About

This blog has been going since 2007, and was at Harvard.edu until 2023, when it moved to managed hosting at Pressable. It succeeds a blog I wrote from 1999 until 2007 and is mothballed here. (Before personal publishing was called blogging, I wrote on the web here.) On the social front, I am these:

  • https://journa.host/@dsearls
  • https://www.facebook.com/docsearls
  • http://twitter.com/2dsearls
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/docsearls
  • https://@dsearls.bsky.social
  • https://www.threads.net/@docsearls

A few among the many hats I wear:

In 2005 I received the Google/O’Reilly Open Source Award for Best Communicator.

In 2007 I was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in IT by eWeek.

Since I’m always working on too many things, and will only stop when I’m dead, I want my epitaph to read, “He was almost finished.”

I can be reached by email through doc at my last name dot com.


Copyright 2024 Doc Searls

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110 responses to “About”

  1. Doc-

    Just a few thoughts on the different weblogs. I noticed that Dan York split up his blogging from his LiveJournal site initially to a group of affiliated sites which all carry different types of content. I can understand that Dan wants to categorize and define his existence a bit and let readers find a specific resource to read. I think that’s difficult to maintain though over the long haul. For me, blogging with different services (hosted or self-maintained), getting used to changes in management of each, actually delivering said content and then remaining that committed has to be difficult if not daunting. I’ve been using the wordpress.com setup and actually moved older blog entries from wordpress.org there recently because the guys are the same at each place and they moved everything over for me. They also fixed a discrepancy for me in author name and a few other things.

    I applaud you moving to wordpress because I think its really good; but then again I setup drupal on my home webserver. So now I have two different places to publish my questionable content. I think you should focus on a single place to maintain personally and focus your energy on maintaining the writing there. Personally, it seems too difficult at least to me to have 4 different places which you could write to. At some point, with that many, one of them would take a hit. You’d either forget to update the code and get overrun with spammers, the actual blog would languish with no new content, or you would decide its too much trouble.

    While I laud Dan York and his efforts to build categories of blogging; I think you should have a presence or two that you feel comfortable maintaining and owning and not let it go the other way.

    Just my thoughts though…

  2. […] Doc Searls muda su famoso Doc Searls Weblog: Welcome pilgrims [vía] [technorati]  [del.icio.us]  [menéame]  [fresqui] […]

  3. […] Doc Searls, co-author of the The Cluetrain Manifesto, in talking about the new ecology of news writes:   …the larger trend to watch over time is the inevitable decline in advertising support for journalistic work, and the growing need to find means for replacing that funding — or to face the fact that journalism will become largely an amateur calling, and to make the most of it. […]

  4. […] Doc Searls, one of the writers of the Cluetrain Manifesto, asks good question – “Can marketing be conversational?” I think the answer depends on the company, and a lot of companies just take it for granted, but I definitely think its a good question for them to ask themselves. […]

  5. […] Doc Searl, famoso editor di Linux Journal, una delle più lette e famose riviste dedicate al mondo GNU/Linux nel mondo, ha provato a stilare la classifica dei 40 migliori blog su Linux che ogni utente appassionato dovrebbe avere tra i suoi Feed RSS per rimanere sempre sempre aggiornato sulle ultime novità provenienti dalla comunità. E quale migliore fonte se non i blog di coloro che contribuiscono a far crescere, in prima persona, il pinguino? […]

  6. […] Doc Searl, famoso editor di Linux Journal, una delle più lette e famose riviste dedicate al mondo GNU/Linux nel mondo, ha provato a stilare la classifica dei 40 migliori blog su Linux che ogni utente appassionato dovrebbe avere tra i suoi Feed RSS per rimanere sempre sempre aggiornato sulle ultime novità provenienti dalla comunità. […]

  7. […] Boyd Renee Blodgett Hugh Macleod Doc Searls Robert […]

  8. […] announced our new advisory board (or our VC Rick has). The board is Renee Blodgett, Robert Scoble, Doc Searls, Stowe Boyd and Hugh Maceod – what a great […]

  9. […] Doc Searls, writer, university researcher and advisor (including Technorati). […]

  10. […] Doc Searls’s response: “The current policy is freaking insane! It’s utterly inconsistent with BT’s strategy, and I can’t understand why anyone would want to come and work here… Maybe we ought to go and storm the head office or something.” […]

  11. Doc, I’m trying to reach you to hand-off the techcrunch ticket for this evening. My only “direct” connection to you is with Twitter, which is suffering more than usual this morning. If you get this, email me at jack at da4 dot com.

