometimes goo and sometimes bad.

My major of PR was brought up in #26, "Public Relations does not relate to the public. Companies are deeply afraid of their markets." I would have to disagree with this because the job of public relations is looking out for the greater good of the public. They are helping the companies work and share their products with the public in the correct and healthy manner. Public relations is not afraid of the public, they are there to get close to them and understand them.

This manifesto was good to read and look at something that was written a good amount of time ago when computers were just taking off. These are still relatable and useful just some are understood a little differently.