The Wisdom of Searls

David Newberger’s interview with Doc Searls:

“One of the main points we made in The Cluetrain Manifesto, way back in 1999, was that the real revolution with the Net was not an increase in the power of supply, but an increase in the power of demand. Customers were no longer mere “consumers”, and not only graced with far more choice –the power to pick and choose among vendors’ products and services. Thanks to the Net, and to features such as blogging, the demand side now had the power also to *supply*. This is what’s so disruptive.”

and

“Blogging is also disruptive because it violates the whole notion of mediation — of a “medium” serving as a conduit between producers and consumers. Blogs speak directly to readers. They don’t have “consumers”, or an “audience”. What’s more, many of those readers are also writers, are also producers. The *unmediated* nature of blogs is very strange for those whose minds remain framed by traditional media notions.”

also

“To me blogging is about rolling snowballs. Whether I start a snowball rolling, or add mass to one that rolls by, I have no sense that it’s ‘mine’ in either case. I do, however, have a sense, quite often, of what works and what doesn’t, what’s interesting and what isn’t.”

and the best for last:

“I can’t think of anything that demonstrates the sovereign nature of the self better than a blog.”