Google Buzz and Personal Branding

by Ola Rynge • February 17, 2010 • View Comments

There’s a new kid on the block of Social Media Networks, and it is not a small newcomer, but a giant. Google Buzz is the name and it has a huge user base since it is connected to Gmail. It just launched last Tuesday and it already has more than 160,000 posts and comments each hour.

So how can Google Buzz impact your Personal Brand?

Keep your Google Profile updated

In my opinion, Google Profile has been a bit disconnected with no clear purpose other than SEO up until now. Your Google Profile is also your Buzz Profile, so if someone searches for you on Google Buzz, they might end up reading your Google Profile as well. Check out this post by my fellow writer Ryan Rancatore on how to Create The Perfect Google Profile In 7 Steps to optimize your Buzz searchability.

Another part of the Google Profile is how your social search results appears. Take a look at here to see how the sites listed in Google Profile affect your social search content (you have to be signed in to Google to see the results).

Find people in your industry, and follow them

Just like on Twitter, you can follow the key opinion leaders of your industry to learn from them and also follow companies or employees of companies that you are interested in working for. Add insightful comments to their content. In the early days it is easier to stand out because the active user base is small, so make a splash now! It shouldn’t take too much effort to get them to follow you, at least not in the beginning.

Showcase your skills

To get followed and maintain your follower base, create useful and interesting blog articles, photos, videos and other content that are of interest to your industry and future employer or client. Google Buzz has multimedia support built-in, so use it!

I think it is important to look back on one’s core values every now and then, and reflect on how you have defined the way you differentiate yourself from everyone else. Let that show in the way you post and communicate on the different social networks.

Keep focused

With an increasing number of social networks, it is vital to make sure that you maintain and evolve as necessary your strategy for how to act in the social media landscape. There is a risk that you and your message may get diluted if working in too many channels at the same time.

To make sure that you know what is being said about you in different online channels, you should set up search profiles. Google Alerts is quite good, but has serious limitations in reliability (especially for non-English sources). If you have basic programming knowledge I would recommend using Yahoo pipes! to make a specific search profile for your needs. Or, you can sign up for the beta test of the Rynge Media Monitor a tool which will continuously monitor several key phrases from a variety of sources.

Add Google Buzz to your set of Social Media Icons

On your webpage, blog, resume etc., add a Google Buzz icon together with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter if you are planing to use the new service.

For more information on how to use Google Buzz, have a look at this guide.

In what ways do you think Google buzz can be used to market your personal brand? How are you using it now, and what’s your plan going forward? If you are not using it, why is that?

If you are a Gmail user, follow me on Google Buzz.

Ola Rynge is an entrepreneur with a passion for the personal development side of personal branding (covered in this blog) as well as the application of personal branding and social media for entrepreneurs and small businesses (covered in The Rynge Blog).

His company, The Rynge Group specializes in market oriented small business and idea development, including social media strategies and implementations.

Follow Ola on Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook.

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Your Life History is Not Private Anymore!

by Mohammed Al-Taee • October 12, 2009 • View Comments

Microsoft researcher Gordon Bell said in a CNN interview “By about 2020, our entire life histories will be online and searchable.”

What does that mean?

Everything you do online is archived: on social networks, bulletin boards, websites and Google’s constantly growing collection pages. Sites like WayBackMachine.com actually keep records of old versions of websites, saving information that was supposedly removed.

People will get the first impression about you by what your Google results say. Strong results provide credibility when searched by potential employers or clients.

Think of your activity online as writing in pen, not pencil. Pens are impossible to erase. You are using pens daily for your tweets, for Facebook fan pages comments, for online forum questions, for emails with clients and co-workers, posting family photos on Flickr, etc.

YOU are the one who is leaving a trail behind that everyone will see and judge you on. It’s not late to be careful, deliberate and safe.

—

Mohammed Al-Taee, PMP, CCNP, MCITP is a graduate of Alnahrian University and has a Master degree in Computer Engineering. Mohammed is a Career and Personal Branding Strategist for Gen-Y Students and New College Graduates. He is the creator of BrandMyCareer.com and author of BrandingPower Blog. He said “Passion is the Fuel towards Prosperous Career.” Make sure to connect with him on @Twitter

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Degrees of separation? 3 is the new 6

by Trace Cohen • June 17, 2009 • View Comments

According to Wikipedia:

“Six degrees of separation (also referred to as the “Human Web”) refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth.”

So, your friends know someone who knows someone who knows someone… etc.

In the digital age that won’t do!

Thanks to connections on social and professional networks, the world is becoming flatter. Not literally of course, but between Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn, people across the globe seem a little closer every day. Anyone is really only TWO people away. This means that the 6 degrees of separation has now become 3 degrees. So if you want to meet someone, that means if your friends don’t know him, then your friend’s friend does – and this is changing the way we’re doing business.

While this is a bold statement, I really believe it. Since I’ve gotten involved in personal branding and really started participating in my niche, everyone I meet knows someone I know. I don’t mean they’re friends on Facebook or follow them on Twitter, I mean they ACTUALLY know them and have met them face to face.

