Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Thing 3-Personal Branding

Kristine Mitchell pole dancing on YouTube was quite a shock...and NO it was not me.  It was an eyeopener for sure though.  Yes, this post is about personal branding and while it is supposed to be painless, it requires much thought on my part.  The first exercise was to Google yourself...and I've done that before (couldn't help myself), but this time I really tried to pay attention to others with the same or similar names, usernames, etc.  It also reaffirmed the need for good critical literacy skills for everyone in the digital age.  How does a stranger sort through all the chaff and find the grain of truth?  How much of my information is truly public?  Do I want to be that public?  Are my most relevant digital meanderings at the top of search listings or buried in subsequent pages?  As you can see, this exercise has raised far more questions than answers.

I've filled a couple of notebook pages with my musings on image, tagline, colors, purpose.  I've even doodled with Paint to brainstorm.

I've come to the conclusion that as far as art and creative images go, I will consult with my father-in-law, an artist in his own right.  Outsourcing...yep, works for me.  

I spent some time today looking across platforms (blog, Flickr, Twitter) to make my professional digital presence a bit more cohesive.  Facebook has been a personal presence for a long time...so much so, that to make it professional would be very difficult.  However, I like the easy Circle management in Google+ and am investigating that for combining personal and professional on a social network.  I do maintain a professional presence on Facebook by being an admin on the school PTA page.  When I dropped by my Flickr account, I also spent some time with my privacy settings so that my personal pics were set to Friends and Family and my professional Library Day in the Life pics were public.

I do need a better head shot type photo....after my hair appointment though.

So, what are your thoughts?  Are the choices I'm making working so far?  Tips?  Pitfalls?

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 19, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    I'm doing Thing 3 too at the moment, and I think you're well on the right track. I spent hours customising my blog and sifting through background patterns today - I had a vague idea of what I wanted visually, and it definitely helped thinking about it a bit beforehand. I'm curious to see what your father comes up with design-wise.

    As far as the professional vs. personal identity online goes, first off, thanks for the heads-up about Google+. I haven't looked at that one so far but will investigate now. I have separate accounts on a couple of services to try and keep the personal apart from the professional—I think the key is not to link anything to your real name that you wouldn't be comfortable with your employers reading.

    Do share your experience once you're a bit further along with your journey, I'm definitely intrigued.

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  2. Kristine MitchellJuly 21, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    I'm moving on to Thing 4 today! Spoke with sister in law and we are going to meet for logo design. So excited! I'm still playing over at Google+, though biggest drawback is the lack of professional colleagues online with it yet. Great concept, and makes sharing with circles so very simple. Thanks for commenting!

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  3. Annie GersztoffJuly 21, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    Hi there! Thanks for commenting on my blog a few days ago! I had kind of gotten wrapped up in other things, but your comment pulled me right back in. :) I found you on Twitter - my handle is Annie_Liz there. Keep up the good work, and thank you for inspiring me to get back to work. It's great to "meet" you!

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  4. Kristine MitchellJuly 22, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    Yay! I saw you caught up with your 'Things'. I'm posting on Thing 4 today and will work on 6 and 7 this weekend, ready for Thing 8 on Monday. Nice to meet you too. Thanks for dropping by!

    PS: Following you over at Twitter too. :)

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  5. Kristine MitchellJuly 22, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    Skipped right over Thing 5--now that is being reflective...lol. Yes, I will complete Thing 5 too, but maybe not all 3 by Monday.

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