  12. […] was interviewing and doing video. I also talked to Nick Carr, Francois Gossieaux, Halley Suitt, Doc Searls, and Wade […]

  13. […] of what sparked such a self discovery was Doc Searls post entitled, Making Rules, II, it’s an entertaining and meticulously presented post that I […]

  14. […] connected with great thinkers and leaders who made themselves available for our questions and ideas, and who took the time to explain complex […]

  15. Omni! I loved that magazine, I’m bookmarking your site just for that. 🙂

    You have an impressive resume. Keep it moving!

  16. Hello Doc,

    I’d like to work with you on a story about the state of American media and how it affects the efficacy our democracy. I can offer you an interview with acclaimed author and media scholar Jeffrey Scheuer (author of Sound Bite Society), to speak about American journalism overall from J-schools to non-profit options.

    Scheuer has a new book, The Big Picture: Why Democracies Need Journalistic Excellence, which makes this a very timely story, and which provides an insightful look into the state of American media. I’ve enclosed a press release for the book, which includes several talking points that would lead to a rich story.

    Please review the enclosed press release, and contact me if you have any questions, would like to receive a sample copy of The Big Picture, or would like to set up an interview with Jeffrey.

    Regards,
    Drew


    Drew Tybus
    Tybus PR
    DrewT@TybusPR.com
    Office: (646)248-6817
    Mobile: (973)229-5425
    IM: Drewsezz
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    CAN JOURNALISM BE SAVED?

    Stop the Presses (Please): America’s Got a

    Serious Journalistic Integrity Problem and It’s

    Fracturing Our Democratic Foundation

    New Book by Journalism Scholar Jeffrey Scheuer Examines Why Democracy Needs Journalistic Excellence and What Must Be Done

    New York, NY—November 14, 2007—Is high-quality journalism a ghetto within American culture? What if journalists confined their labors to documenting the love lives and love children of celebrities? Could the very foundation of American democracy collapse due to shaky journalistic integrity? Enter Jeffrey Scheuer—media scholar, philosopher of journalism and author of the highly-acclaimed study of television and politics The Sound Bite Society.

    In his most recent book, The Big Picture: Why Democracies Need Journalistic Excellence, Scheuer takes thought-provoking look at the interplay between journalism and democracy in America. And it couldn’t come at a more timely and decisive moment. Media consolidation persists; the press continues to conflate news with infotainment; citizens are getting more of their civic knowledge from bloggers with relaxed standards of credibility; media conglomerates are increasingly influenced by the possibility of profit rather than the imperative of truth; and, unfortunately, more and more journalists are learning their craft at J-schools, a historically checkered institution, which Scheuer believes could be abolished altogether.

    In exploring the labyrinth of media and democracy, Scheuer follows in the footsteps of Walter Lippman, John Dewey, Marshall McLuhan, Neil Postman, and James W. Carey as he examines a host of heady topics with agility, foresight and considerable intellectual heft. Scheuer, whose criticism and commentary has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and many other publications and academic journals, brings the reader along for a philosophical tour of journalism, along the way getting a glimpse of both excellence and mediocrity. In the end, Scheuer delivers a more complete, colorful and, well, bigger picture of how the profession needs to change in order to ensure a tradition of democratic excellence in America today.

    “Scheuer brilliantly makes the case for journalism as well as anyone ever has, explains its demise, and discusses what we need to do to address the crisis effectively,” Robert W. McChesney.

    Pieces of THE BIG PICTURE

    q The Press Is “The Weak Slat Under The Bed Of Democracy.”

    So said A.J. Liebling. Why did he say that, and what does it mean? What’s the press doing under that bed, and how can that slat be strengthened?

    q What Is The Central Paradox Of Journalism And Democracy?

    There are several, but the main one is that democracies need journalism – but can’t make it. Democracy is not a “machine that would go of itself.” It runs on knowledge. Democratic societies are only as good as their journalism. It’s a force multiplier. But democracies can do little to bring about good journalism, at least without citizen activism and philanthropy.

    q What Is The Trinity Of Journalistic Excellence?

