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Dressing for Success in Cyberspace: Giving Yourself a Digital Make-Over
You pride yourself on your professional appearance and demeanor. You strive to create and maintain a strong identity and reputation within your organization, with your clients and peers, and in your industry. But are you as diligent a custodian of your professional brand in cyberspace as you are in the physical world? If not, you probably need a digital make-over… My latest blog post provides guidance for critiquing, updating, and maintaining your digital presence to convey a positive professional identity in cyberspace throughout your career.
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I continue to be amazed by the number of anemic profiles there are on LinkedIn, how easy it is to access Facebook activity that’s not intended for the public, how many people have no filter and/or no sense of time and place when they post on Twitter, and how uncivil people can be when commenting on news articles and blog posts. Not much surprises me anymore, but the opportunities to wonder “What were they thinking?” seem never-ending…
Given my focus on digital rookies, I’m particularly intrigued by people who are so fastidious about their personal appearance and “real world” reputation but show virtually no regard for their appearance or reputation in cyberspace. They seem oblivious to the fact that they have a digital identity whether they want one or not – and more importantly, that in many respects their digital identity and brand are much more public and powerful than how they’re known and perceived in the physical world.
Lately, to drive home the point of how important it is for professionals to take responsibility for their digital presence, I’ve started using analogies like leaving the house without any pants on; wearing torn, stained, disreputable, or inappropriate clothes; being unkempt; and having a hairstyle, glasses, and other accessories that are out of date. And to address the frequent lament of “I don’t have time,” I highlight the time we make to do things that are important to us, like going to a hair stylist or the gym, or shopping for clothes and shoes. The point is that if we can make the time to take care of our physical appearance and put our best foot forward on earth, we should also be able to make the time to take care of our digital appearance and put our best foot forward in the cloud.
In this post I extend those analogies by laying out the basic steps and tasks in a digital make-over. Although the recommendations are primarily targeted to rookies, the suggestions should be useful to people who are more digitally sophisticated and engaged as well. We can all benefit from a little closet cleaning…
Even if you don't need a digital make-over, you probably know someone who would benefit from these recommendations. : )
Click here to read the post. As always, I welcome your comments and questions. What did I miss? What would you add?
- Courtney Shelton Hunt
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Comment by Daniel J Smith on March 30, 2012 at 11:42am -
This is something I have been trying to drive home for awhile now. Members of both the Radical Nation and The RBC Community have heard my spiel on Personal Branding and how much our digital identity is tied to our real world identity. In order to be taken serious, people must make all effort to put the best face (foot?) forward, especially when trying to network with someone new and/or important in the form of either client or employer. Personal Social Media is now under the gun, and an almost Orwellian view is being adopted where employers want to know the personal you first and then decide if the employable you is worthy. This makes me sad. Some people need that makeover...be it on profiles or profile pics to what filters should be in place. Thanks for the wisdom; feel free to reach out and we can continue this conversation. Daniel
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Comment by Courtney Hunt on March 30, 2012 at 1:09pm -
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Daniel. The personal/professional balance creates important challenges for both individuals and organizations. Although it's difficult, I'm glad to see us grappling with a number of issues. Not too long ago, a number of people - most notably Mark Zuckerberg - were declaring that personal/professional boundaries are no longer important, and that the blurring of the lines in our different roles was no big deal. I'm glad to see that people share my perspective that it is indeed a big deal, and that we need to think about what new best practices we want to develop and promote in the Digital Era. I've written extensively about these issues in the past and plan to keep on writing about them in the coming weeks/months. Educating people is critically important. Keep spieling!!!
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Comment by Daniel J Smith on March 30, 2012 at 2:13pm
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Consider the topic continued....Thanks for adding me to your network. Knowing that validity of view is there and important. Reach out anytime as this issue needs strong advocates which I now see are two.
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Comment by Courtney Hunt on March 30, 2012 at 2:50pm
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Daniel, you may also want to join the Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) LinkedIn group. There have been a number of thoughtful discussions lately about privacy and ethics and other important issues. You'll find many kindred spirits there...
Here's a link to check it out and join: http://tiny.cc/SMinOrgsLIgroup
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Comment by Daniel J Smith on March 30, 2012 at 3:04pm
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Thanks..Done and have a fantastic weekend! :-) Daniel
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