The Cluetrain Manifesto
Year First Appeared
1999
Creator
Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger
The Cluetrain Manifesto is a 1999 web manifesto, later expanded into a 2000 book, by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger arguing that “markets are conversations” and that the Internet transforms business by enabling authentic, two‑way communication between people and companies.
Importance in Internet Culture
The manifesto sparked the rise of corporate blogs, customer forums, and conversational marketing, foreshadowing the social‑media era by years. Its theses reframed marketing as a dialogue, pushing firms toward human, participatory communication online.
Interesting Fact
The 95‑theses format deliberately mirrors Martin Luther’s Ninety‑Five Theses, a fact highlighted by scholars. In 2015 the co‑authors released a follow‑up “New Clues” under a CC0 dedication, encouraging free reuse and remixing.