Just Who Are You?

I wrote this blog sometime ago but recent blogs from some of my favorite TR bloggers Chris Reed and Jon Gillespie only served to bring it back up. It is somewhat of a rant but I believe a check in on your values and a confirmation that your online brand doesn’t need “management” if your values are aligned in all aspects of your life. Feel free to disagree, as a matter of fact I welcome a counterpoint!

Much has been spoken about the separation between our personal and professional lives online. You have heard all of the suggestions and advice Here are just a couple.

Beware what you post as everyone can see it and you don’t want it to adversely affect your professional career.

Social Media can be abused by posting parts of your personal life that might bring your professional qualities into question.

I could go on and on but you get the picture….you are on stage and what you communicate, show, and display can have negative impacts on your goals, aspirations, and desires.

Here at TR, one of our guiding communications is about being the “authentic and unapologetic you” Now if you are living that principal the above presents an oxymoron. If you are being the authentic and unapologetic you what exactly is it you are doing that can be placed in this media format that you wouldn’t want others to see. Is your personal life so careless and dangerous that you wouldn’t want someone to know something about you?

Take some of the icons of social media presence that I admire such as Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Joni Doolan, Amanda Hite, Guy Kawasaki….I could go on. Do you think they censor their communication, posts, and photos worried about what you may learn about them? I think not. When they are living their brand do you think they decide not to do something because it may adversely affect their perceived image to us little people? I think not.

So is your brand different in social media than you live daily? If it is, you have to ask yourself, what am I doing? Do you think our role models in this media format create the image we want to see or do you think they just live their lives knowing their values, connections, business, and relationships ARE who they appear to be anywhere just not in social media. I think, yes!

So if you find yourself thinking, I better not write this, I better not post that photo, I better not display myself this way or I could get in trouble….well, maybe you aren’t ready to develop a brand worthy of this vehicle. Your values are your values and they aren’t dictated by what others might see, they are dictated by who you want to be. Are you a Tiger Woods just waiting to be uncovered?

Don’t edit your photos, don’t edit your writing…..edit your values and be your TRUE authentic and unapologetic self.