Personal Project Drumbeat – Matthew German
Strategy
1)What is the goal? My goal is to create a Personal Brand for myself. Before I can create a personal brand I need to figure out who I am. Both on the Internet and in person; even beyond that who I am on what different social media places. With a personal brand I can be a presence on the Internet in social media that is more than just someone with friends on Facebook, or someone who follows some celebrity’s Tweets. Social media is an ever growing market with untapped business potential, and I want to be on the forefront for that. I also want to learn how social media can help with sales, mire than just spamming users with adds.
2) What already exists? What already exists are the social media sites themselves, such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, Flickr, StumbleUpon, and so on. With these sites there is limitless potential for one person to make a name for themselves, it just requires more work than collecting Facebook friends. Another resource that exists is the fact that there are some people out there doing what I wish to do, which is beneficial for me because I can learn from them, as well as expand upon or improve their methods/ideas.
3) Who trying to reach? Essentially, my target audience would be a potential employer or possibly clients if I do this on on my own one day. I am trying to reach those who know that social media is important, but just do not have the know-how or time to utilize it themselves. Also, I am trying to reach others in the social media realm, because they could potentially be helpful, or even partners, who knows.
4)Why passionate? I am passionate about this because I enjoy playing around with technology and learning the ins and outs of a product or service. Therefore social media is very interesting to me, because it allows people to interact and network in a whole new way. Social media is fascinating in the way that anyone can find what they are looking for provided they know what outlet to use. Social media is so much more than Facebook and Twitter.
5)How does idea make things better? This has the potential to make the web better if I can find a good and organized way to determine someone’s personal brand, then I can share it and help people become more successful in whatever it is they wish to do.
Story
1) 5 Sentences. Social Media is constantly growing and changing. Many people do not understand how important social media can be to their lives and careers. With a personal brand I will have more opportunities to tailor things towards career or personal life. Social media is quickly becoming an essential tool for networking, both in business and socially. A personal brand allows you to know what tools to use for fun and what tools to use to get ahead, and why.
2) Story.
Social Media is constantly growing and changing. There are new sites being developed all the time that allow users to share information a new and unique way. Even the services that already exist are improving themselves all the time, just look at how far Facebook has come. It went from a simple college friend service, to a social media giant that most all other social media services are centered around. If it can be shared, there is a link to do so through Facebook.
Many traditional business owners do not understand how important social media can be to their business. Through social media a business can grow in a number of ways. Once a business has created a following, there are strategies for turning those followers and fans into customers or clients. Just creating a network and facilitating communication correctly can lead to growth.
With a personal brand I will have more opportunities to tailor things towards career or personal life. This works in the sense that social tools like Facebook and Flickr are fun, and are a great way to keep in touch. However, they are not great for branding yourself professionally; there is too much room for error with what can be posted to those sites. Sites like Twitter and LinkedIn are incredibly useful for professional applications; LinkedIn is obvious because it is a professional networking site. Twitter is good because it allows people to follow those in the same industry or with the same ideals; as well as create content to send to those same people.
Social media is quickly becoming an essential tool for networking, both in business and socially. Networking is an important part of finding the job or career you want. Social media is an essential tool for networking; LinkedIn is an outstanding way to become connected with the right people. With a LinkedIn profile you can connect with the people you need to network with in order to be successful. On the other end, sites like Facebook are great for making new friends, and perhaps starting a professional connection, but it should not continue there.
A personal brand allows you to know what tools to use for fun and what tools to use to get ahead, and why. If you create your own personal brand, you will know the type of person you need to be in different media outlets. In my case Facebook and Flickr are great social, fun tools; LinkedIn, blogs, and Twitter however are powerful tools for getting ahead. Each person may be different in the way in which they have to tailor their social media lives in order to get ahead with what they want to succeed with.
Tools
When creating my personal brand the tools that I will need will be the social media services that I will utilize.
Facebook will be used to keep in touch with my friends and make posts about things that I care about like cars and technology. Beyond that, Facebook is not a site that I would like to broadcast myself professionally on. It feels like too much of a social place instead of a professional place. Therefore, I keep my Facebook private and visible to only my friends.
With Flickr I also use socially; not quite as much as Facebook, but still not to any professional extent. I use Flickr to make my photos public for people to see. I do keep them as Copyrighted instead of using Creative Commons, because I like them to remain mine. I also use Flickr to follow my friends’ photos and comment on others’ photos that I like. I really enjoy photography, so seeing great photos that others take is fun.
StumbleUpon is a fun tool that allows you to tell it your interests and it will give you back a randomly generated site that follows your interests. I enjoy this because it makes browsing the internet much simple, because I don’t have to weed through garbage sites to find good ones. It also allows me to save the sites, as well as post them to Twitter or Facebook if I so choose. Which is great because I enjoy posting things on my Facebook that interest me, such as car photos or information.
LinkedIn is an essential tool for professional personal branding. With LinkedIn I have my resume uploaded into my profile so that someone can see all of my experience and work history. In addition to resume elements, I have used LinkedIn to link out to other sites that I think may be helpful in showing employers my interests and knowledge; such as both of my blogs (including this one) and my Flickr page. I said before that I am using Flickr for fun, but my car photos just show my interests in another place. LinkedIn also allows me to put things like my goals, and achievements, and other elements that aren’t typically put on a resume.
The blogs are another aspect of my personal branding; with this blog “Matt’s Blog” I keep up with the Comm 200 class “Using Social Media” and post updates on social media technologies that I am using and learning about. As well as state ways in which these services could be used personally or professionally. My other blog, which is based around my 1999 Ford Ranger, keeps track of the work that I do on the truck, on a project-to-project basis. I have done work between the time that I bought the truck and created the blog, but I do not have photos or specific details about them. I am however keeping up to date information about the current work I am doing. This blog is useful in showing my interest in cars, and working on and maintaining them. It is my biggest hobby, and has been since I was young.
Twitter is another social media tool that can be useful professionally. Twitter has the potential to create useful connections, as well as serve as a constant updating stream of news. I follow the Twitter feeds of professionals in social media, and many technology websites feeds. This allows me to stay updated on technology news as well as social media news.
People
In terms of people, there isn’t really anyone I can reach out to, as I am creating a PERSONAL brand. I have and can read articles about personal branding, but I do not need anyone to create anything for me, nor to I need someone to create content. Because I am the only one who can use my profiles correctly and honestly.
Prototype
Prezi Presentation on Personal Branding
matt's blog 