All of the content a Blogger creates (post, tweet and comment) is a reflection of their personal brand and, for most, the only reflection of who they are in everybody else’s eyes.
Blogging is still a relatively new communication channel. All of this content being created becomes part of your Personal Brand’s Long Tail. It will exist forever when somebody does any kind of search on you, and can be accessed by anyone looking for specific content that you Blogged about. I am reminded of a short blog post by Seth Godin called “Personal branding in the age of Google” that I read over a year ago:
A friend advertised on Craig’s list 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.
With this in mind, I’m beginning to see some trends in the Blogs of Marketing and Communications professionals that are making me nervous.
A lot of people who would be called a “communications professional” are Blogging from such a emotional level that their professional insights are being overshadowed by these emotions and their lack of industry experience. I used to follow their Blogs for professional insights, links to other relevant content, and to feed off of their passion. And now, I feel like I am following a soap opera that revolves around challenging what another Blogger has said/done or generalizations about their peers’ business model or approach being inferior to their own.
The art of telling a story and skills of journalism don’t come easy (or cheap). In recent months, I’ve been tracking Blog postings where so-called Marketing and Communications Professionals have used sensationalism-like headlines to either draw a bigger audience or link bait. Both are worthy pursuits to grow an audience, but there is a warning here: if this is the type of stuff you will publish on your own personal Blog, to what depths will you go in your professional life to get ahead?
The other big point is to have a little humility. Just because you have a Blog with traffic does not mean that you are at par with people like Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, Tom Peters or Chris Brogan. Yes, you have the same ability to reach the same audience with the same volume, but it does not mean that you have the experience or insights. You have your own perspective and they have theirs. Both are worthy and should have a public voice, but I don’t kid myself into thinking that I stand on par with Seth Godin because we both have a Blog. I keep this in mind when I Blog. This way I’m not fooling myself (or you) into thinking what I say is as valuable as someone with Seth’s experience. The truth is, when you see a Blog, it’s hard to gauge the Blogger’s level of experience. This is good because it does level the playing field, and it’s bad for the exact same reason.
Bottom line, Bloggers need to be a little more careful when they post. Clients, future clients, employers and future employers are reading. It’s easy to say, “I would never work for anyone who does not like what I have to Blog about,” but go back and look at some of the stuff you wrote five years ago. I know that my opinions at that moment may not reflect my current state of mind (I cringe when I look back on my stuff). People change, people grow, and people gain experience. I think that everyone should Blog. Everyone should share their thoughts and their insights. At the same time, be careful: everything you say can (and will) be used against you in the court of public opinion… forever (hint: that is a long time).
Herman Melville put it best when he said, “We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results.”
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