CH. 2 Manifesto

Chapter 2 was more interesting then chapter 1. Instead of ‘we die’ we are now inevitably never going to change. I love, LOVE, the paragraph on how even though we loath the business world we still change ourselves to fit into it. Also, we know we mold ourselves but continue to do it. Idiots. We. Are. Idiots.

“We believe, in fact, that to be a business is to be managed.” Let’s reflect on that.
The factors are: determined, predicted, processed, and assessed. We determine which school we go to – and the school determines which students they want. As students, we predict what we will learn – the school predicts what their teachers will bring to their ‘management’. Processed is…you get the point. Each element of a managed business can be explained through the school system. Why? Because a school system is a managed business as well.

Weinberger says we play grown up by doing what we think is an acceptable way to act in the ‘professional workplace’ (btw what makes one business more professional than another?): A fun outfit that is not too revealing or edgy; or a comment that is safely away from the lines of extreme anything. Oh bullshit. Bull. Shit. Elena talks about how we have conformed to fit the business mold and also refers back to an example from the movie, 'The Firm'.
We (humans) never grow up. I am still an 8-year-old girl because that was the happiest time in my life. I only pretend to be professional, or a functioning student because I have to in order to be independent (even as an eight year old I strive to be free). Everyone else has their own age they are stuck at. The question is who is stuck at age 56? Because that is most likely the age of the man who is in power in the mock-professionalism business world. The one who doesn’t understand such anarchic texts as ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto” or “The Bible”.

Weinberger also talks about voice. I like the quote,

“Our voice is our strongest, most direct expression of who we are. Our voice is expressed in our words, our tine, our body language, our visible enthusiasms.”

Well, yea. That’s one great sentence. However, John thinks otherwise. He described this sentence as possible ignorance. On the other hand, it makes me wonder why various classes can be so quiet when a teacher is trying to initiate conversation. If our voice is who we are, then why would we want to disobey it by pretending to be someone we are not? Oh, right, we are afraid of rejection or that people will think we are crazy.

There is talk about ‘longing for the web’ at the end of chapter 2. We long for the web for various reasons. One of these reasons relates not only to those working within a business but students also. An example is used that a two-hour meeting can be translated to a two-lined blog. A two hour class can be translated to a two-lined blog. Just as in school, the ‘professional workplace’ is guilty for distributing mass amounts of busy-work. It’s almost an unnecessary evil. Why can’t we just get to the point and leave out all the b.s.

Speaking of bullshit, and the voice, and molding to fit a business you can take classes here to enhance your bullshit factor on business and your voice. WOW. Not only have we accepted being fake we are currently giving classes on it all over the world.