Who Are You On the Internet (Part 3)

So (finally) this will be my last post on creating a good internet personal brand. Enjoy.

Who Are You On The Internet (Part 3)

After you have updated the already the existing you on the internet, it is then a good idea to start spreading your wings and use different types of media. Personally, I recommend running a blog or website and also beginning to use +Google+. Each serves their own purpose and can be used to reach out to different markets. Once, you feel comfortable with your old and new internet personal brand it is time to develop a plan to make periodic updates. As Murphy’s Law suggest everything decays with time.

Step 5

In the first weeks after losing my job, I searched around to find information about how to improve my writing. The major takeaway as the title of my blog suggest was to begin blogging or start a website. I have to say the help has been immeasurable. While somewhat worried about how rusty my analytical skill will be when I return to full-time work, I am not at all concerned about my writing skills. In fact, I believe they have gotten better since I stopped working. This a huge advantage as most engineer are considered to have horrible writing skills.

Additionally by having a blog, I am able to tell people about who I am and how I think. This can be a big help to recruiters and hiring managers when they are looking for someone to fit their culture. This information can also include common ground to bound over. One or two post have included my passion for running and why I enjoy it. This can make it easy from early on to develop a good working relationship.

However, there are many pitfalls when writing your own blog. First, don’t use a blog like twitter. It is very easy to spout off when your angry and come across as unprofessional. That’s not to say you have to write about boring topics. I have written about running, Dr. Seuss and Facebook. I just make sure my all my post can not offend people. It also helps to plan your post in advice. I will usually write an outline of actually type up a post. After, I put another barrier to posting by writing it down in a Google Doc. This gives me two opportunities to determine if a post is a bad idea. Another pitfall is how much personal information to include in post and the about section. This is difficult because it should be somewhere between +Linkedin and Facebook. You don’t want a future employer to know you got drunk over the weekend but you want people to know what make you smile. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you wouldn’t hire someone over the information. It is a tough line to walk but it’s doable.

Another growing social media to use is Google+. I have been using it for about a year and have enjoyed the experience. Love it or hate it, +Google probably already gave you one. As part of their plan to get you migrate from Facebook, every +Gmail user now has a Google+ account. While this may be frustrating it is quite a nice social network. The feature I like most about Google+ is that you easily control who sees what information you post through circles. Don’t want your boss to see your drunk pictures from the weekend? Then simple don’t let your Work circle see the picture. Have a great article you want to share with the world? Then simply make it public. These circles make easy to avoid posting the wrong info for the wrong people. Google+ is different from Facebook because it brings people together around ideas. If you don’t know anyone on the network, then just join a Community and start +1’ing people. This is also nice because normally your stream will only show information from people/things you care about. Google+ is really easy and once you get going it becomes very intuitive. Learning more about Google+ can become part of the continuing updates you make to your internet personal brand which is key to any good brand.

Step 6

As you move forward with your career and personal life, it will become very easy to forget about your personal brand and let it rust. This is even worse than having no brand presence. Everyone has heard the stories about an internet date where the person across the table looks nothing like the picture. This is how the employers will feel if you are not updating your internet profile.

If you are career motivated with your personal brand, then I recommend you start by having a schedule for Linkedin updates. It is very simple to add new projects to your employment history. Also, a weekly basis check for new connections and recommend people you have worked with in the past. If you did start a blog and it’s oriented toward your job field, then be sure to post on at least a weekly basis. No employer wants to see a blog on your website and then see you haven’t updated it for two months. They will think you have no follow through. Even if you have a less professional blog, you need to at least update it on bi-weekly basis.

For the social aspect of your personal brand, you need to be sure to check what photos people have tagged you in. This can be done on monthly basis and catch most poor-taste photos. For Google+, be sure to constantly check for new communities, people and companies. The network is growing and companies/people will see you as cutting edge if you are using it.

Also, be thinking about how you can use other forms of media to improve your brand. I don’t use sites like Pinterest, flickr, yelp and a host of other social networks. These can all be use to improve your internet personal brand. Be sure to share if you have any ideas about the sites I have mentioned or sites not discussed in these post.