Persona 2.0
Is ’social media’ just unadulterated self-promotion? Facebook, MySpace, social media is definitely not for wallflowers…but admit it: The American Persona has a big dose of P.T. Barnum in it. Or REALLY admit, we’re all involved in self-promotion all day.
So I’ve joined the tribe of social media zombies, and signed up for a dozen fractally-interconnecting services across the web, in my own latest, brazen act of personal promotion.
It started with LinkedIn.com…the business networker’s site. That was easy; I’ve been immersed in the business world for twenty one years already. MySpace and then Facebook were getting all the big press, but those places came off as teenybopper, compared to a serious businessperson’s public credentials and networking prowess.
Something clicked when I visited Scott Iseman of acemarketingagency.com, in upstate New York, a former co-worker and friend. Scott was in that bright-eyed newuser uptake mode, and sparked me to poke around and, finally, plunge in.
Some of the social sites, like FriendFeed, practically encourage you to be multi-linked…which is hard to describe to outsiders. They aggregate your self-promoting postings to each other, which helps you manifest your online persona to the multiple glowing facets of Web 2.0.
It feels experimental, but I’m also drawn to notice how businesses are on the uptake too.
So for now, I’m walking the fine line between becoming globally social on both a personal and business level. Each time I sign up for something new I try to get a bead on where it might take me, but who knows? Serendipity happens, and the golden rule of networking is you have to put yourself out there first…
Today it was BrightKite that I signed up for…I was expecting yet another angle on the Facebook model, but this one integrates the camera and GPS on my cellphone (the golden rule of social media is that it’s hard to understand until you jump right in). Most interesting was finding out my neighbor is a venture capitalist…I’ve always assumed he had a drudge job; now, I’ll strike up a real conversation facetime with him about his very interesting, well-promoted life.
I should have struck up a conversation with him before that…see how social media is making me more social?
I’m not sure where this is going, but I’m along for the ride. Here’s everything I’ve signed up for, so far, and a link to my profiles self-promotion. Wasting my time? Judgement withheld for now:
Business Persona: linkedin.com/in/kenoatman
Frivolous Persona: myspace.com/kenoatman
Family Persona: facebook.com/profile.php?id=747743639&ref=profile
Visual Persona: flickr.com/kenoatman
Industry-Specific (Magazines) Persona: mediapro.foliomag.com/profile/KenOatman33
Websurfer Persona: delicious.com/clearblue
Web Promoter Persona: digg.com/users/kenoatman
Interconnected Persona: friendfeed.com/kenoatman
Music1 Persona: last.fm/user/kenoatman
Music2 Persona: pandora.com/people/kenoatman
General Networking Persona: kenoatman.myplaxo.com
Adventurous Websurfer: kenoatman.stumbleupon.com
Promoter To The Bewildered Masses: twitter.com/kenoatman
Retail Critic: kenoatman.yelp.com
Networker-On-The-Spot: brightkite.com/people/kenoatman
It looks like you are off to a good start. Now its a matter of utilizing the networks well. If you think of it in terms of “making your services and information known” and “helping others” it is not purely self-promotion. Social Networking can be very symbiotic!
Comment by Anna — November 9, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
Sometimes it’s hard to juggle all of the various social media input arenas. Okay, not sometimes. All the time. You have quite a list going there, Ken! If you find yourself drowning, try focusing on one to three key formats and putting all your energy there. Once you start getting the yield you want, you can dip your feet into other networks.
Comment by Mark Havenner — January 5, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
I agree with Mark, I stick with Twitter, Brightkite & Facebook. Yes it self promotion, but I enjoy meeting and helping others along the way. If it get a few extra people to my site, it’s all part of the game. I’ve heard of a few people getting job offers on Twitter. I found your blog from Brightkite! Nice meeting you! Maybe we can meet in real time someday! If not I have many friends that I might never meet in person! Best in the new year, TruckerRich
Comment by TruckerRich — January 24, 2009 @ 1:41 am