Jul 24, 2007 | blog
An interaction on one of the SocNets led me to think of how your online name, handle, or pseudonym can be branded. Many may remember our first introduction to personal wireless communications some 30 odd years ago via CB Radio. Interactions went something like:
Breaker good buddy, a Kojak with a Kodak waitin’ with Evil Knievel on exit 20. Catch ya on the flip side in 20. Stopin’ at the choke-n-puke for some go-go juice.
Ah, what quaint communications indeed. The CB Radio was the cell phone of its day, and the use of the device made you feel a little like a DJ, so I’ll cut it a bit of slack. At least conversations went something like that – hey I was 10, I can’t remember exactly. At any rate, it was the first time I had heard of a “handle” and it was all the rage (along with the first go-round with bell bottoms and corduroy) to come up with something outrageous to call yourself.
Here some thirty plus years later, many people still choose to use a pseudonym online in place of their real name. While I highly recommend using your own name, I do understand the reasons for not using it. Anonymity is desirable in addition to being recognized.
The point of this post, is that whatever name you choose to use online, I recommend keeping consistent in name, and the spelling of it. It doesn’t matter if you prefer a pseudonym or your name, but stick to it everywhere you go on the Internet.
Also, if you think into the future you will realize that your pseudonym may follow you into many professional endeavors. Realizing this, you may want to think about a more professional, or at least professionally acceptable pseudonym to use in crafting your brand.
After all, do you want your personal brand to appear as Your Chosen Brand or “rubber ducky”.
10-4 Good Buddy!
Technorati tags: Personal Branding, Online Handles, Pseudonym, CB Radio
Jul 19, 2007 | blog, leadership
Seth Godin writes a job description that mirrors my professional odyssey to date and into the future.
Seth’s Blog: Jobs of the future, #1: Online Community Organizer
Technorati tags: Community Organizer, Social Networking
Jun 20, 2007 | blog
If you asked me two years (or so) ago if I would ever entertain the idea of video blogging, I probably would have said “no”. That is one of the first things I have to point out for those getting started working on their personal brand. Don’t overlook anything that will expand your brand presence!
Since starting blogging and learning to promote my brand, there are more opportunities to get yourself recognized than one can believe. It simply requires a little effort on your part, but you can be your own PR department. You can point out your skills and your talents. It’s up to you to publish articles and talk about your area of specialty and how you bring value to clients. Only you can give your perspective and work to help answer questions about you.
Of course, there is more to personal branding than just talking about yourself, to be of real value you need to provide value to your readers, listeners or viewers. And that brings me to my main point for this post – experimentation.
Since I’ve always been a tech-geek more interested in how technology works rather than how to use it, I’m historically a rather conservative user of technology. However, since my awakening to personal branding I’ve found it much easier to start leveraging new technologies and ideas.
Some of the really useful technologies to personal branding is the rise of personal broadcasting. The ability to broadcast your ideas (yourself) either by recordings or live audio/video is a stunning milestone in our fast-paced world. Three years ago, I was hesitant to even put my name out on the web, but through several years of participation online, I’ve found that it gets easier.
The real trick is to not let yourself be tied to one service or community. Don’t spread yourself too thin, but get your name out there in as many places as you can. Use the new personal broadcasting services to your advantage. Find a topic that you are passionate about and talk about it.
Invite other bloggers to participate and polish it up before publishing it on YouTube and such. Have peers & associates sit in with you and discuss your topics of interest. Get it out there, and most importantly, get it linked in your blog if you don’t publish it there first. More than anything else, don’t be afraid to get yourself out there and to experiment. Find what works for you and use it.
What do you do for your personal brand? I’d love to know how you experiment with new media and make it work for you!
Technorati tags: Personal Brand, Personal Broadcasting, New Media
Jun 5, 2007 | blog
For all those who are really working on their Personal Brand, here is another article. The whole concept of Personal Branding is gaining more ground as people understand what it means to promote yourself. Again, it’s more than just your reputation.
Via: Fast Company – Leadership and Personal Branding
Technorati tags: Personal Brand
May 4, 2007 | blog
So many times when I was in the corporate world, several co-workers and associates would tease me about my blog. Or mention as a point of humor about how you can Google my name and all the results are about me. For quite awhile I didn’t really know how to answer these folks or how best to describe why I blogged.
What I’ve figured out is that most people are still afraid of the Internet. More specifically, that their personal information may get distributed on the Internet. The reality of course is that for a small fee, anyone can get all the background information we want or need on anyone else.
The hardest part for me was to overcome my fear of having the world know who I am. I had gotten past that stumbling block before I consciously knew it – seriously, if you go back and read my two early blogs (I don’t count MSN Spaces), you’ll see that I really hadn’t an idea of what I was getting into.
So here are some reasons I blog:
- My personal space on the global stage
- A platform for voicing my opinions, viewpoints, ideas, thoughts
- A place to get feedback from anyone in the world (I don’t delete negative comments – only inappropriate ones)
- A place where people can always find me – from new contacts to old friends (my email address and phone number are always here)
- A portal into everything that I am – from here you can find my resume, my consulting company, my online professional links, my social networks and more
- A permanent place for all the search engines to find me (yes I want that)
At any rate, the main thing I’ve learned is that you can’t be afraid of people learning who you are. With a blog, you have some control of that, you have the ability to craft your personal brand which is much more than just your reputation.
By the way, today I found another tool to promote myself (or yourself – way wait?), called Ziki that is kind of an online self-promotion aggregator. It looks like a fairly interesting site for combining your important online bits and getting them rated higher in Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
