Servant of Chaos: Personal Branding

This week there has been much debate around the notion of digital identity. After all, just because someone owns a “username” or email address, it doesn’t mean that their identity can be assured.

Stephen Fry, a self-confessed gadget lover, is well known as a blogger, but his sudden appearance on Twitter saw a gold rush of a kind – with the digital network humming as word spread of his bonafide participation in the digital conversation. I am sure that I am not alone in thinking of printing and framing the confirmation email announcing my new connection to a very real celebrity. The important aspect of this, was not only how quickly it spread (after only days he is following around 5,500 people and has an almost equal number of followers), but that in the act of spreading there was an implicit validation – Stephen’s identity was confirmed by the community who propagated his participation. This has since been followed up by clever tweets that intertwine his personal, professional and geographic narrative.

Contrast this with the misguided attempt by National Australia Bank employees to generate conversation about their fledgling ~~uBank~~ MyFutureBank.org online service. This probably would never have garnered much attention if NAB had not already weathered one social media storm. However, in an environment where social currency is dependent upon reputation and trust vests not in the brand but in the community you serve – a second opaque excursion into the blogosphere was always going to prompt a response. Both Stephen Collins and Laurel Papworth responded, “sniffing out” the fake identity and wondering where, exactly, NAB sources its social media strategy expertise. Clearly NAB did not anticipate or even understand the viral and contagious nature of online conversation … and the way in which TRUST permeates and underwrites all our interactions.

UPDATE: Charis Palmer over at the Better Banking blog confirms that MyFutureBank.org has been PULLED and brings another viewpoint to the table. I have left a comment, but would love to hear your view as well.

So it was with some trepidation and mis-trust that the Twittersphere greeted the arrival of Malcolm Turnbull, Leader of the Federal Opposition (Twitter ID: @turnbullmalcolm). It was doubly confusing because we were also suddenly confronted with @malcolmturnbull (whose Twitter bio states “i is teh leaderz”).

In the first day, iMalcolm gathered a great deal of followers as the interest and contagion set in. He was, however, beyond frugal in the number of people he would, in turn, follow (day 1 score iMalcolm 443 vs the population 0). But around mid-afternoon today a change occurred, and iMalcolm began following those who had followed him. This reciprocation hit like a shockwave across the Australian Twittersphere. In response to a direct question (“can you please confirm …”) from John Johnston, the reply came: “@jjprojects it is me myself and as you can see I am still learning how it works. Cheers, Malcolm.”

While politicians in the US have welcomed the opportunities to reach, engage and activate the constituencies, it has been slow going here in Australia. In fact, the innovative approach that the Obama campaign have developed, I would argue, outstrips any efforts that have come thus far from brands or corporations. Perhaps iMalcolm has seen this potential. He has already taken on the lessons freely offered by the Twittersphere, and has a substantial web presence as you would expect. Interestingly, this extends to include a quirky (and humanising) dog blog. While iMalcolm has clearly arrived, I have a feeling we will be hearing a whole lot more from him – and don’t expect him to be disappearing any time soon. (Unlike some online bank.)

And this, just in, from Julian Cole who has already found iMalcolm hitting the Twitter back channel during question time.

*iMalcolm – a real person tweeting in the name of another. From time to time, these identities will actually coincide with reality. Not guaranteed.

Guest post by Dan Schawbel. Dan is the lead personal branding expert for Generation Y. He commands the world famous Personal Branding Blog, publishes Personal Branding Magazine, directs Personal Branding TV, and is the head judge for the 2008 Personal Brand Awards.

Never before has the web been such a friendly place. Web 2.0 has opened a gateway for individuals to come together, in unison and speak to each other using platforms such as blogs, Facebook and even Google talk. Those that used to be introverted, now have a safe place to express themselves and their point of view. They even have the privilege of networking with others who share similar insight, demographic or geographic.

Personal branding has paved the way for people to gain confidence in themselves and their abilities to deliver value, whether by expertise or content. Why take a job that you aren’t interested in and doesn’t fit who you are as a person? There’s no point, especially when you have tools ready and available to you to convey your passions, goals and subject matter knowledge.

A lot of this new direction comes from people’s comfort and freedom to express their appearance, competencies and personality. Personality can be clearly communicated through podcasting, either using YouTube, Google Video or hosting it on your own website. Either way, you can attract others to your brand by displaying the person behind the brand. The great part about the web now is that everyone has a voice, but still not everyone is treated equally. Those that have superior brand names, will get their email read faster, their articles published quicker and larger scale opportunities.

The good news is that anyone can achieve success by developing their brand. The bad news is that if you fail to bask in the greatness of web 2.0, you will lose your personal freedom and the ability to connect and reach hundreds of millions of people around the world. Whether you are 18 or 56, or black or white, you can all be a part of this growing community and develop your skills to match new job requirements that are spawning as we speak. Step out of your comfort zone and into a world where you can be recognized for YOU!