    Truth, Context, and Independence. All good journalism must aim to provide true accounts of recent events. It must put them in context: explain what caused them, what they mean, how important they are, etc. And independence guarantees, not that this will be done well, but at least that it will be free of outside influence, particularly the influence of power and profit.

    q Objectivity Is Like A Neutron

    It’s the tiny core of choice-less truths that we rely on: baseball scores, closing stock prices, the capital of New Mexico, and the identity of the President of the United States. Not much more. It’s those few things we cannot change or perceive differently or make choices about.

    q Change Journalism Schools – Or Close Them!

    Tear down that wall between real and pretend newsrooms! J-schools should focus on a) academic expertise relevant to individual journalists’ needs or ambitions and b) core courses in media law and ethics, media history, media criticism, etc. Practical experience should be gained on the job, through the campus media, or via internships – not by taking up resources of universities to meet imaginary deadlines.

    q Citizen Journalism Is Not The Answer

    The best journalism in the world is meaningless – like a tree falling in a forest that no one hears – unless there are media-literate citizens who are educated and motivated to use it, to become informed and active citizens. In this sense, good journalism comes from citizens – but it isn’t necessarily “citizen journalism.” We still need professionals to guide and inform us, whether in schools or in news media. Sure, send a picture from your cell phone – but no home schooling please!

    q The Task Force That Did Nothing.

    President Lee C. Bollinger convened an elite Task Force at Columbia in 2002 to study the direction of journalism education. In 2003, they issued a non-report (a brief summary). Little else came of it. We can do better than that!

    About The Author

    Jeffrey Scheuer is the author of The Sound Bite Society: Television and the American Mind (1999), a Choice “Outstanding Academic Title.” His commentary and criticism has appeared in many newspapers as well as in Dissent, Nieman Reports, the Potomac Review, the Gettysburg Review, and other publications. He has taught as an adjunct professor at New York University’s Department of Culture and Communication, and edits a series on “Democracy and the News” for Praeger. Scheuer holds advanced degrees in political thought (the London School of Economics & Political Science) and journalism (the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism), and lives in New York. Mr. Scheuer’s Web site is at http://www.jscheuer.com.

    PUBLISHED BY ROUTLEDGE 2007

    ISBN 0-415-97618-9

    MEDIA CONTACTS:

    The Morris + King Company

    Drew Tybus/Justin Kazmark
    212-561-7450/212-561-7466
    drew.tybus@morris-king.com
    justin.kazmark@morris-king.com

    ###

  17. I loved the comment.

    Your like the only person in the world that wrote about me, wow, and a Harvard Man to boot,

    Thanks for the great press,

    I can’t wait to see you BIG ZERO BOOK! HA HA!

    To clarify, it’s not about me making money at AdSense,it’s about normal people making money from AdSense to drive the new economy.

    Thanks again,

    Cliff

  18. Welcome, Cliff. My pleasure. Just added a pointer your comment at the post.

  19. Hi Doc,

    How do I send you info on our website you may be interested in looking at?

    I am a bit concerned about putting the full blurb here as I may be accused of spamming and I am a good person 🙂

    Let me know,

    Thanks

  20. Richard, you’ve cleared the spam filter. So, either post it as a comment to one of my posts, or send an email to doc at searls dot com.

  21. […] the line up (it’s made up of: Robert Scoble, Hugh MacLeod, Renee Blodgett, Stowe Boyd, and Doc Searls if you don’t remember).  Mark MacLeod of StartupCFO has a post that I think every […]

  22. Pleased to see people continue to see the ongoing relevance of the Cluetrain Manifesto. It becomes more and more evident everyday. Long Live The Manifesto!

    Thank you.

