Personal Brand???

“Social media site just as much friend finder as brand-builder”.  (Sevilla) This statement in the Calgary Herald caught my eye.  Not long after, I attended a session at the University of Calgary (U of C) entitled Creating your Personal Brand.  The session enlightened me to another aspect of our everyday world that is changing with technology.

 “You are a brand.  You are in charge of your brand.  There is no single path to success.  And there is no right way to create the brand called You.  Except this:  Start today.  Or else.” (Peters)

What is a personal brand?  Why is it important?  Do I have a brand already?  Do I really need one?

According to the speaker your brand can be many things- who you are, what you represent, but more importantly how you want to portray yourself to obtain a job and build your career.  I learned how your brand can be built and communicated through your blog, social media presence and even the style of your resume.  During the session, social media was the focus with outlets highlighted such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, which I had not heard of until the session.  

Facebook was the only social media outlet that I was involved with and learning more about branding, I’m not sure anything on my page contributes to building mine.  Anyone who looks at my page will see a love of travel as that is what all of my photos relate to.  Except for a profile picture, I haven’t even added pictures from my recent wedding.   My use of Facebook is purely social, to keep in touch with friends and see what they are up to.  There is nothing about my career or that I am currently attending the U of C working on my masters.  Does there need to be?

At the session, the speaker spoke a lot about Twitter in particular, so I decided to sign up.  As I went through the set up, it asked me to start by following 5 tweeters.  I couldn’t think of anyone I wanted to follow.  I wasn’t sure anyone I knew was even on Twitter as I have never heard any friends or co-workers say they are.  Being put on the spot, I couldn’t even think of people I didn’t know that I wanted to follow.  Eventually I added the obvious- local news and sports: Global Calgary and the Calgary Flames.  In the days following my Twitter initiation I added the three bloggers that I am following for this course.   Looking at the three travel blogs and their tweets, their brand is easy to see.    I wonder, is my blog contributing to my brand?

“It’s a new brand world.” (Peters)

Peters, T. (1997, August 31). The Brand Called You. Fast Company. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html

Sevilla, G. C. (2012, January 31). The evolution of Facebook. Calgary Herald, p. B3.

Choosing a blog to follow!

“Blogs give an individual the chance to interact with and become part of the collective that both shapes and is shaped by his or her thoughts.  Blogs, by their very nature are tentative works in progress.  They have the character of playfulness, which is the core to the new culture of learning” (p. 64)

In my quest to find blogs for my blogging assignment, I found myself overwhelmed with the number of travel blogs out there (there are literally thousands).  As I sifted through the masses, I found myself drawn to certain blogs, and completely uninterested in others- first impressions are very important.  

So... what draws a reader to a blog?  What makes a good blog post?

In my blog search, I initially ‘clicked’ on blogs with names that interested me, such as Don’t Ever Look Back and Stop Having a Boring Life.  I then found myself reading blog posts that:

• had a title that caught my attention
• had a purpose and got to the point
• contained interesting pictures that helped me ‘see’ what the blogger was blogging about
• weren’t too long (my attention span for reading online can be short)

After reading/scanning several posts, I decided whether it was a blog I wanted to follow.  If not, it was on to the next blog.

Going through this process was much like reading a newspaper for me- a headline first catches my attention, and then the author has a paragraph or two to keep it.  If that doesn’t happen I am on to the next article.  Just like the newspaper, with blogs there are so many choices, and not enough time to read them all!

I have decided to follow the blogs of three female travelers.  Over the coming months, I look forward to living vicariously through these women until I can once again set off on my own travel journey! 

Spunky Girl Monologues (love the title and she’s from Alberta)

http://www.spunkygirlmonologues.com/

My Beautiful Adventures (many items on her bucket list are also on mine)

http://mybeautifuladventures.com/

Adventurous Kate (quit her job to spend six months traveling in Southeast Asia, one of my favourite travel destinations)

http://www.adventurouskate.com/

Thomas, D. & Brown, J.s. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create Space.