Personal Branding - Part 1

Creating a name for yourself in business, politics, or the arts has long been a goal of professionals, but the idea of personal branding has changed incredibly quickly in the past 10 years.

As the internet has grown, and evolved, social networking has come to rise, and is likely here to stay.  Beginning with the personal website, spreading to weblogs (blogs), and now moving into social networking, the ability to reach any other person in the world's information and thoughts has drastically changed the way those of us who are connected live.  I can now simultaneously send a message to 100 of my friends in the time it would have taken to address a single letter 20 years ago.  Furthermore, I can post a blog entry or make a tweet in a few seconds that is instantly visible to any of the millions of internet users worldwide.  People who would otherwise have no connection whatsoever can now find others with common interests or needs, and unite via the internet.  People with little access to communication with the world outside their country can tweet via text message the state of their home's political unrest first hand.  This vast array of information has its advantages and disadvantages, but today I'm going to focus on the personal advantages that the internet and social networking offers.

The concept of using the internet to create a name for yourself has been labeled "personal branding," and it basically covers any information that the internet offers about you.  Do a quick google search for yourself.  Try including your middle name or excluding it or just using your middle initial.  If you have a facebook or twitter account, you're likely to see one of your profiles in the top results.  If you have created a google account, you will also see that profile, and it's likely that any other variety of websites that you may have visited or commented on will appear.

It's a little scary to think that you are so easily accessed, but you have to think about the positive uses for this mass availability.  The first obvious benefit is employment.  If an employer gets your application, thinks about hiring you, and can quickly find more information on the internet about you, they may decide to call you for an interview or not based on this information.  This is where information control becomes important.  Trying to get your name higher on the list of google search results can increase your visibility, and make sure that potential employers can find you more quickly - assuming they find the information you want them to.

Another benefit is meeting people.  As I said, social networks can connect two or more people who would otherwise have never met in real life, so it's good to use this to your advantage.  Find companies that you may want to work for on twitter or facebook and follow them.  Comment on their posts occasionally, just to make them aware of you, and ask them questions about their company.  Imagine going into a job interview and telling them you saw their post this morning on twitter.

Rather than make this entry longer than it needs to be, I'll include some further reading.  My personal recommendation for getting started is to create a LinkedIn account (basically like facebook for professional connections), start using twitter to follow employers and coworkers, and think about buying your domain name.  It's a cheap investment, and you never know when it will pay off.


My Favorite Personal Branding Blog
LinkedIn
Twitter dos and don'ts