  23. I loved this article.I bookmarked already.
    Thank You Doc

  24. I loved this article.I bookmarked already.
    Thank You Doc
    Sorry i made a mistake with my web site url

  25. […] I recall: -Doc Searls himself! Waw. Great to see the writer of the Cluetrain Manifesto in real life. And despite what […]

  26. It would be interesting to learn more about your work with vendor relationship management.

  27. […] couldn’t resist picking up the phone and talking to Doc, especially when he came “back at me” after my Real A-Listers post. Take a look at what […]

  28. […] It was sold out and our one year anniversary. All invited speakers said yes including the headliner Doc Searls. The Sunday before we had a speaker bbq at our house which was great great. A lot of work but […]

  29. […] real-world, “actually visit in person, have dinner with the wives” friends with Doc Searls who knows – well, pretty much anybody worth knowing in Web World , including Scoble. But, No. […]

  30. […] [later…] Cliff, clearly a good-natured guy, posted a response here. […]

  31. Doc Searls, I’m trying to find information on Grace Apgar, and your blog keeps coming up with pictures of her. I have two Toby Jugs with her name on the bottom of them and can’t find any informaton on line, except that the NJ Historical Society has one of her toby jugs in their collection. Can you give me more information on your aunt?
    Thank you.

  32. Doc Searls you work is great and I also hope you will not stop till you die, You have a lot of good information, Thank you

  33. Doc great blog, write more about IT and technology, after all you are one of the most influential IT people around

  34. […] a regular basis. The first I found was Kevin Kelly, whom I may write about another time. Another is Don Searls, who is senior editor of the Linux Journal (Linux is a computer operating system), and among other […]

  35. hmm just want to know… how you get all knowledges and how much you spent time everyday before you become expert like now?

    cos’ I very interest with IT, specially for internet literature like blogging, SEO, Internet marketing etc…

    but I’m not expert like you .. please advice 😀

  36. […] particularly like what Doc Searls has written on his blog about conversational […]

  37. […] forthcoming, and so I’ll withold a more egocentric report until they arrive. In the meantime, Doc Searls’ photos of the event should provide ample […]

  38. Doc,

    Love to be back in touch, contact me if you can, need your help on a little company in a new market

  39. […] wondered why some companies were blogging and some weren’t. One theory he and fellow tech expert Doc Searls were toying with was if companies started blogging as a last ditch effort to save a sinking ship. […]

  40. […] you read the latest blogs by Windchimes, Doc Searls or Brian Solis or the Cluetrain manifesto you’re think, probably not; and here’s […]

  41. […] like Doc Searls headlines about branding: “It’s gonna get gooier” based on a quote from Steve Lohr in the […]

  42. Methinks you’d be extremely bored if you had just one career role – given how adeptly and comfortably you’ve handled the variety thus far.

  43. […] DOC SEARLS – Internet Culture – Daily […]

  44. […] as Dynaweb are prepared to sell user data, then the future for true anonymity looks problematic. As Doc Searle said in this blog posting, We live in a time when personalized advertising is legitimized on the […]

  45. […] of The Cluetrain Manifesto, Fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, etc. and Susanna Fox (@SusannahFox), Associate Director, Digital Strategy at Pew Internet & American […]

  46. […] of The Cluetrain Manifesto, Fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, etc. and Susanna Fox (@SusannahFox), Associate Director, Digital Strategy at Pew Internet & American […]

  47. […] patient as platform and “point of integration” If you want some very good reading, read Doc Searls article on e-patients.net AND read all the associated comments. Agree or disagree on the direction […]

  48. […] particularly like what Doc Searls has written on his blog about conversational […]

  49. […] of The Cluetrain Manifesto, Fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, etc. and Susanna Fox (@SusannahFox), Associate Director, Digital Strategy at Pew Internet & American […]

  50. I’m not so into twittering myself, but apparently half of the world is. What is more interesting to me it the technology behind it, A proprietary solution is alway a dependent one… Maybe if there would be a twitter framework based on torrents. Say you could launch a torrent with you first tweet and after that your new tweets are delivered via the same torrent by torrent clients around the world. There would be a ‘cloud’ of people following/offering your tweets, And people could follow your tweets from one general proprietary free source. You only need a website to host the torrents, but they can be distributed even by email…There may be a time delay problem but as interest grows also the availability of your tweets grows. And it’s completely proprietary free!

    Just a idea, maybe there was already thought about this… I never heard about it, and it seems interesting to me…

    Greetings,
    Geert

  51. Once again love the content and ideas you have to offer. Big revelation of reading Cluetrain this year , I was only a kid when it originally came out. Many of us were thinking this as we were weighed down with the corporate cereal packet toys or yo yos (actually coke yo yo was alright) but you felt your identiity as consumer was stolen or silent.

