The Cluetrain Manifesto: Chapter Two

We all want more satisfaction in our lives. The second chapter of The Cluetrain Manifesto states that the internet’s popularity is largely due to its ability to allow people to communicate on many levels.
In an attempt to organize our lives, we manage every aspect of it around time. We mimic businesses in that we try to manage our day for maximum efficiency. There are advantages to living such a managed lifestyle. Weinberger writes “Management is a powerful force, part of a larger life-scheme that promises us health, peace, prosperity, calm, and no surprises in every aspect of our lives.”
However, in living such managed lives, we have muted our own voices.
In Chapter 1, Locke wrote “Inside companies, outside companies, there are only people.” This is correct. A company is no stronger than the employees in there office. Even so, employees adhere to a strict code of professionalism. This means employees muffle their personal voices and play the character of “Employee.” As an employee, you must dress a certain way, avoid talking about personal or touchy subjects, not swear, and kiss your bosses ass. The act of Professionalism has made us long for more-- a way to communicate our real voice.
The environment of the internet has made this possible. The net is a virtual encyclopedia of information with a place for every subject imaginable. The net is also easy. For example, anyone with AOL can create there own homepage in minutes. This flexibility has made it possible for people to communicate their interests globally. Weinberger believes that this trait is responsible for making the internet so popular. I would have to agree. The first time I used the internet (AOL) was 8 years ago and my primary internet activities was chatting with net friends and creating a homepage on Geocities. I loved the ability to have a website about vegetarianism and to be able to have conversations with people with similar interests. I was able to voice my opinions.
In regards to the workplace, I think Internet technology is the most powerful tool available to businesses. The advantages of the net have made companies more efficient. Paper memos have been replaced with e-mail, a much more efficient and instant way for employees to communicate. But with the internet, corporations must “rise to the occasion” and continue to satisfy their employees...and customers. With blogs, employees can voice their own opinions, and divulge internal information. Customers can also fight back, information moves quick on “the information superhighway.”
With this, the internet is popular because of its potential for interpersonal communication and also because is a tool that helps us manage our lives more efficiently.
I really appreciated Alexis’ Blog. She notes how important professionalism is because companies need organization. She is very correct, but I think that Weinberger wasn’t insulting the act of professionalism, rather he was arguing that it has caused us to lose our personal voice.
Meghan’s discussion of Professionalism in an academic environment was insightful.