One Cool Free Idea

I’m in the middle of writing what may become a series on the many ways people unwittingly make themselves invisible online - even as they think they are putting their best foot forward in the social space. It all started during an innocuous conversation between me and my pals from an orchestration class I took last year through Berkleemusic’s online school.

After the class ended, we formed a Google group so we could keep in touch and share ideas, problems, and music we’ve written. I think we could safely categorize it as a professional networking group.  After one particularly interesting exchange among the group, my interest was piqued enough that I wanted to find out more about one of my fellow would-be orchestrators.  A few clicks later, I was met with the expressionless image at right. (Not exactly a warm fuzzy, though I admire Kathy’s bold choice of hair style.)

Wondering why folks would opt for such bland anonymity in a business that leans heavily on the personal, (and sensing this lack of information wasn’t entirely unusual) I decided to dig deeper.  

And here’s (at left) what I found. Again and again and again. I’d guess out of a group of nearly 150 aspiring musicians, only 15% had bothered to fill out their Google profile with more than a name. I found the same when I started hunting around the Berkleemusic site.  Person after person. No links to websites.  No personal or professional info on the profile pages Berklee gives you to promote yourself. Now granted, there ARE alot of folks working their butts off to self-promote, who are developing their identities/profiles online. But why aren’t more people telling their stories?  Do we chalk it up to artistic shyness? Or is it perhaps more likely that people just aren’t thinking about these seemingly irrelevant parts of their online identity?  I think it’s the latter.

When you’re connecting - and selling - in the virtual space, you need to work a bit harder to create a personal brand for yourself, your products or your services. You need to be more than a blank stare and a blue head. You’re going to have to do a little work on the back end if you’re serious about becoming a “real” part of any social community.  It won’t take long, and it can pay deep dividends when someone finds you and is pleasantly surprised to find someone tangible behind the curtain.  

So I’m putting my thoughts down, and will post part 1 in my “Are You Invisible” series soon.  I’m sure you’ll have lots to add about branding in the social world.  Meanwhile, think about getting that photo changed, OK?

Cheers,

Deb