    The Linux culture is big here in Europe too where I live so again thanks, I know you did not design but thanks anyhow. Hope the listening and conversational marketplace is alive this year. Hope this is a year of conversations.

    Dara Bell

  52. […] What Would Google Do? y Doc Searls, coautor del clásico Cluetrain Manifesto y actualmente, entre otras muchas cosas, fellow del Berkman Center for Internet and Society de la Universidad de […]

  53. […] Doc Searls, Berkman Center Fellow at Harvard and senior editor for the Linux Journal. Searls is a journalist with experience in print, radio and Internet. He also has professional experience in marketing, PR and advertising. Searls was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in IT by eWeek and is an open source guy and co-author of “The Cluetrian Manifesto,” a Web site that was adapted into a best-selling book in 2000. […]

  54. Hello,

    I am a student at Cal Poly Pomona in California, taking a website design class.

    My current assignment requires a “travel” website and I decided to build it for Baker, California.

    I would like to use your photo “DumontDunes.jpg” that I found in the Wikimedia Commons for the assignment. I cannot determine your attribution requirements. Please advise the proper for of attribution for the use of this picture.

    The usage is strictly non-commercial and the website will exist only until mid-June of 2010.

    You are welcome to reference my class website at http://www.csupomona.edu/~ronaldj/cis311/home.htm to review the work I have already done for this class. As you can see from the site quality, I would not qualify as a commercial developer.

    Thank you for your time,
    Ron Johnson

    1. Ron, Please feel free to use any of my potos any way you like. They’re all Creative Commons licensed to permit that anyway.

      Doc

  55. Doc:

    I heard you speak at SBCC in 2004 on blogs, wiki and pings and soon after started my own blog. Now I’ve even gone and written a book on the subject (for healthcare leaders) and have you to thank for getting me started. So,

    Thank you, Doc!

    http://www.ache.org/pubs/redesign/productcatalog.cfm?pc=WWW1-2152

  56. You might be interested in my blog on The Record, formerly of Hackensack, N.J. I came across your entry on Borg’s Woods and Maywood.
    Cheers,
    Victor Sasson

    eyeonthrecord.blogpsot.com

  57. […] you don’t know who Doc Searles is, take a quick peek at his list of “projects.” There’s not much he hasn’t done, and if anyone’s entitled to talk about this stuff, he […]

  58. Hi Doc,

    Could you please also publish The Cluetrain Manifesto
    on http://changethis.com/. Just the “95 theses” with your ‘plug’ about the whole book.
    I think it would spread there.
    Oliver.

  59. “He was almost finished.” – Man, that’s a good one! You sure have lots of achievements during your life time… 100 Most Influential People in IT. Wow! Although I cannot find your Twitter profile; someone mentioned here. Do you happen to have one because I would like to follow you? Keep up the good work. 😉

  60. I am learning the art of blogging as some of your other readers are doing and it is always nice to find someone doing something inspiring in this arena as inspiration for me. I love writing the content, but the IT side of it can be overwhelming! Thanks for your inspiration and knowledge.

  61. […] Group’s Connected Enterprise 2011 event, I had the chance to meet and discuss these issues with David ‘Doc’ Searls, author, speaker, Internet luminary, and a former Fellow from Harvard University’s Berkman Center […]

  62. Your epitaph says it all. I dread mine might end up a variation on the same theme. I’m also working on writing a book, which seems one of the slowest processes I’ve ever gotten involved with. I sure hope to finish it before that epitaph overtakes me…

  63. […] Benkler of Harvard Law School, Alex “Sandy” Petland from MIT Human Dynamics Lab, Doc Searls, and Steve Ressler founder of Govloop. A number of other leaders will be hosts of the event: Dion […]

  64. […] Doc Searls summed up a recent piece on his blog with this : Here’s where I’m going with this: The […]

  65. […] Doc Searls, for whom I have the deepest respect, summed up a recent piece on his blog with this : Here’s […]

  66. […] of the Cluetrain Manifesto, Doc Searls, advocated for interoperability across platforms and the ability to take your social graph with […]

  67. Your Gilmore Gang link is now going to a wordpress demo site. Looks like GG moved here.

    http://www.techcrunch.tv/show/gillmor-gang

  68. Edson Luís Rosa Avatar
    Edson Luís Rosa

    Hello Doc! Nice to meet you. I think you are a great guy. I’m from Brazil and, at this moment, I’m finishing the translation into Portuguese of your book titled “The Intention Economy”, under demand of a brazilian publishing company (Editora Campus) from São Paulo. Congratulations, Doc, you’ve written a very interesting and complex book, which signals your total support for the open source moviment and for the freedom everywhere on the business and networked world today. I’ve learned a lot with you, thanks!

