A few years ago when all the noise about social media started to really gain some momentum, I turned to a friend of mine, C.C. Chapman, who you all met through my ‘Any Major Dad Will Tell You‘ series, for some advice. Dissatisfied with my career, I was trying to find ways to expand my knowledge base to help me figure out where I could take it.
About to become a father I didn’t have time to ponder going back to school, besides a MBA was the last thing I would have considered given my attitude towards the corporate world. Among his advice was to start reading as much as I could on the subject. I started reading blogs and listening to podcasts, which ultimately lead me to discovering Chris Brogan.
If you have even a passing interest in how social media has impacted the world we live in, then you’ve probably heard of him. On August 24th his first book ‘Trust Agents‘, co-written with Julien Smith, hit the shelves and rapidly ascended the New York Times Bestsellers list.
While making way through this blogging world I’ve done my best to digest the wealth of information that I’ve gleaned from C.C., Chris and others like Brian Clark, Amber Naslund and Christoper S. Penn. As expected, Trust Agents has been a highly thought provoking read that also manages to contain some actionable concepts.
Given that I’m not currently gainfully employed outside of my role as a dad, you are probably wondering why Trust Agents, whose intended purpose is to help people use the web to build influence and improve reputation, was so helpful to me as a dad blogger? Because right now I’m in the business of being a father, and it is something I take very seriously.
According to Brogan and Smith there are six major characteristics that define what a Trust Agent is and how they develop social capital. Each one of us, whether we are dad or mom bloggers, are making our own game, a key element to being a trust agent.
Moms have built up tremendous social capital over the past few years as they have taken to the web to network, share stories about motherhood and bond. We dads are new to the party, but we are working on our game, building social capital and defining ourselves as the ‘Agent Zero’ for our burgeoning network.
Recently, Jessica Smith wrote a piece on her blog Jessica Knows asking if 2010 will be the year of the dad blogger. I would have to say that even if it is not our ‘year’ per se, then the network that we dad bloggers have created is certainly starting to bear fruit. While we may not have reached the point of having The Archimedes Effect, which is the ability to leverage, it is a good start.
A week ago I posted a video here that talked about how I was going to do my first ever product review by testing out one of Sony’s new car stereos. Then, just last week, I accepted an invitation to go to California at the end of this month to be involved in the Nestle Family project.
As excited as I am that das are becoming part of the conversation and the way in which fathers are being perceived is changing, the decision to participate did not come lightly. The biggest reason for this is because I feel that I have made a personal connection with many of you that read or comment on my ramblings regularly.
Throughout the past ten months that I’ve been writing this blog I’ve shared stories about my family life, as well as my other passions like music and cooking. At times I’ve tried to be funny and at other times I’ve tried to provide something useful like the recipes I’ve prepared. I’m certainly not Mario Batali or Eric Ripert, or even worthy of being their sous chef for that matter. Still, I’ve appreciated the way what I have shared has been received.
In the same vain I hope that I have given your work the proper respect. If we’ve ever had any interaction it is highly probably that your blog is in my reader and I always do my best to leave comments that contribute to the conversation. These may seem like small things to you, but to someone that doesn’t make friends easily because of a highly introverted nature, it has made a big difference to me.
Do I consider myself to be a Trust Agent? In a word, no. I feel that I still have much to learn. Am I working to become one as I share my exploits with you and work to overcome my introversion, yes. Like my favorite barbecue recipe, I’m taking it low and slow and hope that I can get there someday.
No matter what your occupation or what your blogging life entails, Trust Agents is a great read that will really make you think, as well as provide some useful tools that you can apply to what your life on the web.
Just as a matter of disclosure I purchased a copy of Trust Agents myself by saving up my stay-at-home dad allowance 
Also, if you have any interest, I’ve continued this manifesto of sorts over at pjmullen.com where I ponder how Trust Agents might have salvaged my career.
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