Awhile ago, Chris Brogan wrote a list of 100 Blog Topics he would like to see. When I read those, I started drafts on three of the topics and determined that I would mull them over for awhile and when I felt like I had something worthwhile to say, I’d contribute my thoughts on those topics. A month later, I’m ready to tackle the first topic.

In the past few weeks, there’s been a notable shift here at this blog in what kinds of topics are tackled. The obvious slant is a business related slant. The mind of an entrepreneur. The thoughts of someone who finds the connected dots between the internet and social media tools available to us and business. In some cases, “business” is a vague term that is more aptly “practical common sense”.

We’ve talked a lot about brand recently and well into the past. A vast paradigm shift has occurred quietly and caught PR folks with their pants down. Why? Because a fundamental understanding of brand control is occurring and it’s outside of their control. In the good old days, brand was controlled via territorial trademark lawsuits, licensing provisions and PR firms. A brand was to be trusted because people will willingly become customers of a trusted brand. If you went to Best Buy, you were more likely to buy a Panasonic television at a premium cost point than you were a “generic” brand at half the price. “Panasonic is a great name”, you might have said. I remember going through this same routine in 1993 when purchasing my first CD stereo system. I bought JVC, because the JVC brand was “a good brand”.

In the good old days, brand was all about the corporate message – whether through advertising, press releases or user experience. Today, the only one of those things that matters is the user experience.

Today, organizations like the NFL and others continue heavy-handed brand control not realizing that brand is in the hands of the customers.

Today, brand is a matter of trust. Customers trust a brand because they have good experiences with the brand. The trust the brand, not because of a television commercial, but because they’ve been actively listened to and embraced. Customers who do not trust a brand, will not be customers for long and that hurts the bottom line. Customers who don’t trust the brand have made the brand worthless. Now who’s in the driver’s seat?

After purchasing my JVC CD stereo system in 1993, I had major problems with the internal workings. In dealing with customer service, my experience was soured. In my perception, warranties were not honored. I’ve never bought a piece of JVC equipment since. My trust in them disappeared in one instance. Their brand is worthless to me. Others, in the context of this time this blog has existed, have lost value in their brands as well – DirecTV, Comcast, The Hampton Inn.

For me, my brand is controlled by you – the reader. Additionally, my brand is controlled by other bloggers. My credibility is with those who follow me. I’ve taken the approach that I will engage the community around me because transparency builds trust. Trust builds brand. As trust grows, brand grows. Out of brand comes reach, job opportunities, speaking opportunities, user engagement, subject matter expertise and loyalty.

I’m a firm believer in brand control by engagement. What are your thoughts?

Added: By the way, here’s an example of a local café trying to control their brand in an internet age and having the opposite of their intended effect.