Cluetrain stalled at the platform

So it’s been ten years. For a few years, I was like a latter day Karl Marx scouring the newspapers looking for evidence that the revolution was underway. Now, I don’t bother anymore. There’s lots of marginal stuff, many organisations that are dipping their toes in the water. But for the most part, like say 99%, corporate communications is still about ‘traditional’ PR, advertising and marketing.

Even when social media is used, it is more for broadcast purposes and it’s one way. The Obama campaign used social media very effectively but it did not let the great unwashed inside the policy tent. They were happy for the social media participants to help with the sell but not with the product. Obama adopted a thoroughly contemporary corporate approach to social media.

Corporate blogs are largely adjuncts to PR efforts, they have not wrought a great change in corporate communications culture. Ditto for facebook and twitter. When organisations get interested in social media, they mostly want to know how it will meet some existing measure (leads, sales, reputation index). That is, they approach social media from inside the box. They are not looking for change.

The breakthrough hasn’t happened. We are still waiting for that revolutionary moment. In the meantime, we have hope. Good luck to all the social media footsoldiers out there spruiking the revolution. You have to admire the faith that drives them to talk as if it has happened.

Maybe the change will come. It will be good for all of us. But I don’t see it happening. The reality still is that when an organisation talks to you they aren’t looking for a conversation, they just want to sell you something.