Me, myself…my brand.

Personal branding is not new, but it’s still all the rage. After a couple of months of its existence and incessant reminders to try it out, I decided to give in and create a branded.me page. It took me 15 minutes. I just had to choose a layout and it basically imported everything from my LinkedIn account.

At the cross-roads of finishing my PhD and looking for a job, it is the perfect time to create yet another ego-centred page, I told myself. And if even a Business Insider article says that it’s what every job seeker needs, who am I to disagree?

But mainly, seeing just how far we can push personal branding fascinates me. I certainly have nothing more special than the multitude of others to tell, mind you. But, hell, if someone is going to make it super easy for me to have a sexier version of my electronic CV, I’ll take it.

A decade back, the idea that brand had personalities and human-like traits emerged from the wonderful minds of Jennifer Aaker and Susan Fournier. This was, and still is quite controversial to some, but I think that if you take it with a pinch of salt, brands do have personalities and can be anthropomorphised.

Personal branding functions the other way around, claiming that individuals can manage themselves like brands. Celebrities are a good example but now we see it being applied to just anyone. Branded.me is only one way to democratise and spread the creation of personal websites but if you think of it, your every move on the social web defines your brand, who you are, and how people perceive you.

In an era where actual brands are loosing control and consumers are more and more empowered, is the balance of power reversing back with businesses making money out of the personal branding trend?

Let’s see how useful this branded.me page is then. You can see mine here, and I’d love to know if you find it useful if you have one.

Happy personal branding!