StandardsGirl.com – Views From Within

When Do You Let ‘You’ Become A Brand?

February 5, 2010

My friend and colleague told me this year she decided to be just herself online. No more hiding or pretending and if someone does not like it well then that is ok too. I told her I admired the bravery of her hell be damned attitude as I am not sure I would feel comfortable doing the same.

Yikes! ‘I’m On Google!

So as someone with a unique name, ok the only one with my name, on the internet I found myself asking when do I become me online? For years I hid behind email addresses and pseudonyms, but I have come to a point in my life and career where it has become more and more obvious that I need to be me, but which me? How much of me?

In my personal life, I am a pretty open book. Ask me something and I will usually tell you. Well as long as we have at least shared a beer. However, in this world of eternally stored data and external judgment, made without prior knowledge, how much ‘you’ do you want to be online? Since I work in technology, it is much more likely that anyone I come into contact with while doing business is going to probably Google me and I do not want to affect future earnings because someone did not like my view on who should really win the Superbowl, or even worse, let them know I watch it only for the commercials. So which me to be?  At least, that is what I ask myself.

Which Me Should I Be?

So as I pondered this dilemma I asked friends in the industry, what do you think? How do you handle your online persona? Where do you draw the invisible lines between you and the world? How do you handle that point where you are no longer you, but a brand? Where your name becomes not only your persona, but a mechanism as vital to your livelihood as Coca-Cola or Pepsi’s image is to theirs. Just ask any former Tiger Woods sponsors how much it matters.

John Smith

Now for some, this is not so difficult a question. If your name is John Smith, there are thousands of ‘yous’ to hide between on the pages of the search results. While someone may come across you, they have to work to figure out which John Smith you might be and let’s face it, unless there are rumored pictures of you with Santa Claus and the elves in a compromising position, they are not likely to care that much.  However, when you have a name like mine, you find that a search brings up your life from now and when you had no idea your online activity would be stored forever in data centers at a place called Google.

Hide And Seek.

Now, I am pretty clean-cut. The most embarrassing thing about me is a peace march I went on in the late 1990′s. Not really embarrassing either, but it is about as personal a note as you will find. But I live in Las Vegas. I am pretty judicious about what I post online, but what if someone else I know is not? What if they post something I do not want a potential business partner or for that matter, potential date to see? Things that are perfectly normal in the context of living here could be misconstrued by others outside. If a person did post something I wish to remain offline, how would I hide the offending materials? For people like me, we would have to create another me just to hide the real me. A fake me to the real me. Wow it can make your head spin.

So why not just keep my name hidden? Why use it at all? I had a friend once with a job that required him/her to have no online presence and they were quite successful. To this day, I can still find no reference to that person. Unfortunately, I do not have that luxury. If I want to grow in my career, people have to know my name, recognize my face, see my work. So I have come between the rock and a hard place of privacy and personal branding and the fine thin line between.

So…

My friend has made the decision. She will be herself warts and all. Agree or disagree, she is ready to take the consequences (and the rewards) of being completely transparent. I wish I could be as brave. The thing is once you have gone to the mountain top, there is no going back. To be all you can be and all your are is a brave choice online. The internet has the memory of an elephant. Once you head down that road there is no turning back.

So that brings me back to my question. When do you become you online? How much of you? Which you? When do you make the choice to be a brand and what brand will you be. Of course, I have no answer to this question. For everyone it is a very personal choice, but I can say that I think we are the first generation that must make these decisions when not famous or infamous. How comfortable are you in placing yourself out there for the world to see, out of context, without input? Maybe we should start a support group? Which me is me, who should I be?

Thanks for listening!

Entry Filed under: 2009,Google,branding,food for thought,internet,marketing,personal branding,technology. Tags: branding, Google, internet, marketing, personal branding, technology, thoughts.