How Are You Going to Brand Yourself?

After taking this class, I have learned a lot about the digital world, and how to brand myself online. I am not sure I am going to continue blogging; it requires a lot of time and effort. However, it would be a great tool if someone were to put the time into it. It could help people to be very successful. One thing that I plan to do after this class is network with more LinkedIn contacts. I did not know the power than LinkedIn had on helping to land a job, and now that I have learned how to network more effectively, I will definitely do that. The first step I want to take is to increase my contacts on my LinkedIn profile. The more people I am connected with, the better chance I will have at being successful. I will also reach out to certain contacts, and let them know that I am looking for a job in the near future and to keep me in mind if any openings arise in their company.

 

 When I want to brand myself I want to show my abilities through the forums I use. If I show my talents through how I brand myself on the internet companies will realize my gifts and relate them to me. Showing examples of your talents on sites that you use seems to be the best way to get your name across. I have started posting my best works on my LinkedIn. I also use keywords in my profile that relate to the my interest that companies ill search for. These seem to be the most basic techniques to brand yourself properly

Now a days, students who looking for a job is struggling with lack of job postings. The growth of population caused this situations. However, as an advertising major, this ADV420 class helped me a lot to improve developing the social media. This gave me a great chance to taught me a lot of knowledge to creating a social media. Such as Facebook, Twitters, LinkedIn, and Google Adwords, which is a simple basic knowledge to help me to get through later in my advertising career. After my graduation, I would say, I will continually working on my blog somehow. Because creating and managing the blog helps me to communicate and shares an information with people around the world.

I actually had to write a paper last semester for my TC 401 class about what I looked like online to future employers. We had to Google ourselves on a public computer so it was unbiased and I was shocked at what came up. While I came up quite often there were things that made me laugh (like my dance competition results from when I was 8) but I also wasn't impressed by myself. I only had a Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and Pinterest at the time and for a Media and Information I should have a much bigger presence on the Internet. While I have cleaned up my social network sites and become public on Twitter, I have also used the blog we created in this course to work on my image. The nice thing about social media, in my opinion, is you can dictate what people see and don't see. 

After hearing about how important it is to have your own personal "brand" online through this class, I have been much more aware of mine recently. This past month I started applying for summer internships and I am very aware that potential employeers will be typing my name into Google and looking through what comes up. I have made all my user names with my full first and last name, all social media outlets I was able to get kristinepierce as my url with some sort of number at the end, which will mean they'll all come up when seached for. I have gone through on LinkedIn and done some networking, on a daily basis my network continues to grow. I will continue to blog after this class, I want to also create a new Twitter account for myself, a seperate one for my social Twitter account. I want to make one specifically for advertising tweets, make a professional Twitter account and have my full name as the username, so that will show up over my personal account for potential employeers. 

While I have an account for all of the major sn sites, I've hardly ever used them and know little. This class was a good experience. I was looking forward how to use the internet to my benefit and learned some things about Google, search optimization and some key compnents of viral news. However, I don't know if it's really restored my faith in social networking or advertising. I understand that it's useul for reaching target audiences and that I can create dialogue with my customers. It's awesome! But people like what they like. Seeing my blog might be a forum for them to use when they have a question or (more then likely) a complaint, but it's nothing that will turn them into a fan. Social news is constantly updating. People are always sharing. What was there two minutes ago is now pushed now by the next "like", relationship status" or comment about someone's weekend. Sure, I'll reach my audience, but, like chapter 8 even said, viral makes noise, but the majority of viral fails. It's useful, I know. But it's rarely useful.

Building a brand for myself is very important to me. It is important to differentiate your self from the rest and by doing this you can impress many companies. To build my personal brand online, I'm going to start being more active on social sites. Updating my twitter and facebook more by righting more posts. Also write in my blog on a daily just so companies can visit my blog and see more about how i feel. Yes im going to start blogging daily to brand myself more. Also create more profiles on social media sites.  The lessons i've took away from this course will help me later in my futur endeavors. When i start my own business i will need to know how to get my product name out there and reach out to my customers so i will know more about how they feel. This class has given me a variety of options, on ways to brand myself and get my name out there.

