As I’ve probably stated too many times, I have a great deal of admiration for The Cluetrain Manifesto , a brief, brilliant book whose four articulate authors describe why marketing is a conversation and in so doing, set the foundation for the current blogging/social networking revolution.
I’ve come to know and admire two of the authors, Doc Searls and David Weinberger . Both contain a combination of passion, vision and humor. To me, the word "Cluetrain" is a brand that stands for something thoughtful and classy.
The other day I sent a friend to Amazon to buy the book. Instead, he typed in: www.cluetrainmanifesto.com and found himself at a smarmy online discount store where you can buy just about anything—timeshares, debt consolidation, contact lenses, used cars even a dating service. If you google cluetrainmanifesto, the bait-and-switch site comes in 6th.
“Have you seen this,” I asked Weinberger, and he had not. After issuing a fairly mild expletive, he took a calmer, higher ground than I would take. “I'm not bothered by the piracy of the name. They're not pretending to be the authors. So, shame on us for not taking the url first,” he said.
It seems to me that "Cluetrain Manifesto" is a brand, and that brand has earned credibility. From my perspective, the site owners are tacky schmucks trying to steal someone else's well-earned reputation.
It reminds me once again that the issue of intellectual property remains more complex than we Hollywood-haters sometimes make it out to be.
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