Given the plethora of premature scholarly readings about the current state of online business and media, The Cluetrain Manifesto offers an entertaining and taboo approach about the impact and trends of the Internet.  Collaborated by four subject matter experts of the online business community, the book reveals stories about historical milestones, and then contributes predictions of what else is to come.  It begins with 95 theses that are used as focal points throughout the book, providing a captivating intelligence that confronts bureaucratic companies about their outdated best practices that could prohibit a healthy revolution of the Internet business.  With quotations from contemporary figures and a business-like writing style, the book dives into topics that are worth exploring-specifically the current catastrophes of the Internet, the common voice of society about revolutions of the Internet, and indication of where society and business are heading in the online world.

The book introduces the current state of online revolutions and its impact on businesses as a complete disaster.  It begins with a review of the Internet history, particularly about the explosion of the World Wide Web and how it eventually influenced our economies in both positive and negative ways.  The birth of the Internet transformed the management and production of goods and mass media.  Thanks to the Internet, markets grew significantly, but also it provided a low barrier of entry for domestic and international competitors.  On the other hand, traditional forms of media and means of doing business began to shift, because expected results began to become inevitable.  It became obvious that you could no longer teach old tricks to dogs of business, and Locke made it clear that change is absolutely necessary.  Part of the change is acquiring a liberal outlook that empowers all people to exchange ideas rather than referring to established ways of running a business.  This can be achieved by standardizing an environment that is inclusive to open conversations and analysis of new thoughts.  However, the book does not suggest any baseline for this idea.  An all-encompassing environment is good, but without basic boundaries, ideas are not scalable to carry out their purpose.

Online voice has become more powerful than ever.  It is also easier to hear the common voice of societies because the Internet has created a culture that makes it easier for anyone and everyone to communicate and express opinions on a variety of topics.  Throughout the book, the authors make it evident that influential power has become disproportional between corporations and the average Joes.  If the big dogs don’t recognize the muscle behind viral marketing, they will one day become overruled in their old regime.  As the Internet grows, conversations will follow.  Specifically in the chapter “Markets Are Conversations”, corporations may ask why conversations are important, and it is because they contain the meat of what will become the marketplace.  While I see the benefits behind the value of conversations, it would be interesting to study the difference in impact among various industries.  For example, the book refers to retail examples how consumers can publicize a bad service or product and influence companies to accommodate to their needs.  It would be interesting to see specific results about how conversations have persuaded the government or education markets.

Conversations will carry on whether they like it or not, therefore, an action plan is needed for prepare for the future path of societies and businesses.  The book heavily focuses on what corporations should do to create a more inclusive environment and to conform to the revolutions of the Internet.  For example, they suggest specificities around intranets and work expectations.  Having an action plan is good, but what about preparing for unforeseen results?  Did the authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto think about back-up plans, in case a new phenomenon entered the online industry?  I enjoyed the book, and agreed with many of the arguments, but when foreseeing the future, it is important to prepare for the best and for the worst.

On the whole, The Cluetrain Manifesto is an appropriate read for all audiences who share an interest in any form of the digital media or online business industry, because it reviews best practices of the past, and how it needs to be modernized to adapt to current revolutions.  The authors present a conversational and witty voice that is amusing, while capturing key messages of the Internet and its impact on business and society.  They challenge the reader to question the big elephant that currently sits in the room of the World Wide Web, and to help individuals to recognize their potential contribution to the current and future revolution of business.  I would highly recommend all senior management of every corporation to read this book and become liberated to help create the path for the standardization of future business practices.  Without the realizations that The Cluetrain Manifesto has to offer, corporations may need to prepare for a big wake-up call to face the future business as we know it.  As a laissez-faire minded individual contributor, that might be not such a bad idea.

Analogies are one of the best ways to help describe a story, event, or situation through a different limelight.  I like using analogies because who will witness a review can be inevitable, and analogies can be left to the audience to interpret in their own way.  The best way to evaluate The Victorian Internet is to compare the contents of the book with life.  Resembling life, The Victorian Internet revealed the telegraph journey as a rollercoaster path of events.  While there were many triumphs over innovative success, there were also many moments of disappointment and failure.  The organization of the book truly enables to author to capture the strenuous and revolutionary path that has led to where communication stands today.

The general review of the book is composed of three pieces of knowledge.  Initially and most obviously, the book outlines the detailed life of the telegraph, from invention to final accomplishment.  Due to the length of time that it has taken for the telegraph to finally succeed, the author was able to portray the audacity of the many pioneers.  The potential lesson for today’s inventors is the resilience of the contributors to the telegraph.  Over hundreds of years, inventors came and went, but each person donated a piece to the telegraph puzzle.  For experts in digital media, it is important to remember that giving up is not an option, and that it is the process in which we search for definition that will help supply the puzzle of the today’s technological generation.

The second piece of knowledge is the abundant contributors to the telegraph history.  Aside from the numerous amounts of inventors who had direct impact on development, such as Nollet, Chappe, and Morse, there were other significant figures to learn.  For example, after the first connection between United States and United Kingdom, President Buchanan and Queen Victoria were able to exchange notes faster than ever before.  Although it was not apparent at the time, the telegraph played a huge role for international political relations.  To put this in modern context, we can think of the birth of user generated content.  The invention of numerous communication products has enabled average citizens to create a broader impact.  The telegraph made it easier to communicate business related information between two famous political figures.  Today, the internet makes it easier for anyone to communicate anything to the world.

The reality of victory and skepticism is the final take away from the book because it represents a true analogy of how patterns of history can be used to help predict the future.  The telegraph experienced bandwidth issues when the benefits (such a speed of communication) were first announced to the general public.  The hype created a situation where telegraph had more customers than the product could support.  The industry faced a knowledge gap between the consumers’ expectation of the product offerings and what the product could actually provide.  Take the mother wanting to send food to his son using the telegraph as an example.  Today, when new products are rolled out, demand increases exponentially as consumers are constantly craving the latest innovation.  Just like consumers of the past, current ones bite the bait of revolutionary propagandas, but will need clarification of the product benefits and harms to prevent under-delivery of expectations.

The author did a great job of translating the cynicism of those who questioned the capability and success of the telegraph.  While obscure, Standage used a quirky combination of sarcasm and witty humor to help paint the picture of the historical atmosphere.  When describing cryptography, he narrated the irony of unsuccessful hackers and cheaters of those who attempted to game the telegraph system.  Personally, the absurdity of these events is the commonality of the issues in current technology today.  Standage states, “Ever since people have invented things, other people have found ways to put those things to criminal use.”  Currently, in a world of new technology where regulation is nothing but a black hole and has yet to be determined, it is evident that history will always repeat itself.  Some things change, but some things never change.

While the book speaks specific to the history of communication industries, audiences of other trades could benefit from reading this book.  As mentioned before, the history of telegraph has impacted many different markets.  The telegraph revolution has changed the way our financial markets operate.  It has impacted efficiency of business through process and etiquette.  Interactions between political leaders have evolved over the years, leading to both positive and negative events of international history.  Interpersonal relationship has dramatically changed as societies have gained more control over how they exchange communication between people in their lives.  The Victorian Internet is a quality read as the specifics of the book may primarily focus on the uprising details of the telegraph, but the overall theme can be applied to a wide array of audience motivation.