Planner Reads

In 1999 Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger penned The Cluetrain Manifesto.

Of the 95 theses, the very first is perhaps the most striking, most quoted, and most resilient: markets are conversations.

Hard to disagree, especially these days, no?

These wise gents argued that brands had to learn how to speak human again – to do away with the smooth and overly charmed PR tongue and speak to people in a relevant and honest way. After all, markets are made up of human beings, not homogenous, zombie, consumer segments.

Then came the social media tsunami.

Now brands want to be your friends. They want to follow you. Remember kids, your local giant mega-corporation is just like you. Well… they’re hanging out in all of your favorite places and they’re trying ever so hard to look and talk just like you. They’re sorta like 21 Jump Street without Johnny Depp and with way more Richard Grieco.

The next lesson for brands is that conversations are markets.

Conversations are transactions of information. A conversation is a complex negotiation of valuable resources.

Brands have to come to understand how and why these conversational transactions take place.

When we rally for spreadable media over viral ...