The Trust Agent: A Chapter of, "Am I Doing This Right?"

With personal interaction turning to more of an online channel, staying relevant has become a struggle that could be comparable to survival of the fittest. Who is making the effort, who is doing their research, and who really is trustworthy? During the progressively evolving digital era there are key factors to remember and some of them are found in Chris Brogan’s book Trust Agents. Specifically in chapter nine, The Trust Agent there is some great discussion on how new media provides a platform to humanize yourself or your business, ultimately how to communicate in a digital community and the importance of “making friends”, and lastly how to use the knowledge in the advancement of your career and personal brand.

Although we all know that we are guilty of following those who try to portray a “greater than human” image (you know - the Louis Vuitton wearing , perfect skin, size -2, but “here’s a picture of me eating two double cheeseburgers from In N Out every week because i’m trendy kind”?) Yeah we all follow them. Although we may look to their profiles for a detailed image of perfection - are they really being honest? Unless they have metabolisms that move at the speed of light and cheeseburger grease is what makes their skin glow; I would assume not. Yeah, they probably have some influence on the clothes we buy or the products that we try; however, there are some where it is blatantly obvious that they are trying to spin products to benefit their shopping habits and lifestyle choices. Those are the ones that you see promoting every product as “literally unreal”. Yeah Becky, I bet those gummy bear vitamins have helped your hair grow 4 inches in a month (with no influence from those clip in extensions your last #ad paid for, of course). I guess my point is: you can have a really great feed, promote products, and make really cool content, but what's going to make you trustworthy is your transparency and your ability to humanize yourself and how to make yourself successful while doing it. It’s what’s going to set you apart from the rest of influencers and it’s going to allow you to seem relatable to followers.

So what really makes someone an influencer? Is it the sought after, holy grail of social media status thats in the form of a little blue check? Some might say so; however, what people don’t realize is that their is very little actual one-on-one interaction that goes on between those media figures and their followers. It was mentioned in an earlier chapter on page 69 that, “the wider your network, the easier you get things done.” Although this is true, the larger your following base, the more people you have to advocate your message and brand; the personal aspect of the interaction becomes lost. You are advocating for a person who seems to only be interested in personal gain, rather than a person who is grateful for the support they receive. In some cases this may not be important, many people often look to public figures and could care less if they reply or not. For example, we all are guilty of following at least one Kardashian. Whether it’s because your peers are, to keep up with the social drama or just purely for entertainment. But eight times out of ten I can guarantee you won't expect her to reply to your comment about her products, her personal life or just why Kanye literally never smiles (I don’t get it, how can one person have such a severe case of RBF [resting bitch face, duh]). However, if this person is advocating for a product honestly and is actually responding to questions or concerns from followers instead of ignoring them or hiring a specialist to handle it, you’re more likely to trust this person. This is really crucial to those who are trying to build a trusted brand for themselves. They need people to like them. As it says on page 248, “You need to be liked, and you start becoming likeable by being worthy of being liked. Be kind. Be patient. Be humble. Be on time. Be generous. Be that person you would like to be friends with.” This is such a big thing to remember because media platforms are SOCIAL. They are intended to build relationships and to do so and build a successful career for yourself, you must be liked, you must be a person worthy of being liked, and you need to be trusted.

Co-written by: Miranda Boerger and Brianna Ugalde

The Brand: Bri Ugalde

Everyone has branded themselves, whether they did so knowingly or not, and this brand represents their “face” to everyone who may follow them. Before social media platforms were as influential as they are today; the way a person would brand themselves would be with the way they present themselves, physically, through conversation, and through non verbal communication. Now, with social media being so prevalent to a person’s identity, those characteristics are important when it comes to day-to-day interaction. However; a person’s identity has become much more than the way they are in person.

Social media has allowed people the ability to choose the way they want to be represented. Yes, physical appearance and conversational communication are still used, but it has become easier to control the way these things are presented to the public. People can choose the voice that they want to use on Twitter, even if they would never say some of these things in person. Instagram users can use their platform for creativity, photography, and in creating an image of themselves that they may like.

Creativity, artistic, positivity, individualism, self love

These are the five words that symbolize who I want to be and how I want people to interpret me through my social media platforms. I mainly use my instagram to express these ideals because I feel like it is more of an artistic expression rather than the conversational expression that Twitter calls for. Growing up I was always shamed for “taking Instagram too seriously” or “trying too hard”. What many people didn’t realize was that I love photography, I absolutely love portrait art. Taking these pictures, adding filters, and putting a little extra thought into a photo versus just taking them at badger saturdays, nights out with friends, or as an update of my life, is a huge way that I express myself. I love testing my creativity a and really thinking outside of the box. I love the fact that my pictures look different than my friends, family, or acquaintances because that is what sets me apart and allows me to feel like an individual.

Throughout my life I have had a very hard time expressing self love however. I believe that i do my absolute best to spread the message to others and encouraging the idea of being yourself and loving who you are. However; my biggest fault would be honestly practicing it. I think I would reach a wider audience and gain trust from many of my followers if I would incorporate more honestly into my brand. Not everything can be positive and nothing can be perfect, and something I need to accept is that it's okay to not be perfect. Perfect does not exist, and no one really responds to the idea. Self love is supposed to be about loving the imperfections, individualism is supposed to be about accepting the imperfection and incorporating it into who you are.

I know many people struggle with this issue as well which is why I really want to take action. I do have a wider following base on instagram and I want to use it as a tool. I want to make it okay to be transparent. I want to make it okay to express yourself. I want to make it okay to not be perfect. It’s going to be a journey as I still have to learn to except these things myself, but it has to start somewhere and I truly believe that I can use my creativity, atristicness, individualism, and newly found self love to do so.

Blogging: Lessons Learned

Why start a blog? What are some tips and tricks, the in’s and out’s regarding blog posting in today's society? Well to be honest, I’m still figuring all of that out. To those of you who read my last post or even those who have just been curious of the possibilities and positives that writing a blog can bring, this post is for you. I’m going to let you in on one of the biggest things I’ve learned so far.

There are a few things to remember when writing on such an outlet, such as::

1. Everyone can see this so please no more deeply personal information about your latest bowel movement (yes, i’ve seen it before and I hope to never see it again).

2. Everyone can see this so please refrain from using negative words or language. Whether its towards yourself or someone else, negativity does not bring good company so try to stay positive! People want to read or listen to messages to uplift themselves in some way or to be able to relate to the writer.

3. EVERYONE can see this… Have I said that yet? Hopefully the message has come across loud and clear.

Of course I completely believe that a blog is a form of outlet to journal any interest you may have, whether it be with nutrition, fitness, fashion, coffee, spirituality, LITERALLY anything. However, it is also important to remember that although I refer to a blog as a form of journal, there is a difference, or should be, with the contents of a public journal and that of a private journal. Obviously viewers appreciate honesty and realness, but there is a fine line that shouldn’t be crossed when writing a really good blog. At first I was very nervous to start writing this blog because of the fact that I would be putting such a raw version of myself out to the public. However, I quickly realized that the pieces of myself that I put out on my blog can be my favorite versions of my truest self. I have realized that that is how to rake in positive company on these platforms. Being happy enough with who you are to share it with those watching. I have learned that I get to choose ultimately, I don’t need to over expose who I am to be able to still use my words and voice in a way that allows people to get to know me.

Of course I still have improvements to make as I have only but just started my blogging journey, the idea of the publicity of it all has really stuck with me as I have read and watched other’s blogs/vlogs.