skywalker ftw

Look, there's no doubt that a person needs to have ways to market themselves until they've passed some kind of “tipping point” at which they become well known in their field or well known in general, mainly by doing good and/or remarkable things. Personal brand is one way to describe all of the good and noteworthy attributes that we possess. However, you've also surfaced the concern that I mentioned about associating a person with a collection of tangibles and intangibles that we often associate with inanimate objects.

I wanted to thank you for posting my article as one to read while we are in this heated debate.

You make a very valid point saying that people dont want to be thought of as a product, because when you think of brands, you immediately think of big companies which you have grown up with. For some people it is hard to grasp the concept that people can have their own brands as well, as Tom Peters put it, you need to think of yourself at the CEO of your own company, Me, Inc. No matter how you think of it though, when you meet new people or are promoting a new product, you are more than anything, selling yourself.

More importantly as you mentioned, in the work place personal branding plays a huge part. Even trying to get a job, as I am trying to teach students, requires branding to rise above the competition. Perception is everything.

We are all out there with many usernames and streams of digital content that if packaged well could easily get a person started toward managing their brand. Think about the photos and profiles on facebook and linked in and on and on… stuff that could be recommended.