A well-known clothing store is running an ad at the moment that reads: “We don't Photoshop our personalities.” It obviously hasn't kept up with the rise of personal branding, which pretty much advocates this very philosophy.
You are a brand. Get used to it. Your Facebook and Twitter accounts, LinkedIn information, online activities, photos, blogs - they create a digital thumbprint that is fast becoming the new first impression, often without you even being present.
Boxing ourselves into today's content channels destroys the very authenticity we're trying to achieve.
Lezette Engelbrecht, online features editor, ITWeb
Personal logos and image management are no longer the preserve of the well-known or narcissistic. Self-promotion is the name of the game - as long as one does it in an edgy, understated way, of course. Personalities are neatly broken up into navigable tabs and personal expression into shareable content. Everybody wants to be “Liked”, after all.
This trend not only turns identities and social interaction into commodities, but forces those who would quite happily remain out of the spotlight into the world of personal advertising, in order to stay relevant.
Increasingly, it's something people are dragged into due to necessity, because thanks to digital peer pressure, everyone else is doing it. Just like previous generations had to learn how to work in Word and send e-mail, so today's professionals will have to adapt to the demands of the time. For some, it's an opportunity to extend their influence, market their skills and make new connections; for others, it borders on insincere, calling up visions of over-zealous Verimark salesmen.
Yet, personal branding is also the evolution of stock social skills we've developed to engage with people we don't know well. Dressing the part, presenting certain qualities and hiding others, picking up on conversations where we feel confident and can contribute... they're all more subtle forms of personal branding.
When these migrate online, however, they make the transient and spontaneous tangible and traceable, rendering a snapshot of one's character to virtually anyone. It's already the case with social networking - the very idea of a profile, a Twitter handle, or an avatar suggests a constructed and selective collection of personal details.
The difference with personal branding, however, is the context. The character traits friends may find endearing suddenly become inappropriate, as do photos, comments and links you wouldn't have thought twice about sharing before. Personal branding sees the unconscious graduate to the deliberate, and suddenly one's online persona can influence the ability to get a job, a promotion, or another step up the ladder. Which means identities are becoming all the more manufactured.
Before, employers may have done a few background checks online, maybe even browsed Facebook for any unsavoury character traits. Now, they may trawl social network sites before even finalising candidates. Perhaps the personal app - a branded tool which lets others stay in touch with your persona or company - will replace CVs in future. Or along with requirements to be proficient in certain software programs, employers could demand a certain level and quality of social media presence.
Me 2.0
But how far is too far when it comes to personal branding? One commentator suggests parents should give their children names that will stand out in the social media realm, because no one is ever going to find another John Smith. Or take Intel's Museum of Me concept, where users can “create and explore a visual archive of your social life”.
It gathers data from your Facebook profile and uses it to create a gallery of words you frequently use, photos of close friends, and videos you've viewed. There's also News Circles, which allows users to create and publish news about themselves to share with family, friends and even colleagues.
When so much of our time is spent updating, tweeting, blogging, chatting, linking and posting, do we really need something that collects and rehashes all this information? This relentless focus on packaging the self into digestible, entertaining chunks that can be archived and explored introduces elements of artifice that undermine the concept.
Surely boxing ourselves into today's content channels destroys the very authenticity we're trying to achieve.
The truth is, the more widespread the use of individual brands, the less personal they'll become. If this is the face people know they're being judged by professionally, then the 'person' they create is likely to be a highly-edited version of the real thing. The personal brand will never be a true reflection of the 'product' or even their abilities. Mostly, it will be a collection of carefully moderated facts put together using popular platforms available to millions of others, who put their own spin on the standard format. It's simply different flavours of the same candy.
Some may have the time and resources to create a well-rounded online persona, but for many, personal branding will be another tool they'll have to add to their arsenal of modern coping skills.
Emergency exit
Another implication of this trend is the loss of a space to “just be yourself”, removed from the threat of constant professional appraisal. Social networks used to be places for self-expression; to escape the demands of work and other duties that dominate our lives. Somewhere you could loosen up, chat with friends and engage without looking over your shoulder.
Privacy has become a truly endangered entity, and the broadening of the social playground to include professional networking means the lines between the two are becoming increasingly blurred.
Personal branding may bring new opportunities, but it also means we'll have to find other places to “be ourselves”. Who knows, maybe people will return to the offline world, where face-to face, non-documented engagement will free us from the never-ending pressure to keep up appearances online.
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