I had the opportunity to see Chris Brogan and Julien Smith share a little bit of the content of their new book Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust at the SOBCon conference I attended in May in Chicago. The presentation was around an hour, but it was enough to convince me that this book was going to be great.

When I returned home I immediately pre-ordered two. I got my copies right before the weekend and last night I dove in!  It is everything that I expected and more!  I am not done, although it won’t take long, the content is so good, but I wanted to tell you to go out and buy this book!

If you are still trying to figure out what social media is all about

, this book will give you insight into how “today’s online influencers are web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online.”

If you ever have the opportunity to meet Chris Brogan you will immediately see that he is just as friendly, warm, and inviting in person as he is on his blog or his newsletters.  He is gracious and helpful and there is no question that he is someone you can trust when it comes to his recommendations, his observations and his work. That is because he personifies the characteristics of a friend.

So whether you are getting into social media and want to emulate the actions that have made Chris and Julie successful trust agents, or you want to understand how to work with an online influencer, or just want to read a very good book, Trust Agents is a must read!

Follow Chris Brogan on Twitter

And now, since I did buy 2 copies, I am giving one away!  Just leave a comment about why you want to check out this book and I will select a random winner next Wednesday (8/26/09) to send you my extra copy!

If you live in the Bay Area and are interested in taking your social media activities to the next level, then the Social Media Boot Camp being held in Sunnyvale, CA on August 17th is the event for you!

This 5 hour seminar is designed for the Intermediate person who has some experience with updating their own website, that is a Do It Yourselfer for their own SoMe strategy and organic rankings, you are familiar with Article Publishing, Blogging and you are active on other social media platforms such as Facebook, Biznik, You Tube, My Space, and/or Twitter.

There will be 6 Experts who will each give Tips, Tricks & Tactics that you can take and apply to your business, website, online store or your social media presence immediately. Each speaker will talk for 45 minutes with a 15 minute “Ask the Expert” Q & A.

I will be doing the session on blogging! I will be covering how to gain traffic to your blog and how to tactics for PUMPING up your blog for humans and search engines.

For more information on the entire day and other details, check out the registration page

How do I get started social media? This is a question that is often asked of me. The answer is simple, you start by listening.

May people have described social media as a cocktail party. Like most cocktail parties where you only know a few people, or maybe no one at all, it can be awkward at first. But if you grab a drink and sit back and listen as you make a tour of the room you might find a conversation that you’d like to join.

Listen some more and introduce yourself. Add in your appropriate two cents worth and see where it leads. Once you figure out where your conversations make sense you can join the community and contribute. It is as simple as that to start.