Brian Solis has an excellent story in Brandweek on "the Brand Known as You." I think this is an extremely interesting topic, and something that will be more and more discussed. Brian writes:

"The one thing that connects everything together is you. You are on the frontlines for everything not only related to you, but everything you represent now and in the future."

In real life, I suppose we all consider how we are perceived. We dress in a certain way, we act in a certain way, we talk in a certain way, but until recently, the internet has been a "safe zone" with regards to privacy. You can be whoever you want and whatever you want, as long as you're consistent. But with increasing amount of transparency, most people are now blogging and commenting under their own name, tying together their online and real life presence.

So why is this important? As Brian mentions, everything you write in blogs, comments, Twitter and so on is now searchable. So can you stand for everything you write?

At least here in Norway, it's been written quite a bit about employers googling potential employees, or at least how they could do this. Apparently, most recruiters do not check up on people online, which I find slightly disturbing. If I'm interviewing for a position, I assume people search my name to find out what I stand for and what services I use, but perhaps our industry is different than others. Likewise, in a hiring position, I would definitely google the most interesting candidates.

So protect the brand known as you, because it is now both online and offline. And if this post shows up as a part of a hiring process many years down the road, please confront me with it. How do you establish, maintain and build your personal brand?