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Trade Book Review
1. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence A Trade Book Review By: Kristin Bixby By: Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
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6. Trust Agents: Surprisingly Inspirational “ See life as a game” “ Geniuses aren’t born with it, they are created through practice” “ Don’t use how many friends or followers you have as a measure of online success”
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Notas del editor
Hello Everyone, I am Kristin Bixby. I did my trade book report on the book Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence . The Authors of this book are Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.
Chris Brogan is a well known in the communication field, and has really utilized the advancement in computer software and technology. “ Chris Brogan’s blog is ranked by Technorati as one of the top 100 blogs in the world. Advertising Age’s Power 150 ranks him in the top 15. He has blogged since 1998, back when it was formally known as journaling . Chris is also the co-founder of the international new media conference series PodCamp. Before he began all of this, his background was in telecommunications and enterprise technology, where he did everything from customer service to software deployment engineering to project management and beyond. (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. XV)”. PowerPoint Slide information came from Brogan & Smith, 2009 on page XV.
“ Julien Smith has been connecting with computers since he was 12 years old. He helped run early BBSes which is a local message boards into which you had to call by using a phone line. He was also among the first people to start podcasting and he was actually able to make a living from doing it. He ran several online communities, from forums to early flash mobs. He is a specialist in developing human connections and in understanding systems. (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. xv)”. PowerPoint Slide information came from Brogan & Smith, 2009 on page XV.
By reading this book, I learned how to become a trust agent. In order to become a trust agent, there are six characteristic/actions that one need’s to acquired. The first characteristic/action is to “Make Your Own Game”. This characteristic/action focuses on determining whether the established way to do things is beneficial for you and your company. The book’s authors tell you how “clocking in” at work to go and sit at a desk is an established way of doing things. Although at times this type of work is productive, it normally is not. The authors describe that trust agents see this as unproductive work, and desire to relocate their work environment to somewhere where they can make connections, and build the company’s relationship with clients and/or future clients. This is why this stage is called “Making Your Own Game”. The second characteristic/action of a trust agent is to become “One of Us”. The community has to see a trust agent as “one of them.” This can be achieve by talking like community members. This develops trust, and makes the community feel more comfortable with you. An example of this would be if you were selling something to a little kid, in order to gain their trust and get them to act you talk to them in a manner that they can understand. You would use simply words and compare your product to one’s that they understand. This is what trust agents do, but on a mass scale. Also, spending time in community develops trust. And being genuine and honest to the community is a way to become of them, and gain their trust. The third Characteristic/action of a trust agent is the “Archimedes Effect”. This characteristic involves developing and enhancing a set of skills. These skills include knowledge, people, technology and time. In order to be an effective trust agent, a person must acquire all of these skills. Once the skills are acquired by an individual, they can become very powerful. The authors of the book consider the Web to be one of the best tools for developing and maintain these skills. The Fourth set is “Agent Zero”. This part focuses on making and building relationships. Trust agents understand that this is a priority, and they really work to create good relationships. Trust agents want to meet new people. Whether it is meeting people online, at events, or even in social settings they still know that it is an opportunity to form a new relationship. Trust agents also realize the value of networks. The fifth characteristic/Action of a trust agent is “Human Artist”. This part talks about how trust agents understand the importance of working well with other people. They are able to understand their individual strengths and weaknesses, and understand when they need to work on improving relationships or when they need to take a step back. The last step of the six characteristics/actions of a trust agent is “Building an Army”. The authors’ direct quote for this part is “No matter how great you think you are, you can’t do it alone” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 30). Trust Agents want to develop a mass of people and they understand that the more people they are able to work with the more ideas and impact they have.
By reading this book I also learned a lot of new vocabulary. One word I learned and understood was transparency. The author’s explained that “we are in an era of increasing transparency, and it is becoming obvious from a number of angles that the world will never be the same because of it” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 10). The Web has provided humans with so much information that we have begun to depend on it. We can find out information immediately. Right now so much new information is out there and cover all different people views and angles of events or happens. A future concern is that true information can soon become harder to find simply because there is so much information out there. Another new word I learned was “Social Capital”. Before I read the book, I knew what capital was, but never thought to apply it in a social context. The authors made a great point that social capital is very valuable in today’s society. “Social Capital is the exchanging of things- stories, favors and laughs that will grow richer as a result” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 22) And I also learned what the term “hacking” meant. “Hacking isn’t cheating: It’s changing the rules or the game play and using a system in a different way than it was designed” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 53). An example of hacking would be playing a video game and using special codes to advance to the next level or finding a cut-threw. And I also learned the term “Blogola”. According to the authors this term is “for bloggers, and this might mean getting free products to review” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 97). The authors say that this is just one plus of being a trust agent.
What I found surprising about this book was that it was very motivational. It talked the reader through each step of becoming a trust agent, and really made the reader feel like they could become a trust agent. Throughout the book, the authors made several great points. One great point that I really felt was motivational was when the authors said that “Geniuses aren’t born with it, they are created through practice” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 41) I thought this was a great point, because it really makes you want to learn new things and practice to become good at it. Another great quote from the book was “seeing life as a game” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 40). Once you see life as a game, you naturally become competitive and do not take everything so serious (Brogan & Smith, 2009). Also, in today’s society people have began to judge how great they are by having a lot of friends or followers on the internet (Brogan & Smith, 2009). The authors talk about how this is not a effective way to judge yourself, and that people should “not use that as a measure their online success” (Brogan & Smith, 2009, pg. 52). Even if you read this book and did not become a trust agent, you could still learn about yourself and improve yourself.
After reading Trust Agents, I would recommend this book to Public Relations, Marketing, and Advertising Professionals or students wanting to go into these fields. This book allows for them to see ways to become better at what they do or want to do. This book also would motivate these professional or future professionals to accomplish the goals they desire through the web. The book even helps them understand how to do that. I would also recommend this book to Business professionals. I think that in today’s day, businesses should understand how to become a trust agent. Also, the book makes some really great business points, and would be helpful to these professionals. This book has a lot of great information, and I would even recommend it to people who are not professionals; simply because the book talks about how to better yourself and understand business through becoming a trust agent. Even if a person is not a business professional, it may spark their motivations to become a trust agent and excel in the Web world.
Thank you very much for reading my presentation. I hope that you learned something. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. Thanks again!
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