Over the last few weeks, something has been bothering me. One of the recurring themes I'm hearing about, either directly or indirectly, has been around the intersection between technology and trust. While the issues around government access to encrypted communications have received plenty of airplay, the expanding use of machine learning, broad access to vast swathes of data and increased use of social media has made trust the voluble commodity in tech.

Aldi has been named as Australia’s most trusted brand, again. According to Roy Morgan, which has just released its latest Net Trust Score (NTS) survey, Aldi has come out on top ahead of Bunnings, which ranked number two, and Qantas, which came in third.

Choosing a VPN solution requires a leap of faith. Once you choose the application that best suits your needs in terms of performance, licensing and usability, you need to hand over something far more valuable than your money - trust. That's why the lawsuit against the creators of Hotspot Shield VPN is a big deal.

"Trust, success and admiration are earned." That's the lesson in the quote above from investment expert Charlie Munger. As simple as it is, it bears repeating.

First impressions matter and being approachable is more important than coming across as competent when you meet someone new in your workplace, according to a Harvard Business School professor. This can have a lasting impact on your career.

Whether you're selling a product, giving a speech, or just trying to make new friends, it can be hard to gain someone's trust when you're an utter stranger to them. Fast Company explains that, ultimately, it's about finding a balance between being human and being credible.

There's more to being honest than simply never telling a lie. If you want to build trust with those around you, be ready to share information that you don't necessarily have to.

The 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch follows the plight of a faithful husband who must endeavor to resist the charms of a vampy neighbour played by Marilyn Monroe while his wife and son are away on holidays. In the end he resists temptation, but new research suggests his wife would have forgiven him anyway.

I've been a journalist for almost two decades, so I've had plenty of time to get used to the fact that the general public think journos are scum. A survey conducted by Reader's Digest suggests that taxi drivers, door-to-door salespeople and sex workers can join me on the less-respected professions list in Australia.

There's few surprises in the latest list of Australia's most-trusted brands: Apple, Google and IKEA rate highly, while Qantas, Kodak and Dymocks aren't doing so well. That's interesting news for marketers, but consumers should remember a more fundamental lesson: just because you think a brand is trustworthy doesn't mean you shouldn't examine and question what it does.