From “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust” by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
Writing everything online, where it’s eternally visible to everyone, forever, has value. Even if each video you post or each article you write convinces only a few people, that’s a pretty great way to build up influence. In fact, it can make all other, non-web-based ways seem trivial. After all, we don’t see Tony Robbins coaching one person at a time, do we? Instead, he works in auditoriums full of people, with all his success being seen by every one of them. He also sells tapes of them later.
The Web is like this, too, except we’re not putting on a show; we’re just interacting. We used to do that by e-mail, which is private; but the fact that it’s all done in public view now means that all the participants on the Web are creating value for each other simultaneously, instead of the old-fashioned way of one at a time and in private.
Let’s take a concrete example: Say that you’re asked a question by e-mail about a specialty of yours – for instance, banking products. You could just respond by e-mail, but you don’t. Instead, you write about it on your blog. You’re writing the same information, but it’s public. You point the person who made the original inquiry to what you wrote, so that person gets what he or she wants; but now, anyone else can see it as well. People who arrive via Google by searching for similar information can visit and post comments weeks, even months later. Your blog post, which used to offer answers to typical questions asked by a few people, has now become a resource. If you’re like most people, you’re receiving a lot of the same questions repeatedly. But now you only respond once – and you get credit each time someone new discovers the answer.
Imagine that you do this 500 times. Over time, you’ve probably been asked 500 questions about your specialty; suppose you had answered them all on your blog. These 500 posts now make up a pretty hefty set of resources, with a lot of insider information and tips, and you’re helping a fair number of people. As you do so, you’re starting to become known for your expertise. You start to ask yourself, what might this lead to? And no wonder. You’re getting e-mails from strangers, and they’re helping you learn more about your industry. Next thing you know, you may have built a fairly high profile for yourself.