Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s book Trust Agents launches today. You can find out more about the book here on Chris’ site or on their Facebook Fan page. I’m looking forward to getting my copy and can’t wait to read it. These guys are smart, beyond their years. I met both at SobCon in May and enjoyed a sneak preview of the book then. Here are just a few of the notes I took:

trust-agent

  1. Make Your Own Game – stop playing by other people’s rules and find the thing that you are/do. Like Gary Vee and Perez Hilton. It’s about standing out so people think of you as a specialist.
  2. Be One of Us (membership has its privileges) – Outsiders do not influence insiders. Example: Google’s “spam guy” goes to all the SEO (Search Enginge Optimization) conferences. He’s become “one of them.”
  3. Use the Web for Ultimate Leverage – Use it or be used. Do something once and let others find the info and use it over and over so you can spend more time with your kids (or in ministry – my addition).
  4. The Web is a Network – The Web is all powerful. Be the center of the network. Agent Zero. It’s about access. Be helpful. Be humble. Share.
  5. Be Human – Be like the Internet, but with humanity. Networks look like one thing in the data world but something altogether different in the real world. “Don’t Be That Guy.” Reputation comes by empowering others, not by being amazing.
  6. The Power of Many – At SobCon, Chris talked about the move from craft to craftperson, from craftperson to cottage, from cottage to factory and from factory to cafe. The process is no longer about mass production. Rather, the process is about mass customization. Be good at a few things, and as long as you can do that, you’ve got something good on your hands. Build a tribe around those few good things.

You can order the book here at Amazon, Books-A-Million or a host of other places online. And of course, if you want to help a local Lynchburg business, you can call Givens Books at (434) 385-5027 and ask them for it as well.

Who are the Trust Agents in your network? Do you have a Trust Agent story to share? I’d love to hear it in the comments section below.

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