Trust Agents - Book Report/Review Example

Book Report/Review, Journalism, mass media and communication Topic: Trust Agents: Using the Web toBuild Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust In your own words, what is a Trust Agent? Trust Agent is a new incarnation of the Public Relations Manager. Whereas the Public Relations Manager has the role within the specified area with pre-assigned responsibilities, the influence of Trust Agents grows in all the directions like the octopus. People tend to believe their own social circles because they have built it assiduously brick by brick. They trust the individuals within the network and they know the process through which each individual has come to join the network. Thus a network of friends has been built without any restrictions of geographical boundaries and the friends can be anywhere and everywhere as far as the reach of the web. Its roots are extensive and intensive and the growth is stupendous. The ones reaching to gain such trust are called “Trust Agents.” Trust Agents use current web trappings to supper their influence quicker, broader and deeper than a classic company’s PR or marketing department might be adept in achieving, with added interest in people. We need to become one with them, identify the common interests and establish connections with them and reach out to their interests and connect them. A Trust Agent builds networks almost instinctively by being helpful, by stimulating the good work that others do, by sharing even their best stuff without hesitancy, and by finding ways to deliver even more value and on top of all that without asking for anything in return. Business establishments need to nurture their Trust Agents, some of whom will be under the control of the company, and some like freelancers. Trust Agents is all about using the web to draw inspiration, improve standing, and earn trust. Which concepts resonated with you most? Why? Chris Brogan and Julien Smith have really used their experience well to convey the basics of building community, employing social media tools and networking. The authors give the highest importance to their personal experience to articulate their viewpoints. They remind the reader about the basics and what is important. According to them, what you do is not important; how you do, what you do is more important. The “Six Characteristics of a Trust Agent” elucidated by them are significant. They emphasize the perceptions to implement their ideas for success. “Build an army” is the key component for success in the segment of community building. It is like creating a single window operations facility, as opportunities for collaboration from a number of resources is created. The wise saying goes ‘two heads are better than one.’ When a group of like-minded people join together to secure common outcome the results are bound to be favorable. An individual has limitations. A group has immense possibilities. The next step after amassing the army of like-minded people is to engage and support them and provide them with opportunities, which is the vital step in building the community. There is no question of building an idle community for the sake of statistics. The contents need to be fresh and bring exceptional perspective to the issues one contends with and this is the sure way to attract the audience and get them engaged. The next important message articulated by the authors is that the immediate task of an expert in the group needs to create an expert like him. It is important to support and create opportunities for others. Brogan led by example and when he was invited to speak at an occasion in Los Angeles, he was unable to fulfill it as he had some other engagement. He examined his network and referred the client to three other eligible professionals. The problem was solved and in the process Brogan earned tremendous goodwill. The gainer individual will remember it for lifelong and this is an authentic example of the “Archimedes Effect”. The “pay it forward” temperament employed by Brogan is a precedent-creating example. Do you agree with Brogan and Smith that businesses and individuals must shift to become Trust Agents? Not necessarily. I do not think that the authors are so strong agents demanding conversion to their style of conducting business. They may have some valid points, but that is not the reason to follow their principles blindly in all business situations. Ever-changing scenarios are the hallmark of any business segment and by the modern business standards the whole world is one market. But the author’s contention that the six characteristics enumerated by them, can change the business scenario of an organization is not tenable. Many companies do not use the web to develop the corporate image. Creating social capital is good. Staying connected with colleagues and peers is also good. But to say that businesses and individuals must shift to become Trust Agents, giving up the traditional publicity and marketing strategies is to act with haste. Trust Agents are also human beings subject to all sorts of motivated desires that are part of profiteering which is the main aim of the business world. They play their own game, taking control of the system. What guarantee is there that they will not break the rules? They may hack the system and do something that is not expected, even unethical. That the Trust Agents will promote others at all times and at all costs, sacrificing their own interests is difficult to accept. They too are men of ego, and the vibrations of their private ambitions are generally more powerful than their inclination to do for the good of others. Nobody can stop them from new experimenting and the results of such experiments may not always be beneficial to those who are in the networking system. Web is mainly meant for increasing