chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in Thinking About Trust Agents

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Steve Hershberger — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:49:16 -0000

Chris-

While this was written almost a year ago, I think the topic is more timely than ever. Trust agents like Lionel and the others you call out remain one of the greatest strategic tools a business enterprise has. Sadly, they are under-utilized as change and innovation agents. They have a unique ability to identify with customers and visa-versa. Wouldn't it be great if they were used to help more deeply shape how the business and the brand evolves, as well as, what and how it does what it does? Yahoo is a great example of what can happen if you ignore your trust agent's input and guidance. Trust agents, like customer advocates can actively show the way; if the business enterprise is equipped and willing to listen and act (at least in part) or their input. So, in your opinion, how far have we come in a year?

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Eric Martinez — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:53:10 -0000

Will Trust Agents be released on itunes as an audiobook? If so, when?

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Michael Cayley — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:30:25 -0000

Chris,

I like where you and Julian are going with this thinking.

Julian & I both witnessed how some of this conversation is evolving on twitter & I turned it into a blog post that I think you & your readers will find interesting about Why Twitter Matters: http://twurl.nl/ln1yym

Perhaps you and/or Julian would be generous enough to write a guest post over at www.socialcaptialvalueadd.com and/or share some feedback about my ChangeThis manifesto and ebook here on your blogs?

Best of luck with the book project.
Michael

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Kyle — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:57:42 -0000

To all those who don't like the Title and think it's lacking... I disagree. I think they're trying to imply that you have to actively pursue your customers. You have to build trust on behalf of your company. It's about consciously making the choice that your business needs to generate social capital, and without it, you will fall behind.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Peter Efland — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:09:00 -0000

I must echo a lot of people here. I find the book concept interesting, but the title lacking.
I appreciate you say its a business book and not a tech book, and I guess thats part of the reason for the "agent". However, part of the idea in the book, as I understand it, is to show that the social media business is changing, that its all about trust and long relationship building. I guess this is why for me it seems a bit weird that the title is a a bit forced into having a business-book title.
Also, I am not sure if a new term is really what is needed. I mean there is a ton of corporate literature out there dealing with identity and relationships, sense-giving and sense-making etc.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Deb Brown — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:56:00 -0000

Man, you are such a trust agent. I'm following you around on twitter and it's been a goose chase for me. I'm really diggin' it too. I once said twitter is like when I smoked pot (30 years ago) and started out discussing how corn grows and finding myself on a gravel road trying to determine if corn will grow in gravel. So now, I get that great sense of adventure from following you, my trust agent.

Benjamin Zander is a musical trust agent. Neil Donald Walsh is a God trust agent. Elizabeth Berg is a trust agent for women over 50. Jennifer Louden is an insight explorer trust agent. Keri Holmes ourfocusisyou.com is a book lovers trust agent.

BTW, I type 85 words a minute on bad days. Need help?

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Don — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:36:20 -0000

A trust agent isn't something you'll put on a business card.You'll either be one or you won't.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

karen orton — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:47:09 -0000

Chris,

Will be hard to say something that has not been said. Clearly, there is a lot of reaction tied to the phrase "trust agent". Like others, I understand what you are trying to convey. In terms of the book, regardless of the label, what would be interesting is to understand - a) what is meant by this and how are they different from "new influencers" or for that matter "old influencers" but with a new megaphone..the web; b) how do you know one when you see one; c) how do you determine if you can trust them - what does it take to achieve trust? is it time? reputation? the word or suggestion of others what you know (referral) or some other metric or track that takes you to them such as aggregrated and rated reputation (do you remember Opinity? a start-up that was creating a unified reputation a few years ago); d)can someone start as the goal to become a 'Trusted agent" and is there a path or plan that you can lay out to achieve? e) differences (if any) between TAs that are associated with a company (in that they work for the company) and those that are independent voices; f)to be trusted how much of an expert do you need to be to gain trust?
very interesting - Thanks Chris

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Alex Luken — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:50:34 -0000

The term "trust agent" resonated with me, because I automatically equated it with "change agent", thinking in terms of chemical reactions. Not that I'm from any sort of background. Your article immediately made me take stock of whose blogs I follow, and why. I would define a trust agent as someone whose blog I read regularly, introduces me to new ideas, and whom I refer other people I know to read the articles so we can discuss the ideas and content, and its meaning. You reshape the way I think. This is different than advisor; I think of advisors as more consultative on a situational basis. You initiate change in how I think, and to think in terms of the why and not just the how.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:31:32 -0000

