A clue about conversations? Jump on the train...on the cluetrain
I've been aching to write a blog post, but been so busy working and accumulating topics through my 'serial reading'. I guess taht I make up for my book's carbon footprint, and feel better about it being offset by my not owning a car and minimising travel to a yearly milk round.

The time machine exists and you can use it to see the evolution of conversations
I'll have that big nice papaya, three mangoes, and that small bunch of bananas, I said to the fruit seller in Vera Cruz, Mexico, in my Venezuelan accent (which everyone thought was Cuban!). The guy in this small market village told me $20 (Mexican pesos). 'Cuanto?' - how much?... I said in a voice of utter disbelief and a mocking grimace that went across my face like a cloud goes over the sun in an English summer's day!

'Come on', I said in Spanish, the market is about to close, and you can tell from an accent that I'm not from here. I know about tropical fruit, and know that it is not worth as much as you claim. You know what?... I'll give you eight pesos and we can make it a fair deal . And why not make this act an official welcome to me as a tourist.? The guy laughed in his string top, shorts and plastic flip-flops, shook my hand and proceeded to handover the bag while I with the other handed him the money.

I've done the same bartering process in Istanbul, some parts of Mexico, and Venezuela, including some commercial entities who give you discount when you buy higher quantities (half a doze jeans, shirts etc.)

But we know the contrast right?...Smooth talking 'double glazing sales' routines and 'call centre operatives'
These are conversations that we don't want to have because basically we feel that we are going to get done over and we are just another number, another target. There is no real want for a conversation, just to empty our wallets to fulfill quotas. It's no ones fault, just a manifestation of the mindset that reflects the supporting process of mass manufacturing.

Our comfort with the web, broadband penetration, and the technological possibilities have given a rebirth and a multitude of possibilities for new genuine conversations
Our desire to socialize and connect with others has been hard-wired into our DNA for thousands of years. There is no denying that. And so has our desire to share insights, life stories, and our humanity. Where we meet doesn't matter, what matters is the genuine and frank conversations that we can share.

Reading and reflection on these issues that were 'hidden from plain sight'...at least to me
How this whole lovely 'back to basic' conversations and dialogues (now over the web) was highlighted to me initially around 2003 by 'The Clue Train Manifesto' - that seemed to manifest the discomfort with business as usual. Whole set of tools have evolved over the last decade to continue to refine capture and 'leverage' these conversations in order to allow 'peer influence' to help us make appropriate choices.

The FREE Cluetrain Manifesto (online PDF) - took me on a reading journey of discovery
This post, just focuses on how the 'clue train manifesto' has had such an influence of the many authors who I've recently been busy reading to see how business has embraced these new tools.
Read it, and let me know how it has transform your outlook and mindset - I want business un-usual!...one that genuinely cares and wants real conversations.

In the meantime, here are the books I read recently that were definitely influenced by the manifesto. And as you can see, I have too been greatly influenced.


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