Just Heather

Live Blogging Keynote: Attention Wars and the Rise of the Trust Agent

Chris Brogan

I’m not sure I’m capturing this one well. You really just have to see this guy in person. We’re currently watching a photo slide show while he name drops. And it’s beyond awesome!

The Attention Wars
We’re not competing with tv, podcasts, banner ads—we’re competing with everything

“How many ADD kids does it take to change a light bulb? Let’s ride bikes!”

“There will never be another mega superstar because we’re all superstars to 500 people now!” (Side note: I told you I was kind of a big deal! That’s why I wear a crown.)

3 Levels of attention
Awareness
Reputation
Trust

Trust Equation
Trust = social capital
social capital + web = links
links = traffic
traffic = social proof
social capital + web = a big f’n network

Make your own game—it’s not a niche. Be the only one doing it.

“The Long Tail is a great justification about why you can be a loser & still feel good about yourself.”

Find your value differentiation
Create a new word for yourself
learn the systems – decide when you should be attuned or distorted

When you are in a circle, you have the transferred wonderfulness of being one of “us” – cool by association.

How to be one of us
Find the agent zero
seek frictionless distribution
be everywhere and create/maintain bonds
all knowledge is vocabulary—the more you learn people’s languages, the more it matters
insider language is huge

Leverage can be time, money, etc

On Bill Gates
On “Who ever figured geeks would inherit the earth?”
You can get to be the richest guy on earth by becoming the almost richest guy.

Archimedes effect
build off your previous success
never start from nothing

How to be Agent Zero
Be the priest; build the church—get your religion, then help others do the same
be the relationship before the sale—don’t try to sell your product if I don’t even know you.
you live or die by your database—do not keep all your contacts in Twitter or Facebook (make the most basic spreadsheet and keep everything in it!)
be part of everyone’s 150—if, primates can only truly maintain 150 relationships, how do you connect with thousands? Really maintain a relationship with 1 person in each group you want to be a part of.

Being a human audience means connecting with people. Being a trust agent online means being human at a distance.

Connect people constantly
share rather than hoard—share your rolodex, share your ideas (they have a shelf life anyway)
practice simple touch points of loyalty
self aware vs. self involved—it’s never about you, it’s about what people can take and learn from you.

Support the people around you because they’ll never forget it.

Be a coach, not a teacher—coaches go beyond the material and all the way into your lifestyle

Give your ideas handles—share small, packaged ideas people can pick up and run with
Teach them to fish
Bring your own dialtone

It’s always about the people; it’s never about the tools.