Do I need a personal brand?

Suddenly I am wondering if I need a personal brand. Which instantly makes me yell (on the inside; I have neighbours) “I am not a product, I am a person!” Which is true. I am not a bottle of Jif. However, in the new reality of the world I am now in (ie, exploring other career options) I’ve learned that if you use social media (and this is essential), you have to keep in mind how you present yourself in that realm.

I’ve just finished reading an article by the founder of Sydney Writers’ Centre, journalist Valerie Khoo, where she describes a personal brand as “what you want to be known for“. The story is from 2011 but still sounds relevant to me and is a down-to-earth explanation of what a personal brand is, without fluffy marketing-speak. You might want to be known for your cutting-edge ideas and problem-solving ability, for example.

Other great reads on the subject are at Wannabehacks.co.uk by Nicole Froio and Jenni Graham. I’ll do some brainstorming and decide what I want to be known for. And I’ll try to view a personal brand not as a product label but as an alternative way for prospective employers/clients to understand in a nutshell what I stand for in my work. I can see the potential for lots of blog posts about this! What about you? Do you have a personal brand? Why or why not? What do you think are the advantages (or not)? Your comments are welcome.

Dipping a toe in the Twitter stream

On Friday night, I launched myself into the Twittersphere at #AFLBombersBlues for the Essendon (Go Bombers!) and Carlton blockbuster at the MCG. When you’re watching the game from your couch, one thing missing, obviously, is stadium atmosphere. The banter of an AFL crowd is an integral part of the show, I reckon, and raucous supporters only add to the spectacle. Not the jeers of bad sports or racist idiots who really shouldn’t be allowed out in public: to be enjoyable, the comments have to be basically good-natured. From the first bounce, the tweets flew thick and fast, back and forth, everything from Mick’s navy Wiggle skivvy to the Blues’ knack of dashing hopes in the final moments to where the hell was Hirdy to what was really in the Bombers’ oranges at half-time. It was a fun, extra dimension to the game and pretty easy to keep up with tweet action and that on the field. I really liked the feeling of community too: that even though I wasn’t even in Melbourne or at the G, I was still with my tribe.

Prism and the dark side of internal security

On first hearing about the Guardian’s and the Washington Post’s investigation into something called Prism, I tried to ignore it. If it was real, it was too scary. Just ignore it and hopefully it will go away. Then when it was still being mentioned 24 hours later I thought I had better find out about it. Not that, if this stuff is real, it will do any good to know the shape and size and origin of the hurricane that has you in its sights.

The New Yorker: What’s the matter with Metadata? Enlightening and disturbing article from Jane Mayer explaining why we should be worried when officials tell us Prism is “only” collecting the metadata not the content of phone calls.

The New Yorker: From 9/11 to Prism, a nation gone dotty John Cassidy writes that the 2008 US election could have been skipped altogether because we are not in the Obama era but a Bush-Obama era, a period that “will be remembered for an unprecedented erosion of civil liberties and a disregard for transparency”. He also touches on Prism’s freaky logo.

A bit of light relief (you’ll need it) from The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz

More on the freaky logo from the Guardian UK

The New Yorker. America through the NSA’s prism  by Amy Davidson. But it’s Australia too, and New Zealand, and every other country because, as US officials have told the media, Prism collected the metadata of non-US citizens and only incidently swept up data pertaining to Americans. Um, well that’s okay then(!)

Guardian Australia’s Lenore Taylor talked to Malcolm Turnbull today about developments.

More from The New Yorker. The NSA Verizon scandal

Welcome your comments on any of this.