I've only used Facebook as my primary source of social media, to keep in touch with friends and family. Never did I think of using it as a way to differentiate myself from other candidates when it comes to job hunting. Thankfully after realizing the importance of social media and with the knowledge I've gained through this class I'll be able to make myself stand out. I'll keep on blogging, it might not be about the current topic I have but I'll having something to show the company what I've done and accomplished. I'll try and connect with more people on Linkedin, comment more on blog posts of the company I want to work for. Have them notice me that I want to work for them. Brand myself hardcore to the point where I'm sticking out like a sore thumb. 

I only used Facebook and Twitter to contact and communicate with friends and family on online. Now that I know how to use these social networking programs to build my business relationships, I want to use it more properly to make connections with others. Facebook and Twitter is easy to use and can easily achieve information about others.  People post pictures, videos, and opinions to share with people to get other people’s thoughts and comments. I think it is great way to expand my personal connections and show my information. Also, making my own blog helped me a lot to understand the bloggers mind and I am glad that I learned how to blog because it will be useful for my future and brand myself.

Before I take this class, I didn't put too much importance on SNS. I'd thought SNS is just a tool for socilizing. However, now I realized that we can promote ourselves through the social network services such as Twitter, Facebook. Especially, if you want to work in media, or advertising industry, it is important to know the trend in social network services. I can also know the impact of SNS by just seeing that the president candidates opening their blog, or twitter account to communicate with voters. Following this trend, I am going to create my blog usefully in order to construct personal brand online.

Before taking this class I had read a few blogs but not on a regular basis. Now that I've created a blog that can not only be useful for this class, but also can be carried on in the future. I selected the topic of social media's corporate applications as my topic. My goal is to make it into something that I will be proud to show a future employer. It will demonstrate that I am well informed on the subject of social media, that I am capable of writing in an eloquent and professional manner, and that I truly have a passion for the subject matter. I am currently working on scheduling my next few posts and what their topics will be. I plan to further edit my layout to make it more visually appealing. I also want to incude links to my linked in profile, facebook profile, the blog's facebook fan page, and my twitter profile. This will make it easy for anyone to view my blog. I hope in the future that my blog will help to distinguish me from other job candidates. How many prospective graduates can say that they've written and maintained a blog about social media's applications to the business realm (that are not part of this class)?

Before this class started, I used facebook and twitter but not for anything that productive. I didn't use my Google+ at all.  I also didn't have a linkedin.  Now that we have started the NMDL class, I've been using them in a more productive way.  I have done a lot of networking on all of these platforms but still trying to learn how to use them to their fullest potenetial.  Hopefully after this class is over, I will still use these social media platforms in a positive way.  I've also read that we have to get a Pinterest eventually.. That's going to be weird.

Ii think that networkign like crazy is the best way to open up job opportunities, because its not what you know its who you know.

Before this class I had never had any personal experience blogging, but I can already see how it has the potential to be a valuable resource for individuals. This is especially true for college students and recent college graduates who are looking to start their careers. We have the ability to use blogs in order to market ourselves and/or the organizations we are affiliated with. I think the key to building your personal brand online is to utilize multiple social media platforms rather than just sticking to one in particular. An individual can network through LinkedIn but if they also use a blog or other social media sites to maximize their networking capabilities they can reach people they may not have connected with through LinkedIn.

I believe this post is a great representation of my excitement for this class. Differentiating myself in the job market is probably my biggest concern. I know that I am qualified enough and have the interview capabilities, but if I am not given the opportunity to get to the interview process, I will not get the job. With the numerous qualified applicants applying for the same job as you, social media has become more important than ever. 

Throughout the next couple semesters and post graduation, I am going to focus on personal branding and making my social networks consistent. I decided to focus my networking on the industries I am most interested in (sports and PR) in hopes of gaining attention from future employers. If all networks are consistent, interesting and knowledgeable, it will portray my genuine passion to employers, but also gain a following from social networking community who can relate and/or are interested in my posts.