So here are three reasons why 3 is the new 6:

1. Social Networking. As I mentioned before, there is a plethora of ways to connect with just about anyone today. LinkedIn is the premier service that advocates this theory the most. If you don’t know someone on LinkedIn, there is a feature that allows another connection of yours to forward your profile to that person as a kind of referral instead of just adding him or her. Facebook used to be a good medium to do this but as of late has lost any sense professionalism that they were holding on too. My 800+ friends, whom I may personally know 100 of could still potentially connect me to someone I want to meet.

Social networks have allowed us to cut out the middleman, three to be exact, and really streamlined business.

2. Time efficiency. In business, time is money! 6 degrees of separation was always just a cool factor, that somehow all of our friends know each other. Sweet!

In business, if you have to go through 5 people to get to your goal, you FAIL.

One of the goals of personal branding is that you should be so involved in your niche or area of expertise that at most there should be only TWO people between you and your goal. By cutting out three people you exponentially increase your efficiency and have less chance to dilute your message like the game we used to play when we were younger.

3. Getting in the know. If your 6 degrees away from someone you need to meet, you have no credibility when you finally meet them. A referral from a friend or a friend of a friend holds a lot more weight then someone you most likely have never met.

At some point in your personal branding journey you will reach a point where you will have the clout to contact anyone directly and be assured that your reputation precedes you. This should be your goal, getting in what I like to call “The Know”. At this magical point, the tables will turn and it will be YOU who will be getting introduced to people you don’t know from your friends. You will then understand how it feels to meet someone from the 6th degree and how diluted the relationship is.

Go out there and meet everyone you can. Realize your potential, embrace your passion and find people of the same interests. At some point, everyone knows everyone and you will never be at a loss.

: Author: Trace Cohen

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Personal Branding Online

by Evan Watson • June 10, 2009 • View Comments

Online Personal Branding Affects Your Career Success

It is becoming the norm for potential employers to pre-screen you in Google before inviting you to the all important job interview. This step can make or break you getting hired, in fact, 22% of hiring managers said they used social networking sites in 2008 to research job candidates, up from 11% in 2006. An additional 9% said they don’t currently use social networking sites to screen potential employees, but plan to start.

Search for your name in Google………right now!

Go through the first four pages of results. Do any results relate to you? The way you appear online is your only chance to leave the right first impression with hiring managers, who ultimately decide your fate. Is your personal brand utterly apparent in your Google results?

Found nothing about yourself? Employers think your personal brand is unimpressive.

This is the age of the web. Employers will ask themselves, what have you been doing all this time if you haven’t been leaving comments on blogs and forums, posting original content and generally being active in your niche online? A lack of online activity shows you’re not as interested in your area of expertise as your peers. If you can’t find any “breadcrumbs” that demonstrate involvement in your niche through a Google search, you will be seen as passionless and unmotivated to succeed in your field. Now is the time to start personal branding and building an online identity.

Found negative items? Employers think: no way you’re working here.

Drunken, provocative, and inappropriate photos litter most social networks like career wrecking landmines. Items such as angry comments left on forums and inappropriate language on social networks are also just as common. All of these things will obviously make employers worry about your ability to succeed in a professional setting.

Everything you post online is available for all to see, can be found in search engines, and is almost always permanent. If you find pages that don’t show you in the best possible light, it is far past time to begin creating positive content via blog comments, creating a personal website, and fully utilizing and cleaning up you’re social networks. All of these things will help push down and bury any negative content. It is important to start proactively managing and monitoring your web presence because one third of employers who search potential employees online find content that leads to dismissal of the candidate. The top three negative things employers find online that will wreak havoc on your personal brand are:

Photos of drinking or drug use.
Provocative or inappropriate photographs or information.
Poor communication skills

While these are some classic social media mishaps, some job seekers are gaining the edge over their competition by creating an online image that highlights their passions and actually compliments their career aspirations.

Found positive items? Employers think: I can picture you on my team.

Every time you post something online, it becomes permanently associated with you. Which is why doing simple things – like writing compelling book reviews of best-sellers in your field – add up quickly, leaving a breadcrumb trail that demonstrates intelligence, proactivity and passion. Blog comments, forum posts, book reviews, wiki edits, submission of original media or articles and membership with professional organizations online all add up to an impressive personal brand that inspires confidence in your ability to succeed on the job.

Some of the top factors employers are finding online via social networks that positively influence their hiring decisions include:

Great communication skills- Be sure to check your networks for grammer, and never make a blog comment without doing your research first.
Candidate was a good fit for the companies culture- whether it be the kind of language you use, the hobbies you have, or some quote that just really caught an employers eye, creating a comprehensive picture of who you are as an individual can give you the edge and put a personality behind your bland paper resume.
Candidates background supported qualifications for the job

The Work World Is Changing – Are You Prepared?

It’s harder than ever to get a job, and harder than ever to keep a job.

That’s why understanding your unique value and creating compelling personal brand online is vital to standing out and succeeding. The new world of work is characterized by shorter job durations, more project-based work, outsourcing, a global talent pool, and an increasing number of job applicants with college degrees.

These factors point to an opportunity to elevate yourself above the competition by building your personal brand and establishing a remarkable online presence that wows employers when they pre-screen you in Google.

For some great tips on developing an online presence that will rock the socks off of employers and acquaintances alike, check out some of our other posts on Personal Branding.