A Matter Of Trust
Posted by anastasia on 02-26-2008I'm speaking on a panel tonight at The Churchill Club called "Who Do You Trust? Trends in Trust and Influence for the Next Generation of Business Leaders." The panel was inspired by Edelman's annual "Trust Barometer" research, which for the first time polled "25-to-34-year-old opinion elites." A couple of highlights from their press release:
- The United States is experiencing the widest divide between business and government in the survey's nine-year history, with 58% saying they trust business to do what's right, an all-time survey high, compared with only 39% for government.
- Mainstream media — newspapers, television news, and business magazines — are the most widely used sources of information about companies. While business magazines are the most trusted source globally (57% of respondents) "trust in media is rising because the definition of media has broadened to encompass social media," said Mr Edelman, "and mainstream entities are now available as and when needed."
I've been trying to figure out what I can contribute to this conversation, perhaps looking ahead at how the next generation will decide who to trust. The biggest challenge is educating young people to be media, marketing and information literate in an information overloaded media landscape where results are instant (but not always the best) and the wisdom of "crowds" is not always what it appears to be.
What do you think I should say tonight?
February 27th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Hope the panel went well, Anastasia, and thanks for the Depeche Mode reference! (gosh that makes me feel old!)