Until the first day of this class I was unsure exactly how I could effectively launch my dreams and aspirations about having my own designer clothing label. I figured it would take me well beyond my prime to even begin establishing an immature brand identity. Instead of planning on climbing the limitless corporate NMDL helped me discover a totally different outlet. Now a friend and myself have agreed to start our journey’s together to success and create the initial stem to our business by creating a blog that not only promotes the line, but the enticing fast pace of trend. Eventually, media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest will become crucial in developing great brand equity. 

 

Until the first day of this class I was unsure exactly how I could effectively launch my dreams and aspirations about having my own designer clothing label. I figured it would take me well beyond my prime to even begin establishing an immature brand identity. Instead of planning on climbing the limitless corporate NMDL helped me discover a totally different outlet. Now a friend and myself have agreed to start our journey’s together to success and create the initial stem to our business by creating a blog that not only promotes the line, but the enticing fast pace of trend. Eventually, media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest will become crucial in developing great brand equity. 

 

In order to set myself apart from the competitive job market I am going to leverage my networks and continue to improve my skills daily. I plan to set up informational interviews with my dream companies to gain a better understanding of the qualities they are looking for. I am in the process of building my own personal website thanks to the http://shumakergroup.com/ and I am going to use search engine optimization to market my personal brand. I am interested in working in the sports & travel marketing industries so I plan on tailoring my LinkedIN to the key words an HR recruiter is most likely to use when searching for a qualified applicant. 

I believe the number one way to brand my self is to keep connected with LinkedIn contacts, and to network like crazy. I believe that networking is the most important aspect you need to have when searching for a job. I am going to network myself so much and get to know many other people from all different companies, so when I need there help, they will point me in the right direction. Clearly, getting jobs is never easy, but by knowing someone who might know someone else who is working in the company that you want to get it, is going to help me much more than a person who comes right out of college and turns in their resume with no recommendation. It’s getting to the point where it is about who you know and what they can do for you.

One day, the goal is to create a website, because that is where all the money is right now. We are the generation to do it, we are the generator with the new and creative ideas, and we need to show people somehow, and what better way to do that than through a website. Overall, I believe that networking is the first priority and then one day create a website so I can brand the hell out of my name and what I am doing.

As a graduating senior I believe it is vital to stay connected within every type of social media possible. Before this year I had never created a linkedin account and now I continually check it for connections as well as consistently update it. The social media class I am is also providing me with an immense amount of knowledge regarding my brand online. We are currently learning about creating blogs and I know it will be useful in my future career as well as now. If I work in a small company after I graduate I can use a blog to connect with other larger companies just by using content that is insightful and relavent. Additionally, Keeping my Facebook and Twitter profiles approproate will enhance my options in recieveing a job, as it is important to portray yourself in a positive light. This course has already taught me the usefulness of social media and how it can allow me to achieve any job I desire.

After having first class of New Media Driver Lincense Seminar, I got some new ideas about the usage of new media. Therefore, I decided to take chance to learn to brand myself while handing in the assigments for NMDL class. First, I start to write blog. I had some experiences to keep a blog in my country, but most of it are more personal emotion expression. I never thought about to write something meaningful for public to read. Since it is my first time to keep a public blog (esp in English), I decided to write something more easy to catch. Therefore, I decided to write the culture differences. I thought it is a really interesting topic especially in this "global village era." By doing so, people can see my point of view, my obsevation of the world. I think that as a future PR professionals, those are very important skills I should practice. Also, I will keep running my Facebook which I used the most in the past. I will start to post more public topics and make some interations with my FB friends. And I would like to share more pictures about my life in MSU, my friends can get more information about the American life. I would love to let people know my personality more on Facebook. About LinkedIn,  after connecting with many former colleges and friends, I start to brand myself by keep updating my information and also reply all messages in the very first time. There are somthing I'm planing to do after keeping all my personal social media running for a year:

1. I would like to change my profile pic in uniform one.

Right now, I use differnt pic for each social media, because I still want to keep some personality. But after graduating and decided to make my social profile more business purpose, I will change my pic into more business like one.

