Wednesday 29 June 2011

cpd23 - Thing 3

 Finally get the chance to actually start on Thing 3! It's been a horribly busy week so far at work, and we have Summer Students starting shortly, so trying to write an induction on Power Point....*stressed*....!!!

I have to admit, I was really looking forward to tackling Thing 3, because in all honesty, I don't think it's fully clear yet what I want my personal brand to be. Those of you reading this blog so far will note that I am writing it fairly anonymously -  don't worry - it's nothing sinister!!! I have just always tried to keep my professional and personal lives very separate, therefore while I am perfectly happy to be on Facebook and LinkedIn, I don't really ever combine the two. Also I still have a somewhat (outdated??) aversion to making a lot of information about myself available on the internet.

That having been said, on reading Jo's post about taking a 'profersonal' approach to her blog, I can totally see the benefits of this, and my stance on remaining anonymous may well change very soon...!

As part of the Thing 3 activity, I carried out the Google search of permutations of my name (I have quite an uncommon name, so it wasn't difficult at all *first clue to identity slipped in there* - LOL) and my shortened name threw up my LinkedIn profile, which gives my employment history but no other info. The only other results that related to me were posts from some 10 years ago to a website where you could send in tips like 'how to apply eye liner'!! Just goes to show you how things on the internet never really go away - scary!! (I was only about 19 and on my year abroad, stuck out in a village in the back of beyond in Germay - needless to say, I was bored!!)

The second search using my full first name didn't throw up any results relating to work at all. Instead there were three hits relating to an national essay competition I won as a 13 year old, (yes, I was something of a swot!!!) and a mention of my Masters dissertation on my then-supervisor's own blog.

This was actually a really enlightening thing to do! However, in terms of my personal brand, I don't think these Google results really reflect much about it at all - the reason being that really, the only relevant one is my LinkedIn profile. Again, owing to my reluctance to put a lot of personal information in the public domain, I don't have any other information on there - simply because I am uncomfortable if anyone could Google my name and find out not only some of my employment history, but also when and where I went to uni etc.

Sooooo - my conclusion is, I think my brand is one in progress. I guess I am using this blog as the main focal point of my brand, and I think from this blog, it is hopefully obvious that I am very conscious of NOT wanting to portray myself as a 'boring librarian' (that tired old chestnut!), and so I am keen to make this blog informative but in a laid back way - and moreover, to write in a way that reflects my personality! Also, I think I am influenced by the fact that in my current firm, my boss considers our roles to be quite different from the more 'traditional' librarian, and so we don't refer to ourselves as 'librarians' - which may horrify some fellow information professionals!

Phew - this is quite a long one so I am going to stop here. Look forward to catching up with some fellow participants to get their takes on Thing 3! In the meantime, please feel free to let me know what you think of my 'brand' so far.... :)

ps will have a read through some of the suggested reading references too when I get a minute...

Image courtesy of: Danilo Rizutti - http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=851

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