LATEST ENTRY

INTERNET | Noah Brier

The Brand of Me

My latest marketing project: Creating my online identity.

May 19, 2006 | RSS | EMAIL | PRINT | 6 COMMENTS

Blog networks are all the rage. 9rules just asked for another round of submissions and recieved 700 entries. That's a pretty big number for a geeky blog network. What makes 9rules special is who you're associated with, a 9rules badge has come to mean quality and their careful selection process helps them maintain this position. Problem is, that kind of quality control doesn't exist everywhere.

On a few occasions I've been asked to join blog networks. I've turned it down every time for one simple reason: I don't want to be associated with a group unless I have absolute belief in what they represent and the quality of product they put forth. Put shortly, I'm incredibly controlling of my online image. More and more lately I've been thinking of myself as a brand that needs to be managed carefully. NoahBrier.com becomes the online hub of that brand. The way the site looks and everything written here becomes a reflection of me.

That's why I'm so careful about who I associate myself with. Nike wouldn't align itself with a brand or charity it didn't absolutely believe in, so why should I? My online identity is incredibly important and will most likely travel with me for much of my life. The fact that I control the top Google spot for my name is powerful. I am defining myself.

I expect that this idea will become increasingly important as more and more information ends up online. Think about kids growing up now with Myspace, Facebook and whatever else accounts. Much of their life is being documented from a young age. That means when they're looking for a job and are Google 10 years from now all that stuff will show up. This doesn't have to be a problem, but it's certainly something to be aware of. I personally stand with Bryan over at Avalonstar who wrote: "When it comes to jobs, let your blog be your screener. If you run into potential employers similiar to those Kristine had to deal with, then screw ‘em, there are better places out there that’ll have more respect for you."

The problem is many people can't afford to take that attitude. Unless you're fairly confident with the online identity you've created it's hard to take this angle. That's why it's so important to be aware of what's out there. If you're in high school you should go out and start a site with your name as the title. Put whatever information you want associated with you.

Don't let others define you. Define yourself!

When I had this conversation with Kareem a few weeks ago his question was, "what about the people who write bad stuff about you?" My answer: "Bring it on." The wonder of the internet is it proves that there's no such thing as bad press. As long as a detractor includes a link they're upping your pagerank and if they've got a comments section, you've even got an opportunity to defend yourself on their site. Returning to the branding idea: The best brands are the ones that inspire both the positive and negative. If you're writing something that someone feels passionate enough about to write a response then you're doing something right (assuming you're not just viciously attacking others).

It's especially interesting to bring the "Brand of Me" back to the current attention debate. In discussing some comments by Esther Dyson in the WSJ Andrew Keen wrote: "Dyson says that the Internet in 2016 will come to reflect our hunger for attention. It will be electronic proof of our existence. To misquote Descartes, "I can be googled, therefore I am." The future of media, therefore, for Dyson, is partly a Darwinian struggle to rank higher than others, and partly an existential struggle to prove one's own identity."

Certainly part of why I have this website is to attract attention to myself. However, I think it's a mistake to call online identity creation only an act of attention. In the real world it's easy to shape your identity. People see you, talk to you, shake your hand, interact with you. All of these things play into their opinion of you. Online those physical interactions aren't possible. Online you can be anything. That's part of what attracted so many to the internet in the first place. More and more, however, people are choosing to be themselves online, not someone else. It is becoming an extension of us and as an extension we must be aware that it is also a reflection.


PREVIOUS ENTRY | NEXT ENTRY

LEAVE A COMMENT

First name, first and last, whatever you feel like.

Required, but not displayed (so don't worry about spam).

If you've got one, flaunt it.

You can use some HTML (a's, br's, p's, oh my!) if you'd like, if you don't know what that means, don't worry about it.
REMEMBER ME?

COMMENTS

1David Askariopour

Excellent Post! Thanks for sharing that, Noah. I agree, one definitely needs to be in control of their online presense in every possible way. I also like to stay on top of my image over the net and as time passes many more people will being to take that notion more seriously.

May 20, 2006

2jeff

HERE'S A COMMENT ABOUT THE DUNKIN DONUTS ARTICLE:

They don't need a coffee twist. They need a marketing twist. Dunkin Donuts should market itself as the working man's coffee place...small/medium/large not grande/venti/whatever....

DD's...for the people, for the taste.

May 21, 2006

3Bill Rice

Identity is going to be an increasingly important concept as it becomes harder and harder to get attention to "your brand," while it gets more and more important to manage your identity as a critical component of the digital lifestyle. For example, there is only one billrice.com (that someone in China wants $2500.00 from me to own) so I have to be content with billrice.org. So, then what do the other Bill Rices do. I tried to buy all my children's name--all gone! How do they build their brand or more importantly manage their correct identity?

I agree that you should actively manage your identity, but I also believe that a large part of you identity is how others define and interact with you. In fact, within any identity or "brand" there is a component of external perception. This is just as crucial to the branding process, but much harder to manage.

May 23, 2006

4Noah Brier

Thanks for the great comment, Bill.

Couldn't agree more, mostly what I'm saying is that it's incredibly important to just get in the ring. Don't only let others define you: Actively define yourself.

May 23, 2006

5Inejiro Asanuma

'Identity' is just a marketing director's leet-speak of saying style.... with less style. Personally, I think the use of the word should be banned among business and design professionals.

But to be more realistic...
This idea of identity and branding is usually little more than a corporate cover-up to hide the fact that the product or service sucks.

For instance:
Microsoft.
Marketing push: Productivity
Complexity of concept: High
Quality of product: Garbage
Why?: Because their product is a counter-productive headache for everyone who uses it. So, cut down on the number of concepts, and push the one that seems like it can make the most end-user sales.

However...
Apple
Marketing push: Elegance, simplicity, and reliability
Complexity of concept: Low
Quality of product: High
Why?: Branding is easy when your product is top notch. The quality speaks for itself.

Yet, both of these companies align themselves with shotty 3rd party developers all day long, and still have remained as two of the strongest brands America's got.

In an ideal world, all marketing people should be fired, which is okay, because they would be just as happy sitting in a make-shift cubical with a box of Crayolas and stack of white translucent vellum. In the mean time I agree these types of necessary evil should only work on marketing products that they can honestly believe in, and use themselves in their day-to-day life.

However, If you're really so confident of your own identity, there is no need for a lock-down on who you associate with. Eye-balls are eye-balls, and coverage is what's important.

May 23, 2006

6Noah Brier

Inejiro, thanks for the comment.

Identity is not actually a marketing term, it's a psychological term that refers to how one defines him or herself. We all create an identity and for most of us that identity extends far beyond just our 'style.'

As for the belief that "identity and branding is usually little more than a corporate cover-up to hide the fact that the product or service sucks," your Apple example pretty much defeats that argument. I happen to agree with you that Apple products are quite good, but they are also the very definition of branding/identity creation. A huge part of Apple's success is based on the way they've associated themselves with being 'cool.' The have positioned themself as an alternative, as a result, turning those who buy their products into non-status quo'ers. Its silly to think their success is purely a result of a quality product.

Finally, in response to your comment about my confidence in my identity and there being no need to worry about who I associate with, that's just not the world we live in. It's a 'perception is reality' universe and while I could just let the cards fall as they may, I'd much prefer to be the one placing them in the order I'd prefer.

May 24, 2006