In our world, we use the term Trusted Advisor; the connotation of trust-ED implies the trust was earned, rather than taken/assumed. Advisor implies experience and/or expertise (also earned) that imparts the permission to share information that is helpful in an altruistic/non-self serving sense. Some of our Advisor Clients "get it" and can truly serve their Clients without expecting business in return. Paired with your post 'Share Share Share Share Share,' Chris, the concept takes wings. I agree that Trust Agent implies representation of another's ideas and could be interpreted as spokesperson.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

asglasgow — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:20:23 -0000

The whole "Trust Agent" concept, in relation to the web, smacks of "Guru". Who are they that like the term "Guru"? Especially when referenced to the 3w.

I like the definition, absolutely. But the term itself remains questionable.

Let me quote - "...but I wouldn’t worry about the term being instantly understood.

Comment by chrisbrogan on September 9, 2008 @ 9:18 pm

Perfect answer, Mr. Yoskovitz."

It seems like you are looking for approval of the term.

If you have already made up your mind on the termonology and are seeking a more refined definition, personally I'd go for something like "On-line humanism and the monetisation of trust." or "monetisation of a human on-line presence" or "Successful Personal Branding and the bottom line".

Maybe these definitions don't quite cut the cake but I hope they offer something of worth.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Andrew Lightheart — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:37:12 -0000

On a much less high-brow note, I can tell who is a trust agent in my life by seeing whose book recommendations I follow without question...

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

GeekMommy — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:57:43 -0000

Actually, I'm going to disagree with Mr. Yoskovitz.

Words have power. Ontological maps are well defined. You can't take a word that already has a powerful image associated with it on a societal level and say "well, that's not how *I* am using it - I meant something else..."

Yes, teenagers have a habit of doing it - hence we are left with "bad" meaning good and "phat" meaning really good - but individuals seeking a business audience don't get to take an industry word and try to say "well I've decided that it means something different when applied to me."

Purple Cow may not be defined in a business context but "agent" sure is.

Clearly, the fact that multiple people have negative reactions to the phrase is indication that it needs rethinking. Would you buy an energy drink named "Yuck" just because someone tells you that in *this* context they are redefining it to mean something other than what you think it means? Or if you were the manufacturer of "Yuck" would you refuse to change the name if market research indicated that your target market reacted negatively to it?

Words have power. We know Chris isn't a typist (or simply a typist) but clearly "trust agent" doesn't have the immediate positive impact one hopes for when trying to come up with a pithy description of one's primary role.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

chrisbrogan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:18:07 -0000

Perfect answer, Mr. Yoskovitz.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Ben Yoskovitz — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:05:17 -0000

What a great discussion...personally, I think you know you're on to something when you get so much feedback - both positive and negative.

One point to make - I wouldn't worry about whether or not the term Trust Agent is immediately definable or recognizable to people. You mentioned Seth Godin in your post ... just think "Purple Cow".

The first question people ask, "What's a purple cow?"

Well...let me tell you (buy my book too...)

I can see where some people are coming from with their feedback, but I wouldn't worry about the term being instantly understood.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Ari Herzog — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:04:19 -0000

At 61 comments as I post my own, I'm noticing a schism of people who either understand the notion of a trust agent and others who relate it to other terms, such as reputation building and personal branding.

Like Chris mentioned in his introduction about writing for nearly his whole life, why is there a need to define what one is? Why not, in the words of Guy Kawasaki, can't one be what one is? Why must we attach labels? Why can't Chris be a writer to the same intensity he is a trust agent?

For inspiration, I turn to my bookshelf, to the Book of Exodus, Chapter 3, Verses 13-15, according to the Everett Fox translation, which is written with linguistic logic that earlier translations lack:

*****
Moshe said to God:
Here, I will come to the Children of Israel
and I will say to them:
The God of your fathers has sent me to you,
and they will say to me: What is his name?-
what shall I say to them?

God said to Moshe:
EHYEH ASHER EHYEH/I will be-there howsoever I will be-there.
And he said:
Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel:
EHYEH/I-WILL-BE-THERE sends me to you.

And God said further to Moshe:
Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel:
YHWH,
the God of your fathers,
the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzhak, and the God of Yaakov,
sends me to you.
*****

To Chris and everyone else on this topic and every other topic: Don't worry so much about what you are or how others perceive you. If you are true to yourself, everything will make sense.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

chrisbrogan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:26:44 -0000

@Ben - I'm not sure I understand your comments. I mentioned that the value of what Scoble provided was, at least in some circles, more valuable than marketing dollars.

