There has been a lot of hype recently about Naked Conversations and its impact on business and their customer relationships.  In short, the recent book by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble about blogs, and how they are revolutionizing business communications, is a thrilling read. What is even more compelling is their notion that companies have never engaged in honest and forthright conversations with their customers, due to the fear that what they might hear back is 'bad news.'

In essence, why engage in a two-way conversation with your customers if the response is going to be negative? So just broadcast at them and hope they can't or won't talk back.  The problem is that for a long time, customers have been sharing information about the companies that serve them, and the products and services those companies offer -- just not directly and as cost-effectively as they can today.  Well, the time is fast approaching where company executives -- CEOs, boards and senior management -- will no longer be able to avoid the communications that are already taking place online, in-person and by phone -- by and between customers about their businesses, products and services. Further, these customer conversations are going to reach a crescendo that few companies will be able to avoid given today's low-cost communication technologies (the Internet, blogs and podcasts to name just a few).

So here's my take on it all. It's time for businesses to go Naked -- bare it all!

By participating actively in today's emerging fully-transparent culture -- where everyone can talk to anyone about anything and everything -- businesses have a chance for success. By baring it all, companies and their leaders will become more humble and democratic, sharing what they know and what they don't know in order to engage their customers in honest and forthright dialogues.  The time has come when whether the 'Emperor Enterprise' knows it or not, the clothes they are wearing don't fit anymore and its customers, investors and employees can see right through them anyway. So for all those that want to succeed in the real-time, open source economy -- just plain naked works best. Try it and see -- you might just like the feeling of that cool breeze on your skin. - Barry 4/27/06