There is no escaping the concept of personal branding! Anyone who participates in networked culture (and only the rare hermit doesn’t) develops digital footprints. The tricky part is understanding how to separate your “public self” from your “private self”. A product, service, knowledge or expertise in a subject holds value when people need or want it. Yet, without a clear focus on the value of what one contributes to others, a personal brand is nothing but self-promotion, if not full-blown narcissism.

Way back in 2009 (before influencers completely overtook marketing), Twenge and Campbell warned us about The Narcissism Epidemic as everyone started using social media to share their “beautiful life experiences” and parents raised children with praise about how “unique and special” they are as individuals.

The authors suggested, “With cultural-level narcissism accelerating, many people with merely average levels of narcissism are getting sucked into the maelstrom of vanity, materialism, and entitlement'” (2009, p. 282).

Twenge, J. and Campbell, W. (2009). The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. First Free Press: New York.

Forbes writer Caroline Castrillon says, ” The term ‘branding’ used to be reserved for businesses, but with the advent of social sites and the gig economy, personal branding has become fundamental”.  Without understanding of digital citizenship in relationship to online identity, an individual may leave a very messy trail behind them.

The importance of a personal responsibility for an authentic online identity which balances ethical behavior with participation in networked culture is critical to our future. How to instill this responsibility in digital citizens at an early age is a concern for us all. A digital identity develops in numerous online platforms including social media profiles, icons, apps, content curation and avatars within virtual communities.

Two college educators (Library/Information Science and MultiMedia/Graphic Art fields) explored the creation of avatars as personal brands in a research study using hermeneutical phenomenology to tell their own professional development stories. Through the use of an avatar, the educators facilitate learning across distance in sustainable immersive learning environments such as virtual libraries, museums or historical simulations. A recognizable persona helped to create trust across virtual communities.

Four essential elements for the creation of professional avatars emerged from the stories examined: 1) authenticity, 2) purpose, 3) persistent embodied presence, and 4) personal responsibility for digital citizenship (Hill and Brock-Richmond, 2015, p. 21).

Hill, V. and Brock-Richmond, R., (2015). Exemplifying Professional Avatar Creation through Hermeneutic Phenomenology. Journal of Virtual Studies, (6) 3, 7-23.

Avoiding the pitfalls of personal branding

Each of us has a personal journey through life that creates a dynamic story and digital storytelling provides new ways to share stories that provide insight, encourage empathy, uplift us or give us a new perspective. Yet, problems arise when narcissism overtakes the contribution an individual can make to the community.

Today’s culture admires power, wealth, fame, and above all “lots of followers”! We are often impressed by videos that “go viral”. Social media tends to encourage viewing the moments of our lives as opportunities to create an edited performance in which each of us plays the starring role. Perhaps we need to revisit some old-fashioned concepts like humility and duty. Maybe we should think about a few points that would combat the pitfalls of personal branding:

• I am not the most important person in the world
• I am not not all that special
• I have a duty to help others
• I have a responsibility to contribute
• I need to have empathy for others
• The thousands of platforms where “I have a voice” do not guarantee that I have something to say