These are notes I took during Brian Oberkirch‘s session on “Managing Your (Personal) Brand” at the 2008 Webmaster Jam Session on 3 Oct 2008.

• Do Epic Shit.
• Marketing is not a cure all.
• Listen to your users.
• If you don’t believe in your product, who will?
• You are a minister of information.
• You can’t move up if you don’t stand out.
• Be yourself. Embrace your quirkiness.
• You can’t build a brand in Photoshop.
• Brand is everything and then some.
• Find out what you are not. Zag against it.
• Example #1 ~ 37signals – Writing, copy voice is important. As is simple, usable design.
  • Do side projects.
  • Used enormicom.com as an example of a side project that 37s created.
  • Re: Blogging – Blog More. Posts have more value than tweets.
  • Who do you know? How can you give back?
• Example #2 ~ 43Folders, Merlin Mann
  • Be funny. Be who you are.
  • Merlin created the HipsterPDA and it put him on the map, so to speak.
  • Re: Productivity: “This is like pornography for me.”
  • Subtle, stupid things.
  • You don’t know where the network will take you.
• Example #3 ~ Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Took over his family business. Started vlogging. Built up the company and took it to the next level.
  • Leave a mark on people.
  • Build your tribe a person at a time.
  • One-off actions carry on.
  • Be passionate.
• The Playbook:
  • You need a home (to orient yourself).
    • Text ~ Blog, Twitter
    • Code
    • Bio
  • External sites ~ rel=”me”
  • Consider using something like chi.mp (Brian’s side project)
  • Be where your people are.
  • Be mindful about URLs, avatars and usernames.
  • Make it easy to spread the word and the work.
  • It takes longer than you think. Be prepared to invest yourself.
  • Ask for help. It’s all good.
  • Not buzz. Building.