  69. Loved your piece in the WSJ on Saturday about Vendor Relationship Management (and wrote about it for Brick Meets Click). Retail fans of CRM need to not get caught out like the guys who couldn’t imagine housing prices might decline. CRM is fine, but not the only way the retail world will work. Am also writing about Big Data these days, and totally laughed out loud at your wondering why people would be pleased to be hunted down through their data so they could be targeted for capture! Prey? or Customer? Hmmm . . . .

  70. Too much to comment here, but for a start… I came across the VRM project quite recently when it was brought to my attention in a meeting. My partners and I are building what I can now call a VRM service (trovi.co, check out the site if you like, make comments, suggestions, join in…) but wouldn’t have before that meeting. We have similarities. As a 20 year vet of the ad world – who founded & ran his own agency – I have completely flipped in the last 7 years from what I call a “coercion” economy to a personally empowered economy. No point going into what a mess ad revenue-based commerce has made of the web, including search. In a world where people now mainly want to find what they want where and when they want it, on their terms, and mainly locally, the ad revenue driven model absolutely fails, and, more importantly, necessarily has to, on its terms. Because, simplistically put, in order to send you a “targeted” ad they have to work in the erroneous world of demographics and then privacy invasion – tracking, so-called “relevance”, etc. But even all that cannot deliver an active buyer customer to the merchant who has want they want. So we flipped it on its head, put the customer in charge, and charge a miniscule offer fee to the vendors to put their service/product in front of a real customer who really wants to buy what they have now (or whenever the customer specifies). What’s interesting, as a startup, is to see, not only how difficult this actually rather simple (if you’re willing to paradigm shift for a second) concept is to the ad-rev driven folks – which is every major search & community app – but how difficult it is for the angel/VC community to comprehend as well. They all want to know immediately about capturing customers, competitive barriers (IP protection, etc) and profits – the normal trappings of a “castle corporation”. We talk about open collaboration with those who would use trovi, what I call a “permeable membrane” company that invites the creativity of the world, and our 3BL giving structure that empowers community members to create, vote on, and participate in projects that give-back money from trovi powers. With most money folks, I don even go there…it’s a new world to those to whom it’s a new world. And to many, particularly established money, it’s the same old world – they can’t even see the new economy building itself far from their control. I’m delighted to discover you, Doc, and the VRM movement. Thanks!

  71. […] Doc Searls, the undisputed godfather of VRM, defines 4th parties in his book “The Intention Economy: When customers take charge” as those: “whose interests are aligned with those of the customer or user or that act as an agent or fiduciary for the customer or user.” […]

  72. […] para dejar el debate más abierto, un par de opiniones sobre el tema de Doc Searls, couator del archiconocido Manifiesto […]

  73. […] of channels increasing, attention spans decreasing. Back in 2008, Cluetrain Manifesto author Doc Searles dubbed the fragmenting internet landscape, The […]

  74. […] of Cluetrain were Doc Searls, one of the key movers behind Linux, and Chris Locke, a wonderfully outrageous blogger who […]

  75. […] Doc Searls, Open Source and Internet impresario, and co-author of the seminal book and website, […]

  76. […] also kind of curious if Doc Searls has started using this feature yet considering what he said in a recent blog post about liking […]

  77. The Linux culture is big here in Europe too where I live so again thanks, I know you did not design but thanks anyhow. Hope the listening and conversational marketplace is alive this year. Hope this is a year of conversations.

  78. […] the passive recipient of advertising. The term for this shift, created by academic and commentator Doc Searls, is the Intention Economy. In the Intention Economy consumers take responsibility for holding […]

  79. Hi,

    What if the internet was a real marketplace?

