October 18, 2006
hughtrain update
It’s been well over a year since I’ve added anything to The Hughtrain. My last update was January, 2005.
The reason is simple. I had written everything I had to say to my satisfaction, and then I moved on. English Cut came along, then Stormhoek.
I got busy.
But recently The Hughtrain has been niggling me. Not everything on it I’m happy about. Stuff I should have said differently, stuff I should have said but didn’t etc etc.
Time changes everything.
So here’s the question: Do I re-work The Hughtrain, and improve upon it? Or do I just move on, and write something completely new and different?
Like I said, it’s been niggling me.
Hugh,
My suggestion would be to create a completely new document that shows what still works and what has changed. It would be interesting to see the thought process of the original Hughtrain played out against the changing landscape of the blogsphere and all of your experiences in the past couple years.
Just my two cents…
Dave Wheeler
Hugh,
Correct and add to the Hughtrain then do the new stuff.
You’ll satisfy the itch this way.
Hugh:
I would say to write a new document. I’m sure much has changed since Hughtrain, and it’d be interesting to compare the two.
Plus, for selfish reasons, if you wrote a new one, we’d probably get more to fill the document rather than just an update!
Kevin
Take a look at the old one, make a few notes,and then start with a fresh piece of paper…kill your darlings.
“Hughtrain 2.0″ Enough said!
Hughtrain is a stake in the ground. Don’t go all George Lucas on us just because you can. Create something new.
You wrote “But recently The Hughtrain has been niggling me. Not everything on it I’m happy about. Stuff I should have said differently, stuff I should have said but didn’t etc etc.
Time changes everything.
So here’s the question: Do I re-work The Hughtrain, and improve upon it? Or do I just move on, and write something completely new and different?
Like I said, it’s been niggling me.”
I took the time to re-read “Hughtrain” and ist’s still damn good and damn important. Within these contexts:
You can pay attention to the niggling and… Consider additional possibilities, not just either/or.
Peter Drucker, although he has passed away, still remains one of the deep thinkers about management and social change. A number of his books were revised to update his thinking over time. And, he continued to publish new works on new issues. Furthermore, I believe he looked at the body of his writings over a lifetime as “a complete view”.
You can identify 3 – 4 hughtrain issues that are niggling you… What NEEDS to be changed and WHY? If you find answers then make the revisions. If not, don’t change anything until you are CERTAIN.
I think Hughtrain ought to be published by one of the big reputable houses. You need an agent and you need a book deal. In addition, I think your Global Micro Brand concept is worthy of a second book. Imagine… Hugh MacLeod, your body of writings over a lifetime as a complete view.
Rock on Hugh!
Another suggestion for a 2.0 version with a listing of the changes from 1.0.
If you are satisfied, move on.
RE: CartoonWTF? You turning Lovemarkian?
If so Stop!
“Don’t go all George Lucas on us”
Good one
Although I disagree on this. Hughtrain is a conversation, no? Conversations and opinions change as time chugs along. There is no doubt that your influences have been tweaked since hooking up with Stormhoek and English Cut. The term “cutting off the head to spite the face” comes to mind.
Keep Hughtrain a work in progress. It is your baby. Nurture it into the full gown adult it can/should be.
Damn.…full of cliches this morning.
Screw it. I love the Hughtrain, and while its certainly on the prolific side of things, I think it could benefit from your continued tinkering. So long as your inspired while your’e at it, tinker away.…The days of “finsihed works” are dead.
It’s pretty good the way it is. I like the subtlety in it. Unlike today’s comic.
As a hacker/programmer, I am always tempted to throw out the old and start fresh, but it is almost always the wrong decision.
How this applies to a manifesto though I am not sure, surely you main decision is a marketing one? How will you reach the most brains?
My guess is you know the answer to that better than any of us!
I’d suggest putting updates in using a different color or font. Below the sentence or paragraph you’ve re-thought, put, “October18 06 — Upon reflection, I think___”
Then you can write Hugh Two LOL
You could treat it like a DVD commentary track, leaving the original intact but adding in comments in a different color.
The Hughtrain is great and it would be better to do something new. Move on, start again and don’t worry about rewriting.
A blank business card to write on than one that you will rewrite.
Hugh — always follow your nigglings. You’re instincts will tell you soon enough if you’ve made the wrong choice.
Makes me think of the struggle architectural preservationsts & communities must face when community ‘progress’ knocks at their door. Do they raze and start fresh? or try to refresh and repurpose the historical buildings? Complex and delicate problem.
My vote goes for publishing 1.0 “as is” and starting 2.0 fresh. The beauty of writing is that you don’t have to tear down one building to start another. I agree with your collaborators above: you have 3 books begging to be published.
Suggestion: might it be interesting to write Hughtrain 2.0 from a different or point of view? Perhaps the pov of emerging economies? The consumer? The media? … thinking out loud whilst typing here.
Hughtrain saves! Fill it with the new stuff
‘The days of “finsihed works” are dead.’
Great art isn’t finished, it’s abandoned.
To be honest, Hughtrain could be totally reworked and I probably wouldn’t even notice, since it’s not the sort of thing I expect to re-read.
It may be a conversation, but have you never been irritated by conversations that are just too darned long?!
Just remember it’s hip to be square.
Now many more people ‘Get It’ (Cluetrain, Hughtrain, whatever) yet clueless nevertheless! Start afresh and clue them up, remember your ‘Note to Self’:
NOTE TO SELF:
Your job is no longer about selling. Your job is about firing off as many synapses in your client’s brain as possible.
The more synapses that are fired off, the more dopamines are released. Dopamines are seriously addictive. The more dopamines you release, the more the client will come back for more. Your client thinks he is coming back to you for sane, rational, value-driven reasons. He is wrong. He is coming back to feed.
More Dopamines please!
You never heard of version control?
Why not put set up a Hughtrain wiki and let us have control of it for a few months. See where it goes?
If you want help doing the set up of this, let me know — I’ll get it sorted for you.
Please don’t destroy my Bible. Ever.
Sell me a new one. But please don’t erase the past.
IMHO, do a new one. That one’s done, what’s next?
ps– I am trying to load your widget onto my blog. Can I say I am starting to hate Blogger?
some good inspiration over here Hugh
http://makemarketinghistory.blogspot.com/2006/08/geek-marketing-101_115529822564302037.html
I HAVE NO SOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Salaam!
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