Facebook made available ‘personalized’ URL’s at midnight on Friday. I got mine facebook.com/beverlymacy. Did you get yours? Another personal branding opportunity!
Your Digital DNA
As more and more people realize the value and importance of personal branding, I thought it important to take a step back and remember that your online/digital presence is absolutely necessary in today’s business climate.
What happens in Vegas, ends up on Google
This isn’t original to me, and in fact, Scott Monty said it, and it’s very true. There are multiple missteps you can make if you don’t remember the basics. Like your real DNA, nothing you put online EVER goes away totally.
Let’s take a step back and recall what Seth Godin, online and social media guru, had to say back in February:
Personal branding in the age of Google
A friend advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper.
Three interesting resumes came to the top. She googled each person’s name.
The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, “binge drinking.”The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, “I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I’m annoyed by it. I’ll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings.”
And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.
Three for three.
Google never forgets.
Of course, you don’t have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you’re on Candid Camera, because you are.
Author:
Beverly Macy is the Managing Partner of Y&M Partners and teaches a social media class at the UCLA Extension. She also co-hosts Gravity Summit events and provides personal branding coaching.
