Trust is more than a word, it’s embodiment through action. I become a trustworthy person. It’s critical in the new 2.0 environment to establish trust and to live it. The whole of business 2.0 is dependent on trust — individual players and companies.
You don’t become a trust-player by espousing transparency alone, you also have to determine motives, intent. What drives the transparency and what is the intent of transparency? What is your agenda? A natural, honest transparency built on unmuddied motives with the intent of being trustworthy is noble as long as you’ve searched your motives, and your behavior is in line with the stated intent.
Using transparency as a weapon or a smokescreen for hidden agendas is not trustworthy, not the avatar of a trust-player – it’s 1.0 scam dressed up in the latest social garb. Those who USE transparency as a marketing technique are cynically misguided and naked before the sharp 2.0 eyes of trust-players. Trust-players are interested in the truth not social chicanery. Trust-players are intestested in reciprocity built on mutual benefit and mutual trust. Transparency is for the benefit of honest business practices laid out on the table. Transparency is not for the benefit of uncovering thy neighbor who prefers privacy; however, transparency can be used as a flood light to reveal the thieves who thrive in darkness.
It’s best to be honest and reveal yourself as honest, rather than hide tricks only to have someone else reveal the tricks. Another way a business can get respect is to say THIS is what we do, and we realize some won’t like it, but, neverthless, it’s not hidden — you be the judge, here is the evidence.
The political players this season are realizing more than ever that it’s useless to hide the negatives — they will be uncovered.
Trulia has recently realized that nothing escapes notice. The one part I respected from Rudy in his defenses was when he said they would continue handling the “no-follow” set-up like they have been. That’s good, at least we know.
The funny thing about transparency is that it’s double-edged and sharp — while you might preach the public’s right to know information high upon the pulpit of 2.0 transparency, others are sifting through your night table for dirty secrets.
This use of transparency can be troubling — just as the call for responsibility with freedom, so it is with transparency — responsible transparency. This can’t be mandated nor governed, it must come from the voluntary behavior of individuals and companies — but using transparency as a weapon or as a controversy traffic builder is revealing of the perpetrator and doesn’t bode well for making them a trust player. So trust is more than transparency — it’s about motive and intent and behavior.
Thomas Johnson says:
All this talk about shifting loan fiduciary lender responsibility https://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=3185
to the Realtor, got me thinking http://agent21.featuredblog.com/?p=24 about this.
Talk of transparency is becoming code for shifting responsibility (read actionable liability) to the deepest pocket or the chump with the least effective lobbying team.
Transparency will also have financial costs. Some nightstands are quite large and once the world is in your drawers, the tort protection will be more expensive than it is today.
June 1, 2008 — 11:54 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Mike-I finally have had a chance to do a bit of blogging today….you make a great point here. I too appreciate Rudy’s straightforward answer to the no follow question.
I like the phrase “responsible transparency” and think this quote of yours was spot on:
“So trust is more than transparency — it’s about motive and intent and behavior.”
June 1, 2008 — 2:37 pm
Mike Farmer says:
Thanks Eric and Thomas.
June 2, 2008 — 4:27 am
Vance Shutes says:
Mike,
Trust, like integrity, takes a lifetime to build, yet it can be shattered in an instant. Like Eric commented, your quote “So trust is more than transparency — it’s about motive and intent and behavior.” hits the bullseye. As we work in the online and offline (an interesting word choice, hmmmm…) world, we demonstrate our trust and integrity with each other and with our clients. The sayings “live in the moment” and “where ever you are, be there” keeps us grounded in that trust and integrity.
June 2, 2008 — 9:05 am
Mike Farmer says:
Thanks, Vance, I agree.
June 2, 2008 — 6:40 pm
Dylan Darling says:
Trust is key in the real estate business. Now that the market has taken a hit almost everywhere in the nation, us professionals that value trust will climb above the agents that were in it to make a quick buck. A referral based business is only achieved by a consumers trust in you. If they trust you, they’re more likely to use you in the future and refer you to friends/family.
Great post Mike. I’ve bookmarked the blog.
June 3, 2008 — 8:14 am
Mike Farmer says:
Thanks Dylan, I appreciate it.
June 3, 2008 — 7:16 pm
Mike Farmer says:
BTW, Dylan, I like your site — the user is led straight to the listings.
June 3, 2008 — 7:20 pm
Dave says:
Mike, My complements on an extremly important subject and you are so very correct!
July 18, 2008 — 6:06 am
Dylan Darling says:
I’m a bit late, but thanks Mike! A lot of time and energy has went into it.
July 29, 2008 — 1:41 pm