| Author | Message | ||
     caroline Rating: N/A |
What are your thoughts on the cluetrain manifesto? Do you think these ideas would really benefit homeworkers? Do you think the ideas are based on sound business principles? I'll be offering my thoughts shortly but over to you first  Caroline Moderator | ||
| craig Rating: |
The cluetrain manifesto seems to articulate, albeit rather pretentiously, what we increasingly are perceiving ourselves, i.e. that there is a credibility gap between 'the people' in our capacity as consumers, as employees and as citizens, and organisations in their capacity as suppliers of goods and services, as employers, and as the Government. Who still unquestioningly believes that the brand St Michael is a byword for quality and style? For those Forum readers who are employees, do you really believe that you are a 'stakeholder' in your company? Did every (UK) Forum reader bother to vote in the recent general election, which had the lowest turnout since who knows when? The internet as a medium must surely play an important role in the acceleration of this trend. Those of us who have been using the internet, and in particular the web, for any length of time (and by that I mean for longer than just a few weeks) are increasingly likely to seek an opinion before making anything more than a trivial purchase or other decision, no matter how many award-winning TV or magazine advertisements we may have sceptically watched or read. That opinion may come from a forum such as this one - only a few days ago Caroline suggested to Neil that he consider using the services of homebased accountant Jim Bennett for the taxation advice he sought - or from a chat room, a newsgroup, a specialist website such as DooYoo, or perhaps from a consumer oriented commercial web site such as Which.net. Although the cluetrain manifesto refers to employees using a corporate intranet to carry out their own agenda, I doubt that employees are quite so naive - most people who work in a reasonably sized organisation know that intranet communications can be, and sometimes are, intercepted by those in authority, and that this can be done retrospectively. That said, I suspect that employees are nowadays more likely to question The Company Way in whispered conversations around the water cooler than they may have been a few years ago. The two questions posed, namely do we think these ideas would really benefit homeworkers, and do we think the ideas are based on sound business principles, I believe can both be answered affirmatively. I don't wish to sound like a worn record (see my other recent postings), but I am becoming ever more convinced of the power of networking and of personal recommendation. This is particularly so for the micro-business, which many homebased workers run. As people generally become less willing to respond as expected to the manipulative communications of traditional business (remember the M&S "I'm normal!" advert? You just had to laugh - unless you're a shareholder of course, when you just had to cry), or of the Government (who amongst us took any real interest in the party political broadcasts this time around? I certainly didn't), they are likely to seek to satisfy their information needs with the opinions and recommendations of their peers. This can prove to be a blessing for those homeworkers who are switched on and who are prepared to put in the work required to take advantage of the trend. Developing a strategy for generating positive PR and personal referrals from friends, family, colleagues, suppliers - and of course especially from satisfied customers - should be a priority for every homeworker. I must confess that it has taken me rather too many years to fully appreciate the importance of what our friends in the US have appreciated and practised for even longer. Are the cluetrain manifesto's ideas based on sound business principles? That's a very broad question, so I'll give a very broad 'yes' for my answer. Some companies, even some very large companies, seem able to communicate with their employees and with their target market much more effectively than others. How is it that we seem ready and willing to hang onto to every PR-scripted word of, say, Richard Branson, whilst we prefer not to believe a word of a statement read out by a company 'spokesperson' for BT or British Gas or whatever? The guy's the billionaire dictator of a multinational conglomerate, his trains are simply sad (I've recently made a return journey from Glasgow to London on Virgin, broke down at Carlisle going south, train dirty, cold and late coming home), yet we still regard him as 'one of us'. BT et al can only ever be 'them', no matter how good their products and customer service might be or become. Branson is certainly a first class communicator, who very skillfully allows us to believe that he is still the peoples' champion, even after all these years, and all those millions. I don't think it is mere coincidence that he is also a hugely successful businessman, so yes, I reckon the manifesto ideas are based on sound business principles. Whilst I consider the so-called cluetrain manifesto to be pretty much just another management fad, they do seem to raise some pertinent points, particularly for those of us who either are homebased workers, or who aspire to be. | ||
| caroline Rating: N/A |
Hi Craig You have given us quite a few morsels to chew over here that I'm not sure where to start! But I do know I want to respond and reflect on some the stuff you have said. OK - here goes.... going backwards. I agree that the cluetrain manifesto could be seen as another management fad but the important thing as homeworkers is to take from it what one wants or finds useful. It is not promoted as applying to homeworkers, especially as it is aimed at big business, but as one reads through it then some points jump out as if they were talking about the way many homeworkers are able to operate: "Talking with a human voice" reflects the personal service that homeworkers can offer. "Using networked markets" typifies the word of mouth referral of how we often pass on or find work and once we realise that we are able to make full use of it.It is interesting what you say about Richard Branson. I hadn't thought about it but he is indeed so powerful and yet personable that we forgive him the faults of his multi-nationals as he's just a bloke.... (a self-confessed homeworker at that!) Craig, it is also interesting that you fully appreciate the powers of networking (word of mouth referrals etc) although elsewhere on the Forum you have lamented that you are done with 'network marketing' (multi-level marketing). So you are saying that the principles behind this way of operating are invaluable as long as what you are promoting (ones own skills, service or product) is controlled by oneself? I couldn't agree more! (Though if people have found a network marketing company they are happy with that seems to be staying the distance, then good on them. However, they should be aware that the rug could be pulled from underneath them if the company suddenly has a change of direction or goes belly-up as has been reported many times on this Forum.) It would be an intriguing survey to know whether people who make full use of the internet as a networking information source are most likely to make the effort to go out and vote at elections? Perhaps because they appreciate the value of other's opinions and therefore the importance of making their own voice heard? Hmmm. A slight diversion there. What do others think about any of this? Caroline | ||
| suews Rating: N/A |
The rug can be pulled out from under you whether you you run your own business, work for someone else or get involved in that hybrid thing, network marketing. There are so many variables which can adversely affect our income - which is why PORTFOLIO WORKING is the key. Whilst we are all 'networked' in to a wider economic web and therefore INTERdependent, there is no excuse for beind DEpendent on any one source (which leads us on to the impact of the Euro and the EEC on small businesses - but that's another discussion. I think adding yet another thread to this discussion might be pushing it a bit!! ). What I'm convinced about - have known for some years but only just coming to articulate - is that you cannot succeed at any of it, UNLESS you work on your own personal development as well. I can feel another soapbox coming upon me, so I'd better leave it there but that's where I'm trying to get to. I just haven't worked out HOW, yet!! Responding to your last point, Caroline, I don't think internetty people are more likely to go out and vote, quite the opposite - at least UNTIL we have internet voting (it's on its way!). Why? Because the government is just another one of 'them' who 'haven't got a clue' and try to use traditional marketing and PR methods, forgetting how media-wise we all are. Just like the 'impersonal businesses' lampooned in the cluetrain manifesto, they need to hurry up and jump on the cluetrain! It's very sad that the old cluetrain forum is being killed off by the service provider and that no-one is saving the discussions, so it would be extra great to get some good discussion going here. Take a quick look at the cluetrain forum - there's only a week left before it goes to the great web in the sky - and then buzz back here to explore some ideas with us, ask a question or just tell us what you think. Short posts are as welcome as long ones!! |
