A Personal Branding Kick-in-the-Butt!

One of the most powerful presentations I’ve seen from the videos coming out of the Web 2.0 Expo has to be by Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV. Gary talks about the importance of stepping up to the plate and doing what you were meant to do (i.e. what you are passionate about) as opposed to your mundane 9-5 (if you are unhappy in your current job).

He’s right. In today’s digital landscape, even if you’re only remotely entrepreneurial, you have virtually limitless business opportunities when you let your passion drive you. There is currently a gold rush to tackle every niche imaginable. The main reason for the rush of course, is that niches have finally become profitable (a la The Long Tail) and technological barriers are no longer an excuse. Each and every one of us has a free platform called THE WEB where even the most remote, obscure communities are accessible and have a critical mass that can turn your idea/product/service into a profitable venture or at least cost-recovery so that your time is covered and you get to do something you LOVE.

This is where the personal brand comes in. What do you represent? What is your legacy? Your digital footprint? Gary mentions an important line in his presentation that I often think of myself: “Your great, great, great, great, great grand kids are going to have a rich media record (photos, videos, blogs, jobs, networks) of ALMOST EVERYTHING you did in your life.” What he’s saying is that our digital footprints are PERMANENT.

Most of us have no idea who our ancestors were past one or two centuries, let alone how they lived, where they worked, what they accomplished and who they were friends with. Our descendants will know quite a bit about us, increasing of course with each subsequent generation. Hence why at the very least, we owe it to ourselves to actually be remembered (from a work perspective) as doing something we genuinly had a passion for. Especially since “working” often comprises so much of our lives.

See if you enjoy Gary’s take on this issue as much as I did…

Government of Ontario in Second Life!

Upon checking in on the Government 2.0 Best Practices Wiki I set up last week, a few things came to mind today, which I thought I’d write about. First of all, I am amazed at and very thankful for all the wonderful contributions people from all over the world have made to the wiki so far. There have been over 5000 visitors, of which over 50 have already made new entries. Let’s keep them coming!

I was particularly amazed at a recruitment initiative by the Government of Ontario (thanks to Marvin Bedward for sending the link) involving Second Life. Most government social media initiatives are relatively safe (e.g. rss feeds, blogs, etc…) so this one tented to stand out. Rather than blabbing on about it, why don’t you watch the video below:

I would love to hear more about this. Mainly, was it successful? did it meet objectives? how did the implementers go about getting official buy-in? If anybody out there knows anything, please contact me. I have also heard of a Second Life initiatve put on by Library and Archives Canada. Although unfortunately I have been unable to find anything concrete written about it. If you have any leads, by all means please let me know or better yet, post the info up on the wiki!

What do you think? Will immersive experiences/demonstrations like this dominate the recruitment landscape of the future? Is this just too much for some of you? Let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Government 2.0 Best Practices Wiki Launch

Rather than delaying it any longer, I took the last 30 minutes to finally create a quick Government 2.0 Best Practices Wiki for the social media community (working in or with the public sector) to collaboratively work on. I’m planning on filling it out over the next few days with more information, however I figured I’d save myself some work by opening the doors early and letting you start filling it in and/or fine-tuning the layout.

My overall intent here is quite simple. I want to get public servants and government consultants out of their silos and have them start working collaboratively towards a common goal: better governance through the use of social media (i.e. Government 2.0). Every workshop or conference I speak at, I am asked the same first question by most public servants: “Who else is doing this in government?”. I want this wiki to have all the answers and to continually grow as new initiatives arise.

This has been brewing in my mind for a long time now and will eventually lead to much bigger initiatives, including a truly dedicated conference/summit on the topic (ideally sponsored by government departments here in Canada). Stay tuned, planning is already in progress. 

If you need a quick Wiki 101, have a look at this Wiki definition video.