    After reading The Cluetrain Manifesto I was left with that one question.

    What would happen if we all started buying things from each other?
    Basically everyone has skills and knowledge that can be translated into electronic form, be it music, text, pictures, video, etc. Everyone is also on the market for news, entertainment, education and a myriad of apps to make life easier or funnier. Anyone can open up a stall (web shop) and put their wares on show. Why aren’t we already buying, selling and discussing directly with each other?

    Here someone will argue for the web’s free nature and how it’s all about sharing and not for profit and blah, blah, blah. Frankly, and excuse my bluntness, file sharing is for the filthy rich. It’s the worst kind of capitalist exploitation of the little guy and it turns us all into slave owners. Metallica wouldn’t be where they are today if they had been forced to share their music for free when they were still playing in someone’s garage. File sharing kills.

    Now, if there happens to be a decent metal band in your neighborhood and you think the world should know, don’t send me a file with their best songs, send me a link to their website so I can BUY a song directly from the band. I’m also on the market for a daily news podcast from Burma/Myanmar. It doesn’t matter if the English is a little shaky, just as long they tell me the truth. Would also enjoy a travel show from China, what would a Chinese person go see in their own country? Do it in Chinese, I bet there is some ex-pat in LA or Canada, who can subtitle it. Peruvian woolen sweaters, anyone there have a knitting pattern for sale?

    I would happily trade with the people of the world directly. Every dollar spent goes straight to regional street level economies where it does the most good in the shortest time. How many private content producers it takes to upgrade a Delhi slum into suburbia? I don’t know how to calculate it, but there is surely going to be an app for that.

    A real market place has room for wholesalers (corporations), farmers (us) and free samples and gifts (funny cat videos, all the Harlemshakes, memes and educational works). Imagine the resulting conversation. Whoa…

    The reason I picked up The Cluetrain Manifesto in the first place is research into my BBA thesis, Private web shops and Taxation (in Finland). It isn’t that the authorities here are in any way stopping anyone from making a living on the Internet, but the outdated rules and regulations are so discouraging and out of touch with the real world. Only the most tenacious manage to wade through all the legal speak and still have a will to live afterwards. So we aren’t setting up stalls and flogging winter survivalist guides to the rest of the world. Yet.
    What’s stopping the rest of you?

    Oh, why pay taxes? Someone has to, the corporations definitely aren’t interested in the easiest kind of social responsibility. So what if…

    Best Regards and a big Thank You for a very thought provoking book.
    Eija Honkanen, Mrs

    1. Thanks, Eija.

      Lots has happened since we wrote Cluetrain’s first edition, more than fourteen years ago — and also since we wrote the expanded 10th Anniversary edition four years ago. Chris Locke has written two books since then, David Weinberger three and me one. Mine, The Intention Economy: When Customers Take Charge, looks toward the possibility you open here. Once we really are in charge, there’s no reason we have to always go to and through governments and large companies to do business on the Net.

  80. We just started our first project: Drivemotion Animator (driver-to-driver communication system, fully programmable)
    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/411400053/drivemotiontm-animator-the-drivers-communication-d
    What should we do to spread it out fast?

    1. Well, this seems like a low percentage shot.

  81. […] Doc Searls, a fellow at UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Information Technology & Society and well-known blogger is credited for coining the phrase, "Markets are conversations," which is the first thesis in The Cluetrain Manifesto, which he co-wrote in 1999. […]

  82. […] Doc Searls, a fellow at UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Information Technology & Society and well-known blogger is credited for coining the phrase, "Markets are conversations," which is the first thesis in The Cluetrain Manifesto, which he co-wrote in 1999. […]

  83. Hi Doc,

    I am writing from Bangalore, India.

    A couple of days ago, I bought your book “The Intention Economy” and have been reading it since then.

    I represent a group of people who have been working on a project for the past few months and which is likely to get ready by the end of June 2015. I now realize that our project, which is specific to one industry, is aligned to the thoughts expressed in your book.

    Would you or any of your associates be interested in associating with us? It could be a win-win for both sides. For us, it will provide insights that we might have missed and for you it will be an opportunity to see consumers get in charge.

    It is a very interesting project.

