Ryan Holiday - Trust Me, Im Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator

PRAISE FOR RYAN HOLIDAY AND TRUST ME, IM LYING

Ryan Holidays absolutely brilliant expos of the unreality of the Internet should be required reading for every thinker in America.

Edward Jay Epstein, author of The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood

Behind my reputation as a marketing genius there is Ryan Holiday, who I consult often and has helped build and done more for my business than just about anyone.

Dov Charney, CEO and founder of American Apparel

Ryan is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results. From American Apparel to the quiet campaigns hes run but not taken credit for, this whiz kid is the secret weapon youve never heard of.

Tim Ferriss, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek

The strategies Ryan created to exploit blogs drove sales of millions of my books and made me an internationally known name. The reason I am standing here while other celebrities were destroyed or became parodies of themselves is because of his insider knowledge.

Tucker Max, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

Just as I thought it wouldit takes a twentysomething media insider to blow the lid off the real workings of todays so-called news media. Holiday shows exactly how a handful of dodgy bloggers control the whole system and turn our collective attention into their own profit.

Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur and Digital Vertigo

When playing for high stakes, Ryan Holiday is my secret weapon. His unique stealth manner makes him essential for winning.

Aaron Ray, partner of the management/production company The Collective with over 150 million albums sold and $1 billion in movie revenues

Ryan Holiday is a man you should listen to.[He] has a truly unique perspective on the seedy underbelly of digital culture. Ignore him at your peril!

Matt Mason, director of marketing at BitTorrent and author of The Pirates Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism

In an area where hazy-headed utopianism reigns, Ryan Holiday excels in thinking about the Internet and its future clearly.

Ethan Brown, author of Shake the Devil Off, a Washington Post Critics Pick

Ryan Holiday is one of the only people brave enough to peer deep into the murky waters of Internet journalism to see how fabricated and unfounded information can be spun by greedy, unethical Internet overlordsdestroying real peoples lives. The danger is realno one is immune from this dystopian world.

Julia Allison, syndicated columnist and on-air correspondent, NBC New York

Ryan Holiday is real. Not only real, but notorious for creating risqu ads online for American Apparel. How could a kid barely legal to buy a drink be the Don Draper of the Fast Company crowd?

317am.net

Ryan Holiday is the Machiavelli of the Internet age. Dismiss his message at your own peril: He speaks truths about the dark side of Internet media which no one else dares mention.

Michael Ellsberg, author of The Education of Millionaires: Its Not What You Think and Its Not Too Late

This primer on how to hack the media zeitgeist is so incredibly accurate, it just might render mainstream media completely useless. As opposed to mostly useless like it is now.

Drew Curtis, founder Fark.com

PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN

PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN

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First published in 2012 by Portfolio / Penguin,

a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Copyright Ryan Holiday, 2012

All rights reserved

Illustrations by Erin Tyler

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA

Holiday, Ryan.

Trust me, Im lying : the tactics and confessions of a media manipulator / Ryan Holiday.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN: 978-1-101-58371-5

1. MarketingBlogs. 2. Public relationsBlogs. 3. Social mediaEconomic aspects. I. Title.

HF5415.H7416 2012

659.202856752dc23

2012008773

Printed in the United States of America

Set in Minion Pro

Designed by Pauline Neuwirth

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON