I am deeply grateful to Brad Shorr for his review of the Cluetrain Manifesto. Like Brad, I acknowledge the importance of the Cluetrain message. Indeed, they have forgotten more about the internet than I will ever know. Yet, if the internet is about conversation, than in the conversation we can choose to make a contribution. The Cluetrain Manifesto is a rant and disparages those who haven’t seen the light (yet). I am not arguing with them, but I can’t read them either because I find their tone off putting. I mean, why feature a picture of a dead something on a high way on your homepage when your message is about conversation. I don’t feel invited.

Blogs I read have similar issues, and the commentaries are often the worst enemy of a blog. I cannot read the commentaries on Think Progress for instance, a blog I follow every day. But I never ever read the commentaries. I am afraid of those who write them. The vitriol chokes me.

And smugness kills the left. That is why I objected to Amanda Marcotte’s description of the anti-choice movement. She maintains that their beliefs don’t make a lick of sense. Sure, to Amanda Marcotte they don’t. But they make perfect sense to them. That is the point of a different frame of reference. When you live outside it, the world looks very different.

I have loved reading Steve Farber’s books, The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership and The Radical Edge: Stoke Your Business, Amp Your Life, and Change the World. I understand that for many Cluetrain readers and Think Progress commentators, this reeks far too much like the business world. But for me, these are simple to read books with a powerful message about making the best contribution you are capable of. It is a call upon everybody to figure out how exactly you are going to make the world a better place. What is your contribution? It is not enough to think that being on the correct side of issues is sufficient. There is real work to be done and everybody has a very specific place in this world. In the end, what matters most is not where you stand, but where you move.

I try not to be smug, but I seem to be ranting nevertheless. I have much work to do myself.

Technorati Tags: cluetrain, think-progress, conversation, farber, leadership, contribution

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