Cluetrain Questions and More, with John Cass

I'm delighted to welcome John Cass back to the program this week, as he joined Jen Zingsheim and myself for our weekly Radio Roundtable discussion. This week, I wanted to talk to John about his series of posts discussing the "unniversary" of the Cluetrain Manifesto, as well as some other interesting issues that have copped up in the social media world this week.

(Click here to listen to the 30 minute discussion)

Cluetrain Questions: John has posted some "follow up questions" regarding the book that many credit with starting the communications business on the path to social media. We discuss some of his favorite responses to the questions, as well as which companies are best holding up the ideas set forth by Cluetrain, and where we are headed in the future, as John points out that only 12 percent of the Fortune 500 are involved in blogging.

Louis Vuitton gets brand-jacked: A young artist used an image of a Louis Vuitton bag to make a statement about Africa, and now the luxury handbag maker is suing her. I argue that the should probably back away or face a PR hassle, Jen counters that the company's position may not seem popular, but they have every right to protect their brand. John points out that they may not even have a case, since the company's logo doesn't actually appear in the picture in question.

Data Portability and MySpace: MySpace has announced it will partner with several other sites to allow for data portability between them. I point out how frustrated I was upon signing up for a new service and realizing I'd have to look my friends up all over again, and hope that this is a trend that continues. Jen points out the legitimate privacy concerns at stake, and John argues that because social media allows users to create their own content, they should have as much ownership over their online presences as possible.

(Click here to listen to the 30 minute discussion)