Coolness – they’re taking questions during the presentation using twitter – twitter.com/snayb4sxsw – great use of twitter!
panelists:
Paul Boag, Jina Bolton, Mark Norman Francis, Steve Ganz, Steve Smith
Defining social networking
it’s something we’ve done forever – even before the web
ways to use personal brand
not just logos and letterhead
your brand is simply the promise of an experience
ways to use personal brand:
Boag – his company used his personal brand to push some stuff out, because he was already well known in the field
Names
some brand themselves by their personal name – some have to use different names/personas to stand out from the crowd (Steve Smith talking here)
[me talking – that’s why I use my middle name – it helps differentiate me from the millions of other David Kings out there]
Then you have to be consistent – always use that name
Tips & Tricks:
Pics – use a consistent avatar/icon/thumbnail pic, too.
Commenting – can affect your brand. Some people leave rude comments… you can be polite…. this type of thing can leave good or bad impressions of you.
SOme people give up when they don’t immediately become internet famous – you have to be consistent, and keep keep it going – it’s lots of work.
Represent your self as who you are – be yourself.
Keep your attitude the same as if you were speaking to someone face to face
when it’s a personal brand, you have to watch what you do – don’t necessarily want “I’m wasted” in the same place where potential clients are watching/reading…
stuff can get taken out of context – be careful what you twitter…
Tools:
twitter is used much (the linkdin guy said this)
Paul (a podcaster) says Podcasting!
Campfire, email, IMs, private chatrooms
Bolton – twitter, IM, etc are NOT social networks – they enable social networking – nice differentiation
How do we deal with all these pieces out there?
Reserving your name – dangerous to not get your name in that social space – you want to grab it up before someone else does.
Is it a detriment to get it and then not use it? Not necessarily
The Real World
How do you keep in touch? Email feels too formal. Paul uses Twitter and flickr – you can sort of follow their lives without interrupting their lives so much – and then when you meet up with them again, you have something to talk about
Paul takes business cards he gets at conferences, puts them in his contacts list, and finds a pic online to associate it with – helps him put a name and a face together
Lots of the panelists mentioned flickr as a great way to know the person, know their lives
Balance between private and public stuff
be aware
use the privacy controls if needed
bring out personality, who you are rather than specifics…
you have control of what you put out online