Friday, June 12, 2009

The Microphone Is Always On

Andy Warhol once noted "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes." Now that we're constantly publishing, sharing, microsharing, updating, vlogging... (I could go on), it seems to me that in the future, everyone will have 15 minutes of privacy.

I've noted before that it's extremely important to live your life in a way that reflects positively of you, because you never know who's capturing what image, sound file or video. Put more bluntly - if you'll allow me to turn another phrase - whatever happens in Vegas stays on Google. Every action counts.

Want proof?

One need look no further than Michael Richards, who was caught via cellphone video making a racist rant at a comedy club. It's still the #1 search result on YouTube for "Michael Richards." And President Ronald Reagan made a famous gaffe during a microphone check, unaware that he was being broadcast live:

How does that apply online or in social media? Every tweet you make, every blog post you write, every video you record - it all adds up to showing the world who you are. And since content is easily discoverable by Google, the content you (or your company) produce needs to reflect what you want it to. For example, just the other day, I was told that I was the subject of someone's presentation, and they showed my Twitter feed up on a big screen. If I were careless about what I wrote, my stream might have been embarrassing. Luckily, that's not the case.

Since you never get a second chance to make a first impression, every single piece of copy, every minute of video, every utterance you make can become a decision point for someone. It may be a potential customer, a prospective employer, maybe even a family member. Make your actions count.

Have you run into a situation where you you either gave someone an impression you didn't intend to, or you discovered something about someone that made you think twice about them? I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Photo credit: iNafih

Labels: brand, personal branding, PSA, Risk

Posted by Scott Monty at 9:10 AM

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Sunday, October 05, 2008

Some Hope for the Sartorially-Challenged

I take my personal appearance seriously. It's part of who I am and how people perceive me. I'm proud that someone like Dmitri Gunn has called me "the sharpest dressed man in social media today."

Even when I was working at an agency and when I was consulting with crayon - workplaces that were business casual - I took pride in what I wore and how I presented myself. It's part of my personal brand.

But looking sharp and business casual are not mutually exclusive. In this day of open collars, one fashion pet peeve (among many) is the total disregard for collar stays (or stiffeners). The result? You've seen it - collars on button-down shirts that curl up or seem to be flying away.

It's a minor detail, but it sends a message to those around you that perhaps you don't care about details. Or that you haven't entered the "grown-up" world of business attire yet.

The Solution
Luckily, I'm here with the answer to the problem you didn't know you had. Wurkin Stiffs has developed the magnetic collar stay that they call Power Stays. Place the Power Stays™ into your shirt’s collar stay pockets and place the super-strong magnets on the inside of the shirt… It’s that easy!

And just in case you thought that this post had nothing to do with social media (other than that lots of social media types work in casual environments), here's their YouTube video explaining it:

If you're accustomed to wearing your shirts without a tie, I highly recommend that you consider buying a set of these. Or make it a gift to a friend or family member this holiday season. They'll thank you.

Do you have any modern-day fashion tips or suggestions? I'm sure we'd all like to learn.

Photo credit: believer9

Labels: brand, fun, personal branding, tools

Posted by Scott Monty at 9:52 AM

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Friday, October 03, 2008

Personal Branding and Your Career

I was at a career fair representing Ford recently, and one thing struck me: there's a lack of truly decent personal presentation skills out there.

For example, to any number of college seniors who said they were interested in getting into sales, I said: "Great. Sell yourself to me."

The reaction I got was a stunned look, followed immediately by a rambling choice of words that didn't really convince me of much. Well, maybe they convinced me of something, but it wasn't to hire them.

I had just made a presentation to Brand Camp University, so perhaps presentations and personal branding was on my mind, but it got me to thinking: there could be a number of people who might benefit from some suggestions.

I know I've got a lot of followers on Twitter and here on the blog who are college students (hello Golf Management program at Ferris State (what a cool major!); hello students of Barbara Nixon at GSU), so I thought I might help out with some specific suggestions to consider.

Before I get into the steps I recommend, here's the deck I presented. I hope to have the video of my presentation at a future date.

Social Media, Personal Branding and Your Career

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: bcu08 brandcamp)

Tips for success in your career

1. Prepare yourself
Darwin said "Chance favors the trained mind," and Henry Ford said "Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success." This means being careful of everything you do in public. While you may already know not to post racy pictures of yourself or make lewd comments on Facebook, others can tag you in photos and years later, due to the everlasting memory of the Internet, you may find that there's information out there about you that is less than flattering.

According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, one out of five employers is turning to social networks to find out about you (not to mention the 80% who already Google you). Some startling facts that were posted on socnet profiles:

Information about alcohol or drug use (41% of managers said this was a top concern)
Inappropriate photos or information posted on a candidate's page (40%)
Poor communication skills (29%)
Bad-mouthing of former employers or fellow employees (28%)
Inaccurate qualifications (27%)
Unprofessional screen names (22%)
Notes showing links to criminal behavior (21%)
Confidential information about past employers (19%)

Always be thinking with the future in mind.

2. Have a personal presence on the Web
Have you bought your own domain name yet? What are you waiting for? I purchased the domain names for my sons when they were born, lest someone else scoop them on their own brand. I suggest you buy yourname.com (not literally, Animal House fans) and register your preferred name on the sites & social networks that matter to you.

Choose the networks that matter the most to you - or more importantly - that you think matter to your employer or industry of choice. The social networks I use the most are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. As I've explained before, I have standards for friending on each - the loosest being Twitter, context needed for Facebook, and a personal interaction required for LinkedIn.

While I'm at it - get on out there and friend me up if you haven't already! I'd love to interact with you in different ways.

3. Be compelling
Not everyone is a thought leader. Not everyone can create videos. That's okay. The first thing you should do is listen. Odds are you already read blogs (you're here, aren't you?). Take the time to get a sense for what's being said and figure out how you want to add to it.

If you choose to create your own site/blog/profile, figure out what you want to focus on. It could be lollipop manufacturing or knitting scarves for abandoned penguins - whatever it is, pick your topic and be the best at it.

And while it's important to write well for your own site, I usually recommend spending 2-3 times longer commenting on other sites than you do writing your own. It's like your grandmother used to say, "You've got two ears and one mouth; use them in that proportion."

Every comment you make it a stamp of your brand on someone else's site. Your perspective is valuable, and eventually, it will drive eyeballs back to your site. Just be consisent in who you are and be yourself.

4. Know what you want
When I first graduated from business school, I wanted to be a strategist. The problem was, no one was hiring inexperienced B-school grads to do strategy. It takes time to truly understand markets, trends, industries, and clients - something that is built over years. I always had that in the back of my mind as my career zigged here and zagged there, but now I'm in a job where I get to craft and execute on strategy.

While your initial job out of school may not be your dream job (but good for you if it is), keep your goal in mind as you navigate your career. When someone asks you what you want to do, have it at the top of your mind, and succinctly state it. Or, as Gary Vaynerchuk likes to say, "CRUSH it!"

5. Practice, practice, practice
Usually, it takes a long time to be truly great at something. Sure, someone like Mozart was an anomaly, but for most of us, you need to keep doing something over and over to hone your skills. Please, PLEASE practice your presentation skills, whether it's formal presentations, personal introductions, your elevator pitch - whatever.

In the end, it's all up to you. The only one who will look out for you in your career is you. And you need to be confident about who you are, where you're going, and what you want.

Henry Ford knew what he was talking about: