Trust Agents – Sage advice for the Digital Citizen

Chris Brogan and Julien Smith collaborated on one of most balanced and evenly presented books on the hot topic of how to conduct oneself both personally and professional in this digital age. “Trust Agents” are succinctly described as a group of “people who use the web in a very human way to build influence, reputation, awareness, and who can translate that into some kind of business value.”

The book lays out advice for those both novice and pro as to how they can cultivate genuine relationships that matter without being a jerk and without focusing on an immediate return. We’ve all encountered those people in our lives that were more interested in out rolodexes or referrals than in making a true connection with us. There’s a reason why these folks stand out and it’s because things just don’t work this way anymore.

I remember an exchange with someone who had this slant to their personality and noticed the reaction in the room that this person received when they thrust out their paper flyer promoting their seminar to the room. No introduction. No “Hi. How are you?” Just a silent exchange promoting their seminar ON HOW TO DEVELOP BUSINESS SKILLS!!! Oh the irony.

Back to the book. There’s something for everyone within the pages of “Trust Agents” – a bit of game theory, discussions of businesses that either get it or those who display old views of how to interact with their customers, lots of social psychology and mention of many web 2.0 tools and many references to community. The recommendations that the authors make are solid and really cut through the plethora of messages guaranteeing huge numbers of followers on Twitter.

Ultimately, this book is a reality check and could also be used as a vaccine preventing you from becoming a social media snake oil salesperson.

I’ll let this reading from “Marketing Masterpiece Theatre” give you a sample of what is between the covers of “Trust Agents” albeit in a very dramatic “Oh the Humanity” kind of way!