Climb Aboard the Clue Train

Cover shot of "The Cluetrain Manifesto"
"The Cluetrain Manifesto" by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine and Doc Searls and David Weinberger is the seminal handbook on social marketing on the web. It's funny, irreverent and right on the money when it comes to telling the truth about customers and potential customers already on the web talking about you and your products. The bottom line: "Markets are conversations, talk is cheap, silence is fatal."

It's also very prescient. It was written in 1999, but could very well be a contemporary work to "Groundswell" the groundbreaking social media book by Li and Bernoff (another book I highly recommend reading). Some of the references are obviously dated, but the main points are still relevant today.

I recommend giving it a read. It's easy to get through; written very conversationally. You can read it online at http://www.cluetrain.com/book/index.html or you can purchase a print copy on Amazon.

Disclaimer - The links to the books' Amazon pages are affiliate links.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elmer's Speaking Appearances in 2020

Image
Updated: March 9, 2020.

2020 is going to be a busy year for me as far as speaking engagements go. I'm very excited to share what I have confirmed so far this year.

I presented at Pubcon Austin in February. Yes, that's already passed. But, if you missed me there, please consider joining me at Pubcon Florida. I will be presenting on a panel with Veronica Romney in which I'll talk about earning people's attention and she will talk about converting them afterwards.

Due to concern about the COVID-19 virus in Florida, Pubcon Florida has been postponed. Stay tuned - I'll update when the dates are announced.

Next I will be in Kansas City presenting at Digital Summit, which will happen May 13-14, 2020 in Overland Park, Kansas. I will be presenting on a Human-centered and data-driven approach to SEO content strategy. This is an updated version of the presentation I did last October at Digital Summit Detroit.

The next stop on my tour will be Austin again. This time I'll b…
Read more

US Search Awards Judging Panel

Image
I'm very happy to announce that I will, once again, be a judge for the US Search Awards. This is my 3rd year on the panel and it is quite an honor to be selected to be on the panel. The US Search Awards will be presented in Las Vegas on October 9, 2019 during the week of Pubcon.

Have you considered entering? Do you have some amazing work in the area of SEO, PPC and content marketing? If you do, consider entering. Get details here: https://www.ussearchawards.com/ .

One of the great parts of being a judge is seeing the excellent work others are doing in our industry. Some of the work is quite impressive, indeed. In order to win, your project really needs to be the best of the best.

Here's a hint: The best entries are the ones that give the most details. Don't be shy and don't skimp on the numbers. If you can't share because of client confidentiality agreements, then you might not want to waste your time. But, if your clients are on board - share the great work you d…
Read more

Starting A New Chapter with GTB

Nearly 3 years ago I made a move back to Metro Detroit to take on the opportunity to be Director, Organic Search (SEO) assigned to GTB. I was a "hybrid" employee in that I worked for one WPP agency, Rockfish, but was permanently assigned to a WPP sister agency. It was, and still is, a great opportunity to go back home to the Detroit area after living in Texas most of my adult life. It's great to be closer to friends and family around Michigan. To be sure, I still miss friends and family in Texas; and, I do sometimes question my sanity for moving back north when I'm shoveling snow and thinking about warmer climes around Austin. Still, it's been great and the future looks bright.

At the end of 2017, Rockfish merged with VMLY&R. When that happened, I lost a lot of connection with my "real" employer. It wasn't due to anything in particular - and it certainly wasn't the people because VMLY&R has a great culture and everyone was most welcoming…
Read more