Wolves in sheep’s clothing?

[John Corey]

I was reading a white paper recently. Not specific to real estate.

It suggested that a lot more business could be done, with or without the Internet, if trust could be established and tracked over time. 

Do people do what they say they will do and how can that be managed over time? 

Reputation could be the keyword.

In most online situations I know, you post stuff and otherwise 'chat'. When something interesting comes along, you dig deeper. Numbers, details and similar facts start to be important. Once you have something that feels interesting, you then have a live conversation. The tone matters. If it is F2F, maybe it is something about the body language and their eyes. 

We seem to be able to make judgement calls based on 'what our gut tells us.' As if our stomach area can talk.

What are your thoughts?