Trust in general is a pretty sensitive topic, especially today. We just need to look around in the news and our communities for some awesome examples of trust building and also some that are not so flattering. We find many of our peers are quizzing themselves these days about trust and the importance of trust in our marketplace and in our communities. Not just in business but in life in general. It leaves me with a tremendous amount of thinking. Good thinking mind you...

What is trust and what does trust have to do with today's market?

How can we build trust in today's online world?

• Where do you create trust?
• How can you create trust?
• When do you create trust?
• Who can you create trust with?

The world is bombarded with marketing messages each day "buy my product", "use my service" or "don't trust the other guy". What do have to do now to separate the wheat from the chaff and purely focus on those who are here to serve us without their own agenda. Let's face it, everyone has an agenda, but is their agenda aligned with yours. That is the critical question around trust and especially building trust in our online environment.

Who are great examples of those who understand the power of trust?

Institutions we used to observe as highly trustworthy are crumbling around us (just picked up the paper to see great examples). Look now further than the Catholic church, once a highly trustworthy establishment has been rocked with controversy and leaving a number of their members scratching their heads.

Another example is Toyota. What did Toyota do differently? Sure, they are different organizations with different goals but one leader acknowledged their issues while the other went into hiding.

How about Facebook? Are they building trust or purely going after their own agenda?

The biggest question of all, Where do you fit in?