Branding yourself
Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
(Shaw quoted in Leong 2011)
This cannot be more true as our lives are lived in media- we are living media lives. (Deuze 2011) People view the online world as a space where social networks are forged. Cutlack (2011) mentioned that our connections with others have important functions; they are sources of emotional and financial support, information about jobs and people.
Are our reputations then determined by our online presence?
Personal branding is nothing new in the offline world, however, in this age of information, almost anyone can be found through the Internet; therefore, it is imperative to brand ourselves online.
The Internet has made it easier to broadcast ourselves with tools such as blogs, Twitter and social networks. It allows us to be brand managers of ourselves with measurements such as subscribers and followers. (Daniels 2009)
(Taken from original source)
(Xiaxue)
(www.xiaxue.blogspot.com)
An example would be blogger, Xiaxue. She has her own online series with a media agency. Her success in personal branding has gained her not only national, but also worldwide recognition. It has become her source of financial support as she makes money through blogging and advertorials.
Life is definitely about creating ourselves by portraying the image that we want the world to think of us.
References
Cutlack, Heidi. 2011. “Performing me: Maintaining Visibility on the Social Stage” New media: internet, self and beyond, 28 March. Accessed April 2, 2011. http://heidicutlack.tumblr.com/post/4124230030/performing-me-maintaining-visibility-on-the-social
Daniels, Matt. 2009. “Murketing: Rob Walker on why we brand ourselves,” Matt Daniels dot Com, May 11. Accessed April 2, 2011. http://www.mdaniels.com/murketing-rob-walker-on-why-we-brand-ourselves/
Deuze, Mark. 2011. “Media Life.” In Media, Culture & Society, Volume 33, issue 1, 137-148.
Leong, Susan. “KCB206 New Media: Internet, Self & Beyond: Week 5 lecture notes.”
I’d never heard of Xiaxue before your post, but I think I just spent at least half an hour reading the Peter/Kimi “drama”! Hilarious! She’s sure got sass and I love her response to cosmetic surgery – a sponsored nose job? Jealous!
I don’t read many blogs in this style, but in the interest of sharing, here are some of my favourites.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html
http://www.booksofadam.com/2010/10/so-that-happened.html
http://www.27bslash6.com/missy.html
PS: I know commenting on other journal entries is technically part of the criteria for KCB206, but if you read my latest entry, I am genuinely interested in breaking the ‘illusion of connectivity’ that one of our most recent readings has given me. Would appreciate your two cents! ☺
Hey Chrissie,
Yea, it she sure has sass. She has really strong opinions and I like the way she gets her point across. She has many followers, unfortunately she has her fair share of haters as well. She never lets it get to her thou, and continues doing what she loves. Yea, she got sponsored a lot of things. Even her entire wedding was sponsored by various companies.
I read your article about breaking the illusion of connectivity and I agree with you on this. The internet connects us, yet we are living our individual lives through such media platforms as well. I guess as with everything, there are 2 sides of the coin. Such as allowing us to find and connect with people we are looking for easily, but it also provides baddies the opportunity to take advantage of people’s gullibility.
Totally agree with you that media has become sources of emotional and financial support to us. Whenever you need someone to give you some advice and support, a post on the SNS would be enough to gather everyone and give you the most sincere and warm reply.
I do not think that our reputation should determine by our online presence easily. Everyone could have different identities on the internet at the same time. There is a possibility that other people will imitate your identity with the intention to destroy your image in the public.