2. Will start to extend my blog category.

Right now, I am writing somthings more "daily-life stories." After having some royal readers, I would love to extand my topics to more serious issues. But I will still focus on the "international" points of veiw.

3. Will keep all my information link to each other and up-to-date.

4. Will find more popular social media to use in the future.

5. Will make some personal headline cover for both my blog and Facebook.

These things are so far I can think about. I believe after taking the NMDL courses, I could get more ideas about personal branding. 

I'm going to build my personal brand online by creating my own website.  I think by having multiple social media links connected to my own website will only help businesses see that I am an active member of the online community.  I think it is important, as an advertising creative student, to brand myself with similar designs.  I've learned that having similar designs on my business card, cover letter, resume and website is vital.  I know already that my presence online in this world is critical to building my brand and getting my name out there.  I plan on continuing to learn more about that influence that I make, and whether it is good or bad.

I have already started to brand myself by creating and trying to keep all of my social media profiles up to date as well as uniform. I find that by using the same picture for mostly all of my profiles it makes it easier for "followers" as well as companies to recognize me. It's nice to see that a lot of companies are becoming big social media advocates and its even nicer to already be a part of most of the big social media sites already. One site that I have a profile on, but don't use as much as I think I should is linkedin and to help brand myself I would like to become an advit user of linkedin because its the most professional and I can network with major companies. I also make sure and want to continue to make sure that while I use my social networks for my personal and social life, they are always profession ready because you never know when someone is searching your name. And lastly, I would like to keep up with my blogging when I have more time.

To brand myself, I recently made a list of all the social media outlets that I am a part of and have began to go through my posts and clean them up to make sure that my voice from application to application is consistent with my goals and passions associated with my career. I have also started to really utilize my friend list on different networks to build contact lists that reflect a certain area that I am interested or working in. As I see what my friends are invovled in I am able to network with them to see if they need assistance with my skills and vice versa. Many times because I am congratulating people on their new positions at work or school, I see my friends return the favor when I have a question or even when I was looking for work myself. Although I enjoy catching up with family on Facebook, it has also served as a great outlet to build my professional network. Since I am interested in music and entertainment public relations I have began to follow people that can serve as professional mentors and resources and I gain my own experience. I am also following new artists and publications to make sure I am subjected to new material and ideas.

I think being a blogger is a useful way for my online perosonal brand. It is because I can use my blog to become a perfect platform for showing all my products to my target audiences, and I can create member accounts to my audiences and they can easily see my products and make feedback to me, and it is very helpful for me to know want my audiences' demand. I think it is very important for me to improve my brand.

LinkedIN social network is a new social network for me, I just build it few days ago. I realize LinkedIN is a quit professional network than Facebook or Twitter. It is more  academic and serious, and it is a really good network for career. When I edit my profile, I found out LinkedIN was more focus on the information of education, jobs, interests, and skills. When I found people to connect with, I found out many professinals and companies CEOs, these people use it to shows their career and their companies news. I also can use LinkedIN to find career fairs, it is very helpful.

 

I am going to start using social media not only for personal use but to help build my professional profile and network with potential employers. I am going to do so by keeping up to date with my LinkedIn profile. I heard about LinkedIn and filled out half of my profile, not really caring or knowing the possibilities it could bring. One day, my good friend told me she got an amazing job offer because someone had seen her on LinkedIn. Social media is growing fast and being up to date and having these skills can put someone ahead of the rest. This class will help me get my foot in the door with professional networking and hopefully assist me in landing the job of my dreams!

In approaching this NMDL class, there are two main things I am looking at. The first is the idea of blogging. I strongly feel this is a good way to represent yourself online in a well-rounded way, as well as making sure that you continually keep your writing skills up-to-date. The second idea that I thinking about is maintaing multiple platforms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). At this point, I have profiles and presences on five different sites, and I feel one lesson that I am already learning is how important it is to keep up on all of this. Each is a platform that is continually evolving, and I want a future employer to be impressed by whichever one he/she stumbles across, rather than having them find my (previously abandoned) Google+ page and dismissing me. 