The rest of it, I'm even less sure I get. Of course Ballmer has more overall power than Scoble, but I can also find you plenty of people who agree that Scoble was what turned our opinion around on some of what Microsoft was doing.

CrossTech doesn't write my blog. I write my blog.

There's nothing in here about disregarding fundamentals. But if you think the choice is fundamentals versus innovation, that's a false choice. There's always room for both.

To clarify a bit further, the book isn't directly about marketing, though some of what we'll cover certainly defines easiest as marketing.

By the way, you have a friend in Indianapolis. He and I talked about your app for a while Friday, and I see his point.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Mamta Mamta — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:51:31 -0000

Thoroughly enjoyed reading Thinking about Trust Agents by Typist.I liked connecting to the simplicity in thought to the word typist...most of us who use the computer for 6- 8 hours a day are simply typing away :)

I also loved the word...The Trust Agent ....I have added the The,as I feel that is all that is required,everything is about trust...starting from trusting our own thoughts,actions&reactions.

Agent has lots of possibilities and it is very simple in nature,the word Agent has been connected to lots in our life..007...etc

Business is about simplicity...it is about getting your message/product/service/word across to the world...to simply find your audience/s and we use various methods/routes to get there..or the various agents available to us in our world now...The agent can be anyone or anything.
The word The Trust Agent connects me to entrepreneurship.
I loved reading all the posts and it was great connecting to so many great minds & varied opinions.

The very best with the book...looking forward to reading it.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

John P. Kreiss — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:31:48 -0000

This is an interesting post and I'm looking forward to reading this book when it becomes available. Millions of dollars get spent by companies assuming they know what their customers/clients want without even talking to them.

The Internet provides opportunities for businesses to learn and listen to customers/clients. This alone might save a fortune in advertising and marketing expenses.

John P. Kreiss
MorganSullivan, Inc.
jpkreiss@morgansullivan.com
www.johnpkreiss.com

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Ben Watson — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:01:38 -0000

Geez people - there's an elephant in the room and you are all tiptoing around like your life depends on it. I guess CrossTech has found some fear/respect value in social media after all.

Disregarding the fundamental basics for defining what works and what doesn't in marketing, could lead to a mass of unfortunate misinformed and nonsensical approaches to determining value.

e.g. Microsoft advertising didn't work until Robert Scoble came along and put a face on it - ROTFL!

Scoble has nowhere near the cache that Allchin, Ballmer, Gates, Elop and others have - especially in the rooms where the decisions are made, and especially now that the world realizes his random and rapid opinions and outbursts are actually pointless and damaging to an entire ecosystem.

If this succeeds the word trust will mean absolutely nothing, and the word agent will continue its slide into the dark, slippery, sneaky, underhanded place it has already started towards.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Peter West — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:49:24 -0000

Fascinating book concept. Kudos to you and Julien.

Like many others, I feel the term "agent" (or "broker")carries too much baggage from other fields to be of value to you or your readers (e.g., sports/entertainment, technology/automation, etc.).

What about one of the following?
* trust enablers (it even has the ubiquitous "e" beginning)
* trust facilitators
* trust attractors

Peter West
@WestPeter

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Susan Murphy — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:17:09 -0000

@Julien - there were some really fantastic artists at this event I attended in Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.horrorhoundweeke...

If you really were interested in pursuing I could probably get you some contacts.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Julien — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:12:53 -0000

hemel, that sounds really interesting-- i wonder if we could find someone really good to do that?

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

hemel — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:47:27 -0000

I'd love the 'Trust Agent' book to be in the style of a Scott McCloud comic.

Thank you Chris - you continue to open up new ideas and insights - I often end up talking about you to colleagues and clients on a daily basis.

Re: Thinking About Trust Agents

Ellen Gerstein — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:46:30 -0000

I'm not sure I love "Trust Agents" as a title. As we like to say, it's going to need a really snappy subtitle in order to get across what you are trying to talk about in the book. But I think it needs more than that.

"Naked Conversations" succeeded when people told us that business books with "Naked" in the title do not do well. We guarded against that with a really great subtitle, but people got to talking about what the concept of a "naked conversation" was.

If we start having conversations about what a trust agent really is, it might take off. But my gut is telling me we can do better.

Disclaimer : I work as a marketing director at the house you are publishing with. So, it might me my job to help find a new title. Crap. It's a lot easier to critique without having to deliver. :-)