I have to be honest – the reason I ordered Trust Agents was because a journalist reviewing the book recently suggested that big brands like Microsoft and Apple could learn a lot from its authors (Chris Brogan and Julien Smith), particularly when it came to interacting with social media channels. Ok, gauntlet thrown.

Right now, I’m involved with distributing content we produce on MSN Entertainment through various social networks and although I think I’ve cracked a method for distributing the content, this book has really made me think about why I’m doing it all in the first place. Sure, you know it’s all about increasing the number of eyeballs, but are these users really engaged? What do they get out of it? What can we offer them? How are we participating in the discussion?

If this sounds far too philosophical and what you want are a series of practical solutions, the book still offers these in the form of useful breakout modules.  However, its aim is, really, to get you thinking about the notion of trust when it comes to networking and how you can use social media tools to increase your audience or, rather, target a more suited audience to your communication strategy. A lot of it boils down to common sense, but the authors have really clarified a method that I’m going to adopt. I might have skim read the last fifty pages but this book is a little gem. Honest.

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