To trust or not to trust! That is the real question isn’t it? I would guess that most of us at some time or another in our lifetime has asked that question a time or two. We trust our spouse, we trust our children, and we trust our banker or broker. We trust the people who teach our children, or our bosses or our ministers. We trust a lot of people.
But how do we determine to trust on this website? How do I determine that? There are several ways that I determine my trust list. We all have our own ways of trusting someone or not! And here are mine.
But first of all let’s look at the Webster’s Dictionary™ on what trust means. There are actually a lot of definitions to choose from. But the one that I am looking for simply says: “To have a confidence in someone or something.” And that is the reason I trust someone on the site. I have developed a confidence in a person and their work. I know that each time I read their work that it will be helpful to me and to others. I develop a sense of trust for people not just by what they say to the consumer but how they say it!
Are they being sincere? Are they being a smart mouth? And sometimes when I see those little clear squares in a review, I know that they have taken a quote from a website and have not informed me they have done so. This is wrong and I don’t like that at all. If you are going to quote, please let me know it’s a quote. In fact, the law says you have too! You must give credit where credit is due. Put quoted information in between quotation marks or tell me if it’s directly from a website or book or etc.
I watch to see what they write, how they write, how much they write. If their work is that of a dedication to themselves, the site and to those who will read it! I look for information within the review that I know I will be able to trust. Information that would guarantee me that what I was reading was real.
For example: If I wanted to know about something in electronics then of course I would search for a review on that product. When and if I found that information I would read it with an open mind. And when I was finished reading it, I would go to other work of that person and read some more of their work. Of course I would also rate as I went along.
Now I will admit that sometimes a persons trust list does influence me some. And sometimes it won’t. If a person has a long trust list I will look to see who is on that list and I will read some of their work, especially if I am not already familiar with the work. I will look at that persons trust list and so on and so on.
And there are times when certain people that I know I already trust, which are on my current list, that I will trust their judgment on another’s trust list. But in the back of my mind I am still leery at times because I feel I haven’t read enough of reviews by the person I am considering trusting.
I will also look at new people to the site very closely. I will certainly watch for their work. I will add them to my list of “tell me when this person writes a review” and I will read each review they write. Sometimes I trust them right away and sometimes it takes many reviews.
Another thing with new people I will look for is to see if anyone trusts them at all. And sometimes they have no one. So this will put me on a mission to find out more about the person. I will read other reviews if they have any and rate them. And sometimes I will be the first to trust them. And that’s okay too!
And I always read a persons profile page. I like to find out what I can about the person I am considering adding to my trust list. Now sometimes this is helpful to me and sometimes not, because that depends on what that person is telling me on their profile page. And unfortunately, sometimes there is nothing. But that does not always stop me from trust.
I also have friends that I have referred to the site that I know I can trust right away. These are people that I have known for a very long time and I know them to be trustworthy. I know that the reviews that they write will be their own work.
And that brings me to the next thing. I will read comments of reviews to check and make sure no one has spotted a plagiarist. I will not trust those people at all. And if someone I had on my trust list writes plagiarists work, then I removed them as soon as I find out about it.
I will sometimes consider the number of reviews a person has written. Sometimes this means a lot to me and sometimes if don’t mean squat to me! A person’s ability most of the time to write well is what really attracts me to trusting them. A person who I know has put some effort into their review, an effort that is noticeable to all, an effort of letting the consumer know truth of the product or situation that they are writing about is in deed truthful information. Whether their reviews are short of long. I must feel that what they have written is truthful in all ways.
And sometimes you just know you can trust a person. Sometimes when reading a persons work you can sense that they are good people, truthful people. And that really means a lot to me.
I will not trust plagiarists like I already stated. I will not trust someone who bashes another writer or another person in anyway. I will not trust someone who makes fun of people. I will not trust someone who starts trouble with others. I will not trust to just trust. I will search my soul, sometimes for days or weeks or months before I trust.
And if someone ever, in any kind of way, shape or form emails me and tells me “I have added you to my trust list” you can believe that I will not be adding them to mine! That is a big turn off to me. Please, don’t you dare even think for one moment that I am going to trust you just because you decided to trust me!
Oh granted there are people on my trust list that has me on theirs. But I know they have earned it to be on mine, as I have to be on theirs. And there are some people that I have on my trust list that do not have me on theirs, and you know what, that’s just fine too!
There are all kinds of ways that each of us chooses in trusting someone on the site. We all have our own methods and that is just how it should be.
Don’t trust just to trust. Be sure of whom you are trusting and why? Be sure it is what you are looking for in a person. And remember that sometimes your trust list is powerful to others and your list will be looked at!
And let me tell you something, when the President/CEO of this company puts you on their trust list, well that tells me something right then and there. And it is an absolute honor to be on their trust list. And I like that a whole lot! And I certainly have them on mine! Besides if I can’t trust the people who run the site, whom can I trust? And having them trust me is a very good thing.
I hope that this has helped in some kind of way.
God Bless!
©LKD 2002