David “Doc” Searls is an American writer and long-running blogger, influential in early web culture and the idea that networked relationships change how institutions relate to people - doc.searls.com 
He is a co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, first published online as 95 theses in 1999 and later expanded into book form, arguing (famously) that markets are conversations and that the internet reshapes how organisations communicate - wikipedia.org - cluetrain.com
He wrote *The Intention Economy*, developing the idea that customers can signal intent in ways that shift power toward the demand side (rather than sellers competing primarily by capturing attention), and he continues to write about this framing on his weblog - doc.searls.com
He is also closely associated with VRM (Vendor Relationship Management), the idea that individuals should have better tools and agency for managing relationships with vendors and services, a theme he tracks and develops in ongoing writing - doc.searls.com