Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator

For someone who works in marketing, I have always assumed that there was a lot of manipulation in the mass media. But I must admit, I was shocked at the level to which this new breed of savvy marketers will go to get the exposure. When I was in College, I didn't see "Media Manipulation 101" on the class list. This book exhibits the new level of sophistication that exists in the industry of buzz. If it were a college course, it would be "Advanced Media Manipulation 301–Graduate level."

Although this book is meant to be a "don't do what I did, do what I say" story, it really expanded my vision as to what is possible in today's media saturated culture and I found myself running scenarios in my head how I could use similar ideas to promote the things that I care about... even if a person's intentions were honorable.

If this book did anything for me, it was to reinforce my suspicion that you definitely can't believe what you read in the paper and even more so online.

After I was done with the audiobook, my only question was why the author explains all the dirty tricks he used (and had astonishingly good results), to then turn around and spend the second half of the book explaining why you shouldn't do the same thing he did. Out of guilt?

At any rate, the author did a great job narrating the story. And I would recommend it to anyone in business (especially in marketing). Trust me...

Loved the book. It changed the way I think about the media and how I plan on approaching bloggers in the future. Not that I plan on creating fake email accounts but recognizing their mindset and finding a way to give them what they want is invaluable. I thought I was doing that already but after listening to the book, I recognize that I haven't been.

I have to say, this is one of the best books I have listened to since I started with Audible. The writer presents information that I always suspected but couldn't nail down. He's current, articulate and must lead a very interesting life. Buying a book ( print or audio) is never hard but this author delivered about 200% value. The content speaks for itself. If you haven't read or listened to this book, give it some serious thought. You will NOT be disappointed! Great Job Ryan! Have you written anything else?

This was very helpful. Holiday is good, no doubt about it...

However much the underbelly of New Media may shock you in this book, I cannot shake the feeling that Holiday sensationalized the book himself. His "unveiling" of how Youtube uses Thumbnails to increase Click-through-rate is not as crazy as he suggests. Although there is manipulation going on, I don't think it is bleak as he professes.

I DO recommend the book for anyone who makes their living from new media.

Loved this audiobook. Such an interesting subject...fascinating to learn the strategies used to exploit blogs and to discover the underbelly of our digital culture.

At first I wanted to skip this book because I thought it has no big news for me. I was wrong.

As an RSS addict, I didn't realize how biased the whole blogsphere is.
This book has totally ruined the Internet for me.

At this point I can not trust a single word I read online. Everything looks suspicious, everything you read might be manipulated by some smart PR guy.

A "must read" book for anyone who spends more than 2 hours a day online.

Probably not. While interesting, it was not as thought-provoking as advertised. That combined with little to no actual sources to back up his claims, it is really just the author's word hoping to be taken as truth.

It was read well, however there are particular moments in the book where the audio cuts to what sounds like last-minute additions. The audio is lower quality, and sounds as though recorded through a built-in computer microphone.

It is a quick read, so I have no regrets.

Probably not because the central theme of Don't Trust Anything the media tells you is clear enough the first time.

Confessions of an Ecomonic Hitman

He is telling his story with all the emotional inflections added to his words that would never transfer via print.

I was saddened to have many suspicions validated.

A worth while read...perhaps a little over the top here and there but if it peaks your skepticism and makes you question the media it has served its purpose.

Everyone knows there's something fishy about the way the media works these days. Was I a fool or did there used to be more adherence to ethics and accountability for honesty? Ryan Holiday outlines exactly where we went wrong with modern media and shows the faults in a historical context. As far as reliability our media system has regressed 100 years and the web is providing the tools to do it.
We do have the ability to change this though, and just knowing what's wrong helps fix the problem significantly, as new technologies come with a learning curve. Here's the manual.
The beginning of the book outlays a lot of really useful information for how to get noticed in today's world, how to promote an idea or brand (and the shady ways in use today). That's what drew me in, but I stayed for the well put together picture exposing the framework of sham that leads our politics, ads, fun, -our lives- online. In the end it's a bit repetative and feels a touch watered down for page count. Maybe just in comparison to the meaty beginning?Overall I think this is information everyone of voting age NEEDS TO KNOW. If not to understand politics, to understand advertising, culture, and the conversations happening all around you both online and off.

It's nice to hear him speak because it's written from his perspective. He is speaking to you in the book, so you get that added element of his personality that voice brings. If it wasn't narrated by the author I wouldn't care which, but in this case it's a nice bonus to gain a little insight/perspective about who he is.

Yes, I did listen to it all in one sitting.

a fast paced first person account of modern media in the internet age
he is a bright 20 something with " a certain moral flexibility "
it all gets old for him about the time he decides to grow a conscience

he has a good story to tell the truth but he's just an ok narrator
on the other hand, it is his own occupational auto-biography
so i might be inclined to cut him a break on the voice work

he makes a serious effort to tie today's media to journalistic history
hearst, pulitzer, ochs and yellow journalism all get worked into the tale
soren kierkegaard, henry kissinger and george orwell are also quoted

technology improves but " the con game " remains fairly similar
he sells people stories they want to buy but don't want to admit to
it all quickly becomes a hall of mirrors and half-truths and deception

it will help me to watch on-line and cable news with an appropriate filter
everything of truth or value is seems gets sacrificed to speed and money
" blog sourced " has the initials BS / there must be some reason for that