    I am covered by an NDA so am unable to disclose further details. However, if it interest you, I will be happy to share details of our group members as well as my personal references, both in USA & India.

    With best wishes,

    Atul Upadhya

  84. Hi Doc,

    I am actually writing because I found one of your old posts through a google search. It’s about magazine subscriptions. I’m considering subscribing to The New Yorker for the print and digital and I’m trying to figure out the price after the 12 weeks for $12. Unfortunately the screenshot that you put in your post is broken so I can’t see the price after the promotion. This is one of the few google results that might answer my question. I was hoping you could respond and tell me what they were charging you for the digital plus print edition.

    Thank you,
    Benjamin

    1. I’m traveling now, at an airport with thin connectivity and about to board a plane. I don’t recall the details, but I’m pretty sure I ended up calling the New Yorker, and that got me the best deal available.

  85. Doc, I’m severely cyber-impaired; I really don’t grok most of what you’re talking about on this forum…..but you and I share some interests, it seems.
    Like radio. I love it that you can rattle off the the wattages of the various ‘public’ radio stations and how the terrain affects reception etc. Have you ever experienced ‘Summerland Syndrome’? And, yes, I think NPR saturation is a serious problem (weren’t we discussing that?). It’d be fun to chat sometime.

    Daveed

    1. Thanks, Daveed. I know a ridiculous amount of radio and TV engineering data for somebody who isn’t an actual engineer. A lot of it is like knowing about steam power or incandescent light. It’s old school stuff, on the verge of becoming obsolete. Sorry to say I don’t know what Summerland Syndrome is. I’m also not sure NPR has saturated anything, but I can guess what you mean. Where do you live?

  86. We live in Alameda, in the San Francisco Bay area roughly opposite Hunter’s Point, apparently the outermost reaches of KDFC FM’s 90.3 signal (formerly KUSF). In the past two weeks the 90.3 signal is barely audible at 6:30 a.m. but seems to come up to normal by mid-day. After a frustrating hour on the internet searching for an explanation (power outage? weather? signal interference?) I found your history of the evolution of the USC network, which at least gives us a signal shopping list.

    Question: are you aware of a source of information about what’s going on currently with the 90.3 signal?

  87. Hey Doc!

    I’m a close follower of your work and recently wrote a piece of research on VRM for a student journal. I think it’s a very cool piece of tech and very inspiring for an array of industries and myself.

    I work in advertising in London and am keen to start gathering insights on the possible connection between VRM technologies and the execution of GDPR as to me it seems rather obvious. I wonder if you would have any time to give your views on some questions around this area.

    For example are these conversations happening at a macro level? In Europe we are heavily planning for the implications of GDPR but what does this mean for the US market and our ability to exchange data with them? From my understanding the US is moving in the opposite direction of Europe in terms of data management, do you foresee that this will cause trading issues? Ultimately what is the big role that VRM technologies will play in giving users control over their data and customization and what effect do you think it will have on the advertising industry or the ability of brands to connect with their audience?

    I read through your blog post around good news for publishers and advertisers fearing GDPR. I would really love to understand the technical aspects behind this enforcement and the role that VRM tech can play.

    I would love to keep in touch and get your views on all this. If it is an area that interests you than I would love to discuss this topic in more detail.

    Best wishes for everything that you do!
    Regards,
    M

  88. Christina N. Lennon Avatar
    Christina N. Lennon

    First time to see your blog, the one on Montecito mudslide.

    Thank you!

  89. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d11dd89a72594d54a3b377d9978f7765&extent=-13331537.0594%2C4076617.8896%2C-13292401.3009%2C4101765.6719%2C102100

    I wonder if you have seen this map, which incidentally shows the Thomas fire perimeter as of December 26th? How was that perimeter established, by backfires?

    Thank you for your work and this forum.

  90. Just visited your flickr page and say you have over 52k photos uploaded. Wow, that is amazing and it’s great to see that you have images from 2004.

    There is one image taken of the flowers on the ceiling at Bellagio Las Vegas that bought very fond memories of their buffer breakfast. As a Londoner, i had not seen anything like that here and wanted to taste everything.

  91. Woow, I had grow up reading your articles.
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    I’m a Man today and work on antiques field, and manage this website https://antiquariatoo.com; please give me your feedback and, please don’t stop to write.
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