knowledge and to know the latest technique of management. It is a sort of substitute for printed literature on the subject of management and marketing. Are there any points on which you disagree with the authors? The contents and arguments in the book are mind-level writings and are the products of materialistic civilization supported with internet revolution. The authors eulogize social media as if it is the be-all and end-all for building the society. The authors make the celebrities as the guardians of the society. They assume that bigger the network of an individual, the more intelligent he/she is. Quality takes the backseat. Their methodology of working may lead to business successes but it is done at the cost of true human values. The authors are entitled to claim that the existing methods of marketing, public relations, publicity and business communications may have their limitations and are not progressing well. But that does not mean Trust Agents is the final answer for this issue. Some of the options suggested by them can be categorized as horrible. The authors opine that by reading this book one will get the job of one’s choice without one desiring it. This idea will work by talking to the beautiful members of the opposite-sex also etc. Their final submission indicates their lack of self-confidence. The authors admit that though they treat their book as the business book regarding using the web, the abilities of a Trust Agent relate to many offline opportunities. A strong doubt must have arisen in their minds about the absolute veracity of their theorems related to social media. Social media may have some utilities, but it is not the monarch of all that it surveys in the business world. Do you know anyone (or company) you'd describe as a Trust Agent? Why? I read Trust Agents about six months back, and it immediately stuck me that I must leverage the knowledge for the benefit of my car mechanic friend. He is a young man of about 30 years, uneducated, has no knowledge of writing skills in English. Place a car before him, may be of any model, and he will diagnose the problems in minutes. At my request my engineer friend in a car manufacturing company visited his workshop and he was astonished with the answers provided by him for some of the most complicated issues related to car engines and their maintenance. I drafted a skill page for him, introduced him and initially worked for his social media issues. During the next one/two months he often consulted me over the issues related to correspondence with his newly acquired friends. His turnover has increased tenfold within a matter of months, and, he has appointed educated youngsters as office staff, and now he is planning to establish a service center for cars and other vehicles, with modern equipment. He has gained astounding popularity, his skill-story has reached the top and the management of a state level auto service center is thinking of appointing him as the consultant. This is a great example of power and possibilities of social networking. That mechanic was just covering up expenses for domestic needs, poor man by all standards, and now the possibilities are that he can reach great heights. Did you learn any specific tactics you'll use in the future? Any other thoughts you might have... Trust Agents provides the dose of authenticity. Next to internet revolution, social media is the new revolution in the area of communication and for getting the things done. It is comparable to the new home delivery system of the business utilities. The relationships built through the major social networking sites deliver tangible results. They are remarkably effective mode of gaining knowledge, building the professional reputation and creating a posse of like-minded individuals that can assist one to synergistically accomplish the goals. Relationships that you build through major social networking sites are not empty and they are an amazingly effective way of gaining knowledge, building up professional reputation, and creating an army of like-minded individuals that can help one to achieve the goals. Before the advent of social media, entrepreneurs and big business establishments launched/marketed their products solely through print and electronic media through commercials, thanks to the creativity and imagination of the copywriters, and they demanded the potential patronage of the people by creating demands and by highlighting the positive features of their products. I see new friendships being built between the producers and consumers, not always opportunistic, but based on the authenticity and genuine quality products. The trust factors have begun to dominate the business dealings and the producers are aware of the importance of earning the goodwill of the buyer as the satisfied buyer is the best publicity agent. Social media does not believe in one sided achievements and profits for one party only. Besides the most important component of the products bought/sold through social media is trust and nothing can substitute it. One deals with trustworthy people without any hesitation. Once the trust is established, no further credentials for the gadget would be necessary. The magnificence of social media lies in its efficient means of concurrent action by numerous individuals. That, however, does not mean that social media is the panacea for solutions relating to business development. Even before social media came into existence and before internet was born there were excellently managed and growing multinational business concerns. Just like two trains run on two parallel tracks, both these systems can work together, they are competitive as well as complimentary. Work Cited Brogan, Chris (Author) Smith Julien (Author) Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust; Wiley; 2010, Print. Read More