Who Can You Trust?: How Technology Brought Us Together – and Why It Could Drive Us Apart

Capitalism is about resources, trust and transactions. Trust plays a major role in any society.It is true for technology companies as well.Interestingly, society has started trusting technology platforms more than humans.Very interesting take on Trust.

As someone who is similarly passionate about the topic, I am delighted that Rachel Botsman has added her elegant voice to the cause of trust. This is a book which is in equal measure entertaining, educational, easy to read and smooth as chocolate. Rachel has her finger on the pulse of the latest research and case studies, relaying these to the reader in a well-crafted, story-telling style. Each chapter is a stand-alone essay exploring a specific trust topic or related technology. My own favourites were the chapters exploring blockchain and the Chinese citizen scoring system as these were fascinating examples of how technology is re-writing the rules of trust. The two closing chapters on blockchain are a tour de force. At this point, trust has morphed from a dry, academic concept into a thrilling roller-coaster ride into an indeterminate future. However, as I reached the end of the book, I remained puzzled as to whether the author is optimistic or pessimistic about the future. The book treads an even-handed middle line; carefully weighing up the pros and cons of the shifting sands of trust without claiming a definitive position. This is both a writing strength and a leadership weakness. On the one hand, it demonstrates the author's impeccable journalistic impartiality, on the other, it reveals a hesitation to declare a compelling leadership vision and associated call to action. Maybe this is the direction in which the author's vaulting ambition will reach in the future? I hope so. Either way, I found this an excellent contribution to the field and took away some valuable lessons from both the style and the substance of Rachel's work. Highly recommended.

Who can you Trust? is all about the importance of Trust in today’s society. How many of us have seen a Facebook ad, we have no idea who the company is, but have made a purchase? We trust that just because a company is advertising on Facebook it’s legit. After having written that, it’s a bit bizarre to think that. This summer I went to San Fransisco and stayed in a strangers house (AirBnB), we contracted strangers to come to our house and drive us around (Uber) and we made decisions based on the recommendations of strangers (TripAdvisor). Many of the systems we use today are based on this notion of trust.Rachel also describes how technology is helping us to trust, she talks about the “dark web”, Blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Chinese use of “social credit” all of which will become mainstream in the next five years. She does this in both an informative and an easy to read style.Must admit I did feel that book was a little “intense” by enjoyed Rachel’s writing style and examples. Not many people have the family Volvo as the get away car in a bank robbery by the family nanny! No spoilers!If you are interested in the social economics of the way society works or are in business or a business leader, this book is worth a read.

I’ve followed Rachel’s work on the ‘sharing economy’ and with this book, she explains how trust is shifting from institutional (governments, media, church etc…) to distributed (online communities, shared resources, and new tech like blockchain). Its fascinating, prescient and helps make some sense of the chaos. 9/10

Rachel Botsman has a keen eye for observation and an easy style of writing about complex global issues that are becoming more and more important in today's climate. I even understood Blockchain! A must read for anyone who wants to join the dots on apparently disparate ideas about trust.

A very good read