© 1984 by Theodor S. Geisel and Audrey S. Geisel

My favorite Dr. Seuss book growing up was, “If I Ran the Circus.” It was a tale of out-of-control entrepreneurism at its best.

It’s about a boy, Morris McGurk, who imagines an unimaginable Big Top in the vacant lot behind old man Sneelock’s ramshackle store. Sneelock, BTW, becomes the unwitting ringmaster.

McBurk fantasizes about a menagerie of creatures, stunts, acrobatics and kerplunks that grow wilder as the story progresses. Wikipedia describes it as, “A social commentary about human’s errors and excesses.”

To me, peering through the tent flaps of social media is a lot like witnessing the cacophonous Circus McGurkus: Where do you start? Where do you stop? End up in the middle, or right on top?

In “Trust Agents,” Brogan, and co-writer, Julien Smith, deftly take you through the blogosphere like a tightrope walker above a Grizzly-Ghastly. They orchestrate the many acts of the three-ring social media circus, including how to juggle Twitter, Facebook, Technorati, Digg, and other channels that are: Colossal! Stupendous! Astounding! Fantastic! Terrific! Tremendous!

In their words:

“We’ve taken what we’ve learned from our years as “digital natives” (people who have grown up inhabiting the various online haunts of the moment), combined it with our understanding of games, people, and business as a whole, and followed it all up with information and ideas to help you better understand the mindset required to match these actions to your business needs.”

If that doesn’t sound like Sneelock directing McGurk’s Circus McGurkus, I don’t know what does.

It’s no wonder that “Trust Agents” shows you how to make social media work. Brogan and Smith have been around since web 2.0 was a dusty lot itself. They’ve pitched their big tops and become a couple of the most authoritative voices in the biz.  If you want a peek at their act, see Chris’s presentation to Chapman University.

In short, “Trust Agents” helps anyone make sense of social media and shows you ways to earn your own “Social capital” in the process. It’s about using the web to build influence, improve reputation, and earn trust.

And put on a show!

I think Dr. Seuss summed up social media more than 50 years ago when he wrote: “Why, ladies and gentlemen, youngsters and oldsters, your heads will quite likely spin right off your shouldsters!”

Visit the Trust Agents site at trustagent.com.