What i would like to work on most when building my networking skills would be my LinkedIn profile. All that i hear is great things about LinkedIn and that you can meet a lot of different people from various companies that can help you in your career. I would also like to stick with not having a Facebook. I believe that having a Facebook is nothing but trouble and I do tend to enjoy life a lot more without being addicted to a social website where i creep on people's lives. These are the two networks i will focuse my attention on to be able to look good in future job interviews and meet the right people as well as staying away from the wrong people.

You should always be branding yourself since everyone is continuously evolving. Since first Googling myself, I have discovered a graphic designer in Florida with my same name. Since we are in close fields, this is detrimental for me. To change my findings on Google, I plan on networking like I have never networked before to get my name and social media sites out to prospective bosses. Since social networking is doing so much for society in the business sense, I will never stop using, updating, or expanding my social media profiles. I need to set myself apart from my peers and from people with my name. I will do this by expanding all my profiles as much as I can. I know I have the credentials and personality for the advertising field, I just need to get people to see it starting with my social media profiles. I believe only benefits can emerge from networking if you network in a safe manner. 

By taking this class I am hoping to learn how to effectively drive people to my social media sites and influence them directly through effective blogging on imprtant and interesting topics. By linking this and promoting it to hundreds of people on linkedin, twitter, facebook, and running it through my own personal website I would hope this makes me more visibile to potential busineesses. I would like to blog about something I'm passionate about but I am not the most knowledgeable person in those area and may not impact others enough to draw attention to myself. Any tips on how I could more effectively brand myself through blogging would be great. 

Being that I am a graphic designer/ illustrator I will talk about and promote my online portfolio across various social networking sites. I actually have given this question much thought over the past couple of weeks. Being as i am about to graduate, I started a blog where I will blog my journey as a new designer. This blog will incude tips, trick, and tutorials along with a first hand account of the industry. This class will help optimize the opportunity of getting my blog seen. Also, is there a spell check , my spelling is atrocious! 

Stand Out From the Crowd

Although I am just beginning this course, I believe I can provide a fresh perspective and hopefully I can compare my feelings and thoughts after the course is completed. Over the past two years I have focused my effort on obtaining an internship and now that graduation is quickly approaching, my eye is now on full-time. In the past I have steered away from having a presence on the Internet, at least through the eyes of my future employers. Thus far I have had success obtaining internships, but based on just the beginning of this course, I don't think I need to be completely invisible. Currently my use of social media has been divided into either social use or professional use. I would classify Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram to be used more for personal use. In a professional situation, I use LinkedIn to network and build relationships. I find this to be the best way to connect and brand myself. I hope that through this course I can broaden my use of other social media platforms and create an even stronger brand. 

Branding yourself should be a continuous occurance. I don't think I will stop using, updating, and expanding my online profiles after this course!! We are constatnly evolving and learning new things about ourselves. I think it would benifit all of us if we kept blogging, posting, tweeting, updating, etc so that people can see the knowledge we are gaining about ourselves and the industry. Once we have had a career for a few years there are still ways that our social sites and profiles can be improved. Who knows, maybe our new media work will lead to a promotion or a better job. By keeping up to date on these various networks we will be absorbing information, sharing positive qualities about ourselves, as well as proving that we can keep up the the advancing technology.

It's not easy for international students to find a job after graduation in the US, thus make personal branding more important to us. For me, I used to think I should be equipped with all kinds of skills, so I can meet the requirements of future employers. Now I think it's more practical and effective to start with one distinct identity, and I'm now concern more about how to use social media to land my future job. Thanks to NMDL, I finally stepped out and built up my own Linkedin. I will use Linkedin (contacts, groups, and other events) to seek more opportunities. Besides the knowledge I learn from the course, I also see "hope", others' stories inspired me and motivated me to keep going on.

