My RSS Feed is a Thinker and blog is #1 for online personal brand thoughts. Dan Schawbel is Gen Y and geared to Gen Y personal brand, but you will benefit regardless of generation. He has Just Posted the Following on his blog:

Scheduling note:* Don’t worry, Jacob Share will be back posting regularly starting next Friday.* I’m filling in for him today and will quench your thirst with this new article .

Personal branding is more than just a career development concept and practice.* Powerful and world recognizable brands, such as Oprah, Michael Jordon, Tiger Woods and Brad Pitt have names that stimulate feelings, emotions and millions (even billions) of dollars.*
A celebrity is a widely-recognized or notable person who commands a high degree of public and media attention.**

The role of the celebrity has changed drastically over the past decade.* You used to have to get a lot of mainstream attention to be known and respected, but those days are slowly coming to an end.*

Of course Hollywood celebrities still have a lot of star power and can command a world of opportunities and fame, but the internet has given rise to a new type of celebrity, the micro-celebrity.* If you never thought you could be a celebrity, this is your big chance.* Social media has enabled anyone, yes you, to become known in a particular area and have raving fans!

Not everyone desires to be in the spotlight and if you like your privacy, forget about it.* The new micro-celebrities are public with everything and can handle the new media paparazzi.* In the digital world, your personal brand can be shared, embraced or tossed away.* In order to stand out, become known for something and achieve micro-stardom, you need to follow a few basic principles.
  • *Visibility creates opportunities.* People live in their own worlds, whether they like it or not.* Every time you meet someone knew, you have the ability to let them into your world.* You haven’t heard of most people walking this earth, but you have discovered people through various mediums, such as TV, radio, websites, newspapers, bulletins, magazines, etc.* If you aren’t visible you don’t exist in people’s eyes.*By getting your name out there, people will learn about you and make a quick and intuitive decision whether they want to do business with you or not.* In order to become more visible, you need to become your own PR spokesperson for the brand called you.* You need to get your story and messaging right so you can talk to the press, which now includes bloggers, and hopefully, they will write about you.
  • Everything is public.* As a micro-celebrity, you have to come to terms that everything you say and do is public online.* Think about the life and times of Britney Spears.* She can’t make a move without having her picture taken.* Every morning she wakes up, her faces graces a different magazine cover; sometimes for better and other times for worse.* On the web, anything you write or post can be shared to a group and then to a larger network and so on.* After you post it, you lose control of it and people can post about you at any time.* You need to be smart about what pictures you use and make sure they best represent the brand called you!
  • Go to where the people are.* Sure starting a website or a blog is a great personal brand strategy, but the people are already located on popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and Ning.* Facebook has over 175 million users, while LinkedIn has over 35 million, Twitter has about 5 million and MySpace supposedly has over 200 million.* You need to setup shop on these networks by building your profile and interacting with the users there.* Aside from becoming apart of those communities, you are also gaining control over your Google results because each of these services rank high for your name.
  • Take risks.* I’m sure you’ve heard people say “risk and reward.”* When it comes to building a celebrity brand, you need to take risks.* Be brave and don’t be afraid to speak your mind because transparency and authenticity are cherished on the web.* Getting your name out there is how you build brand, but you’ll have opposition, so you have to be prepared and be strong willed.* You should take calculated risks, such that you have a pretty good idea what the risk could yield if things work out.
  • Own your domain.* Both literally and figuratively, you need to control your piece of the web.* This means that you should purchase yourname.com (domain name) and start creating content, so that you’re positioned as the #1 expert in your field.* As a reward, you will be ranked #1 in Google and the media will go right after you.
Being a celebrity is within reach right now, finally after nearly a decade.* You won’t have to fly to Hollywood and beg people to give you opportunities.* It’s time to create your own opportunities by building a powerful brand on the web.* This is your chance to make a difference, get noticed and have fun!

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