January 26, 2005
feasting
Looks like my Malaysia trip is coming together nicely. Plan to be there by March 1st, though I might leave earlier.
The main purpose is to leverage The Hughtrain into a very sophisticated marketing product. Got some interesting stuff happening. Watch this space etc.
When this website first started getting heavily read, I noticed that it was starting to get a lot more attention from the Pacific Rim than from the Atlantic Rim. I noticed more and more of my e-mail exchanges were starting to come from there, less and less from the Atlantic-Rim places I had lived in previously.
In retrospect it doesn't surprise me; Cluetrain was a product of the US West Coast, so are a lot of the brands that really helped culturally define the last 20 years- Microsoft, Apple, Nike, Starbucks etc. And let us not forget the rise of the Asian economies during this time.
I started finding myself suddenly clicking with these people's ideas, far more than the thoughts of the Anglo-Saxon corporate world I grew up around.
Having spent the last 5 years in "Atlantic Rim" places like New York, London, Edinburgh, Paris etc, I've more and more started noticing well-entrenched cultural resistance to change. "Preservation Agents", I called them, as opposed to "Change Agents" etc.
Preservation Agents are simply not interested in The Hughtrain. And knowing what I know about my readers, I doubt they're very interested in what you're doing, either.
If the ratio of Preservation Agents in a culture exceeds a certain critical mass, it makes it far more difficult to get new ideas off the ground. And the people who are interested in the same things as me, our business is all about new ideas. It's all about cultural re-invention. Change, not Preservation.
On a larger scale, any culture with a top-heavy ratio of Preservation Agents is basically dying. And there's nothing any amount of "creative thinking" can do about it. Creativity is just there, not to make things better for everybody, but as a tasty, life-enhancing dessert to be feasted upon by a lucky few.
The good news is, I believe the world is changing for the better. The bad news is, a lot of people I care about are going to be left behind.
They don't want to hear about it until after the feast runs out.
[BONUS LINK:] Cluetrain/Hughtrain encounters ground-level cultural resistance:
"Does it matter to you at all that there are honest people just trying to do an honest day's labor to feed and house and educate their families inside the companies you want to destroy? Truly, I'd like to understand this. Do you not get the connection or do you not care that gunning after companies is gunning people's jobs? Is this just "war" and that makes "collateral damage" okay?"Shannon posted a much more considered reply that I would have. My days of waiting for people to "get it" are over. Posted by hugh macleod at January 26, 2005 12:02 PM | TrackBack
I think it could also be argued that collectivist cultures (which are more likely to be around the Pacific Rim) are going to be generally more receptive to opportunities to increase dialogue whereas individualistic cultures (more likely to be on the Atlantic) are a bit put off by the idea of recognizing we don't live in isolation. (VERY basic overview on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist)
You might be interested in a comparative study of trust formation in the different societies that was done at the University of Hawaii (http://marketing.byu.edu/htmlpages/ccrs/proceedings99/huff.htm). After all, your market for something to believe in relies on trust in that belief, right?
Posted by: Joe Dombroski at January 26, 2005 3:04 PMOy the hyperbole!
re: the blogcard
Ideas are interesting, the people having them are secondarily interesting.
Brands are symbolic and a good symbol can inspire the right kind of mind.
purpose is what purpose does.
Cheers.
Damn, Mamagiggle, I wish it WAS hyperbole ;-)
Posted by: hugh macleod at January 26, 2005 4:24 PMone thing for sure .. you'll definately be feasting in Malaysia. Enjoy! I'm a Malaysian we know how to feast!
Posted by: Sivin Kit at January 26, 2005 5:19 PMPlan to be there by March 1st, though I might leave earlier.
Ah, but you are going to the Geek Dinner on the 24th, right?
Posted by: Peter Cooper at January 26, 2005 5:25 PMDo you not get the connection or do you not care that gunning after companies is gunning people's jobs?
Oh, and regarding this.. let's forget all the marketing speak for a minute and realise that things sometimes have to be dismantled for the common good. The above defence has been - and is still - used by cigarette companies, oil companies, and all the rest ;-) Sure, talentless advertising hacks need to eat, but perhaps they should look at more wholesome career choices.
Posted by: Peter Cooper at January 26, 2005 5:31 PMI am French and I understand your worries about preserving agents. Sometimes I find it really hard to imagine a future in France, and sometimes I looks very clear.
My country is certainly not changing as fast as developing countries in the Pacific rim.
At least in appearence for an occasional traveller with a superficial look, France is looking at the past more than the future.
Actually your questionning is more: What is modernity ?
If modernity is getting more technology in your life, I must admit that we are a few years behind, say, the Japanese.
If modernity is thinking about the meaning of life, we are centuries late comparing to indian gurus.
What I like about my country is that you are allowed to pursue what you want.
If you are running after money or the latest technologies, you are free and encouraged to do so.
But you also have the right to be what you want to be, especially because many of us learn to deal with economic pressures.
Our modernity is just different. Actually, cultural mindsets evolve much slower than appearences.
I think we are in France more interested in art, music, litterature, movies, cultures, nature, science. And we still gently try to be creative in these fiels. I must admit we could be more creative for sure.
Singapore looks very modern; Singaporeans are very conservative (sorry, they are just different, and I like Singaporeans a lot anyway)
We are all very different
We live in a very diverse world and the globalization won't change that.
I try not to worry about the future, It's just a loss of time.
It's our western (americanized) minstet that tells us there are winners and losers on this planet.
You can see where this leads.
What are you running after Hugh ?
http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/worries/
Posted by: Roman at January 26, 2005 6:19 PMI have done business in Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong (while still HMS colony), Tawian & Malaysia - including producing part of the hand-over ceremonies in HK and the dedication of the Menara KL (Kuala Lumpur Tower). Although a sponge for ideas, I have found that the cultures as a whole are somewhat resistant to change.
I could go on for hours, if you want more let me know.
Posted by: Dick at January 27, 2005 12:47 AMPreserving agents.. hehe ... sounds like preservative. As in enbalmed.
Posted by: David Parmet at January 27, 2005 4:09 AMU r coming to Malaysia? I would be honoured to meet you in person!!! Send me a mail, if you are interested in some great food places outside the "normal" touristic environment!
Posted by: Andreas at January 27, 2005 9:49 AMThe incredible thing that I noticed in Malayasia was that all the books in prime spots in the book stores were all self help manuals as opposed to novels etc that you find in the UK.
Posted by: Geoff at January 27, 2005 8:00 PMOn the "honest day's labor" quote:
An honest day of lying to people, you mean? God forbid you need to brush up your truth-telling skills.
Posted by: AcouSvnt at January 29, 2005 3:22 PM