When branding my self on the internet for future jobs and positions in the industry is to build upon my Linkedin. I will be hopefully keeping up with my blob that I will make in this course. With Linkedin I want to build my contact list and also to keep up with opportunies for jobs. As far as my blob I plan to use it to keep people informed on my interest in fashion and find follows who share those interest.

I think that now especially, social media is one area in which you can set yourself apart from the competition. Many people I know try to hide everything on their social media profiles by making everything private. As an employer, if you have two similarly qualified candidates and one's profile is private, they may be more likely to choose the other (granted the more open profile aligns with the company's views, morals, etc.). Social media gives a candidate a completely new platform to express themselves and show employers exactly who you are.

I feel really fortunate to be taking this class right now when social media is such a driving force of our society. I hope I can learn how to manage that effectively and be able to maintain a certain level of professionalism on my social networking sites. Even though we've only just started this class, I feel that I'm already approaching social media with a different mindset than I had been prior to the beginning of this class.    

I believe that utilizing social media is very important when looking to land a future career. With the way the world works today the job force is almost too competitive, I think that it is important to brand yourself to stand out from the crowd. I always try to keep everything on my social media pages appropriate and motivating. I know that almost all companies use social media as a way to learn more about the person they may consider hiring. With social media being so public, it's important to maintain a professional outlook. I also think that LinkedIn is one of the best social media websites ever created, being able to post your resume over the web and connect personally to different employers can open the door to many opportunities. I have been on LinkedIn for almost a year, and want to continue to build my connections. Adding professors and past employers and asking for reccomendations can show future employers what you have to offer. I believe that it's important to keep up to date, and to always be looking for new ways to create opportunities for yourself!

I agree with the many of the comments made by fellow classmates. I used Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest for the majority of my college years just as a way to catch up with friends. Now as a graduate student I hope to use it to connect with professors, with research projects, with professional organizations, classsmates and employers. The social media sites that are my focus are LinkedIn and Twitter. I want to be connected through social media to the professional world so that when employers see my profile they will see that I am invested in the field. I want my social media profiles to enable me to connect resources otherwise seperate. Collaboration can take any company, project, or group to a whole new level of influence. That is what Klout will measure. Beyond having the right connections I want to focus on Tweeting relevant content. In this way the professional world will see my contect and connect me to their connections. My current interests are Health Communication, College Access and cycling. 

My social networking is mainly for personal use. However, I keep my privacy settings very strict that way if a potential employer were to search me they could only see the jist of my information. Another way I use social networks for my benefit is to keep up with the industry I would like to work for. I search for new innovative hunting/fishing companies and learn their product. This keeps me informed when talking in person to contacts which is the main way I search for jobs. I keep up with contacts on LinkedIn for future reference and for more contacts. If I do find something I find innovative I will share it with friends who hopefully will share it with their contacts and get back to me with their feedback.

I'm not really a big internet user unless I need it so I wasn't as connected as many people during our first session. I had most of the profiles already but I rarely used them. Facebook was mainly for me to just be able to get pictures of myself with friends without having to bring my camera every time I went out. Twitter was something I avoided and Linkedin seeming like something for adults who were working full time. After enrolling in this class I realized how visable I am to whoever chooses to search me. This made me immediately want to clean up all the profiles I left unattended because they made me seem disconnected. My plan for the rest of the semester is not only to figure out how I want to be viewed and branded online but to actually make it happen and become more connected and learn more about all the social media tools I'm growing up with. If we avoid social media now we'll be unable to grow with its advancements and be like our parents or grandparents who have difficulties with just the simpliest electronic tasks. 

I plan on using the resources provided in this class to differentiate myself from the average canidate. I thought I was ahead of the curve in terms of social networking, having a LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Twitter account. But it is how you use them that seperates you from the next person. The idea of Klout puts everything into perspective. I plan on networking and trying to raise my "value" or even "popularity" as it seems on Klout. I think the lessons learned on how to network, and how to make yourself standout on social media outlets are invaluable. Social media, the internet, new media and online branding will be around for a very long time and I am happy to have a course to set me up for the future.

