Book Review: Trust Agents | The Dreaming Cafe

Book Review: Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust(affiliate link) by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

“Trust Agents” came out several months ago and I admit I was curious, but I hate following the crowd and “Trust Agents” generated quite a crowd following.

When this book came out I had only been online and on Twitter for a less than a year and I was still figuring things out and learning who the ‘players’ were.

I began to follow Chris Brogan and read his blog. I liked him. His thoughts were insightful and sincere. He never came across as preachy or as a know it all. He didn’t talk about people like they were fish to be caught or sheep to be fleeced. When he talked about business or blogging he did it from a very humble, honest standpoint.

I didn’t know Julien Smith, the coauthor of “Trust Agents” and it took me awhile to find him. I now follow him and I am finding him a quirky, super-smart, insightful blogger.

Last week I was in my local Barnes & Noble perusing the stacks and saw “Trust Agents’ on the shelf. “What the heck!” I thought, “I’ll see what all the fuss is about.”

Thirty minutes later with a now cold coffee I checked out. I was hooked. The book was so exceptionally well written and compelling I couldn’t put it down.

After arriving home I started at the beginning. (When I read books in the bookstore I usually open them randomly and begin to read.)

I devoured the book, reading it in one session.

Chris and Julien do an outstanding job of tackling a very delicate subject, the subject in their subtitle “using the web to build influence, improve reputation, and earn trust”.

“Trust Agents” has all three elements of my favorite non-fiction book. It shares interesting and useful information, shares the author’s own story in a compelling manner and tells stories of other people that support the points being made throughout the book.

They book is laid out simply and is built around “The Six Characteristics of Trust Agents”.

Let me share a few quotes I copied down while reading to illustrate how much I got out of this book in one cover-to-cover reading session:

“Making your own game is about standing out.”

This statement struck a real chord in me because I watch so many people (myself included sometimes) not wanting to draw attention themselves, fearful of the world and it’s attention. But, if you want to succeed, if you want to make an impact and make a difference you have to stand out. And, the best way to stand out is to make your own game.

“That’s the advantage of the Web: we don’t need to make another team lose to win ourselves.”

I hate the feeling that to win I have to make someone else lose. I admit, I feel bad for the losers. But, this statement made me sit up and take notice and recognize the truth in the words. It is helping me look at the world and my business in a whole new way.

“…sell products and services that empower and equip people to do something for themselves such that they are grateful they gave you money in exchange for resources.”

First, it aligns with the purpose of The Dreaming Café to inspire and inform people so that they can take the steps needed to begin or continue their creative journey to self-discovery. I liked the energy of the words “empower and equip”. That is what I want to do.

The second reason, although I have thought about it when I give money in exchange for a product or service, I never thought to apply “being grateful”to receiving money for a product or a service.

I have paid for books, workshops and seminars that have helped change my life. I am grateful that the person I was paying had decided to share and teach what they knew. Even for small things I am happy and grateful to pay. I was overjoyed to pay three young men a few weeks ago move the final 10’ x 20’ section of snow at the bottom of my driveway.

I recognize that I have products and services of value to offer. Now it is time to apply this same thought process to receiving money as I have for giving money and“that people will be grateful to give me money in exchange for my products and services”.

These are just three statements that came out of my first reading of “Trust Agents”. Like I said, I read it fast and furiously. I loved it. I now need to read it again, slowly, savoring each and every word.

Overall this book is one of the best that I have seen that details the etiquette and responsibility of creating and maintaining relationships, online and off.

I give “Trust Agents” a FIVE STAR rating. It is a book that belongs in everyone’s personal book collection.

Have you read “Trust Agents”? If so, What were some of your takeaways?