 

-Tom Stacy

I am a person who repect and think highly of network. That works and decides what you are and where you are thoughout the life. Since I am quite interest in establishing an enterprise in China, I am quite care about the network which people share the same ideas of me. It is weird that Linkedin mode cannot work in China because I think China care more about strong relationship but not weak relationship. So this might be difficult to find the people who are right to work with there. But from new media class, I really realize how important it is and how it can really promote ourselves in a really wisely way.

Before taking this course, once, I googled myself out of curiosity to see what the internet had to say about me, and turns out it wasn't much.  Results did not pertain to me, were unorganized and sloppy, and did nothing to help me assert myself as a professional and as a buisnesswoman.  With the help of this course I plan on optimizing my search engine efficiency, so if a prospective employer were to search me, not only would they see I am savvy with social media, but I have all of the skills, experience, and drive that they are looking for.  After being pushed by this course, I have also built my LinkedIn profile to a much higher than previous score, bringing it to 90% completed.  I know I will be able to use this tool to network like crazy, using friends and professional contacts to search for the best job I can find and better my career. I also stumbled on this website, about.me, which allows you to make an online buisness card of sorts, and will even ship you cards for free after you register with them.  I plan on using that and linking it to my other websites to increase my visibility on the internet.

I learned the hard way the importance of having an online personal brand. About 3 months ago I tried to apply for a job at a technology firm as an event manager however I didn't get very far since I couldn't complete the application. I didn't have a personal website, twitter page, professional Facebook, etc. From that moment on I knew I had to get out there and create my online persona. Hence why I'm here today!

I'm working toward developing a consistent professional brand for Mary P Creed as a hard working, organized individual who enjoys challenging work. I will do this by making sure it's easy for people to connect with me by always linking to at least one of my profiles.  Also, I'm excited for the blogging aspect of this class as it is my first step into this foriegn world. I will take all my lessons from this class and implement it at my current job (which I recently started at a non-profit organization about 2 months ago despite the need to improve my online presence).

Thanks to this course I have already started to increase my social media influence and my brand. I changed my twitter name to reflect my real name so people can find me easier. I have also changed my FaceBook page from my nickname to my real name and cleaned up some photos so that when businesses look for me they don't just see a college kid who likes to drink. I have also increased my tweeting even though I enjoy using Twitter mainly for learning about up to date news rather than using it to get my opinions out. I have FaceBook for that because I have a bigger reach on FaceBook and the majority of my friends have FaceBook rather than Twitter. I also started increasing my LinkedIn connections as well as started following more companies. Hopefully after taking this class I can use my social media pages to help position myself for success in the future.

I think blogging is an excellent way to show your interest in a place, idea, project, people, or whatever else you want to blog about. Using a blog in the business world and putting it on a resume helps businesses learn more about you which in turn can make you stand out in a group. Of course it is important to consider an appropriate subject for your blog. I am looking forward to creating a blog and hope to continue it once the class has ended. I think it will be a good way to express myself to businesses and keep a hobby.

I've just created a LinkedIn so I can't say much for that particular site but I have had Twitter and Facebook for years. Personally, I think those sites have potential to help you build your personal brand and get your name out there, but most people don't use them right - I know I don't. Another thing about Facebook and Twitter is now so many people have them that it isn't original anymore. Having a Facebook or a Twitter won't really help you stand out amongst the crowd. The direction I think I would take is making other sites and using other ways to get yourself out there. I have my own site that I use as an online portfolio for all my work, but I still link it to my Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I think networking like crazy and expanding your contacts is a fantastic idea - because it's really about who you know - but that's easier said than done. You can't just spam the crap out of people with your name and your LinkedIn profile because so many others are doing it. There has to be a better way to get your name out there.

I've had a LinkedIn for quite a while and I know I haven't used it to it's full potential. I'm actually excited to get more involved in my LinkedIn via this course and hopefully make some connections that will help me find a job. I think you can really get a grasp on someones professional history and capabilities through LinkedIn and I want people to be impressed when viewing my profile. I'm looking forward to learning more about optimizing my profile from this course.