I was tagged in a “meme” post by Chris Brogan which is quite a seminal event for me. You see, I am new to this whole social media thing. Just about a year ago, I started blogging. It was a little blog (it is still a little blog), but it was mine.

About 8 months ago, I discovered twitter. Imagine a place for people with a million thoughts running through their heads at any given moment, where I could pull one out at random and drop them on a website for all to see. It was fantastic for me.

About 6 months ago, I went to SXSW. I met many of the people I had interacted with online in the BlogHaus and the parties and the conference. I loved every minute of it.

As I left SXSW, I thought to myself, what are the top Social Media people doing different than me? And it hit me like a freight train.

Be Available.

Thats it.

So, Im available. Available by email: micah [at] currentwisdom [dot] com. Available by phone (720) 231-7120. Available anytime. And, even more importantly, me (the things that make me, me) are available on this blog.

I hope to meet everyone I interact with online, offline. But I wont be able to unless you do one thing:

Be Available.

Now, Chris has asked that we tag three people to give their thoughts on Social Media Best Practices: So, I would love to hear from Aaron Brazell (who teaches me something new every day), Tara Hunt (who scares me and inspires me at the same time) Jeremy Tanner (who wears a kilt. C’mon, how could I not tag someone who wears a kilt?)

And finally, a link to Mitch Joel over at Six Pixels of Separation who got this whole thing started.

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My friend Andrew Hyde and I had breakfast this morning, and as it often does, our conversation circled around to blog posts we had either read or written the previous week.

“Did you read my posts where I am trying to give tribute to people that inspire me?” I said.

“They confused me,” Andrew replied. “I suggest you add a blurb about what they are and whom they are for.”

So I did.

“Did you read my post about High Fives and Finger Pointing?” He asked.

“I did,” I mumbled between bites. “It needs more exploration.”

So, Im picking up the story.

We discussed the necessity for social media to have villains and heroes.  It seems that many people in the social media sphere have made careers in one of three roles.

The Villain: A person that tends to have the contrary view. Who is unafraid to be anti-establishment. Who really seems to not care what others think of their positions.

The Hero: The person that never says a bad word without provocation. That when they say “you have done a bad thing,” the social media world gasps and nods their heads.

The General Populace: The rest of the social media world. These people tend to side with the Heroes or Villains, sometimes switching back and forth. They are the ones that spend their time either just interacting with other members of the General Populace, or strive to be a Hero or Villain.

Its interesting how much the social media world, with its emphasis on openness, is slowly morphing into a skewed version of the real world, where people who have limited influence in their daily life can hold sway from the simple typing of a blog post.

Dont believe me?

Go into FriendFeed. See the people that get tons of comments and likes.

Ask any one of them to change a public policy.

Ask any one of them to make a fundamental difference in todays world. 

But, ask them to complain about a company online, or tout the actions of another. Then, without a doubt, things happen.

The online social media world is just a story that we are all writing. It shifts and changes as the characters shift and change. It grows as the people within it make new story lines.

And, like any good story, without Villains and Heroes, it simply ends.

There is a phrase, spoken mostly by “social media experts,” that I just cant stand. Can you guess what it is?

(drum roll please)

“Its not in my brand”

Yuck.

As social media continues its explosion, and more and more people are becoming “social media experts”and talking in terms of personal brand.

(BTW, “social media expert” is another complete misnomer. Have you noticed that most “social media experts” are socially awkward or inept? What they truly excel in is using the Internet as a way to relate in a non-real way. Thats why I am so impressed by video bloggers who truly just talk into a camera and express their feelings. Its the closest thing to connecting directly with people that is not hidden by social media constraints.)

(another point. I am a bit of a hypocrite here since I am blogging, not video blogging these thoughts, but to my credit, I aint no “social media expert.”)

Back to the concept of personal brand.

There are two types of branding: corporate branding, and this new concept of personal brand.

Corporate branding is simple. Its the concept of creating a good feeling about a product or service with potential customers. So have a concept of “Give the world a Coke,” is a great branding exercise. People feel good about giving and therefore feel good about Coke, with the net effect being more soda being purchased.

Personal brand has become how you present yourself to the world. What people dont realize is this simple fact:

Personal Brand is YOU.

So, there is so separation between your “personal brand” and you. Personal brand, doesnt exist. Its a fake concept, a misnomer, a way for “social media experts” to make a living.

Take for example screen names.

There are people who use screen names that are not connected to their names, when asked why, the common response is that they can “brand themselves around the screen name.” This allows them to keep the “personal” away from the “professional.”

How is this personal branding?

If personal branding is about the person, shouldnt it be about the person?

By using my name (@micah) I create no division between Micah the person and Micah the “online” person. This means that I dont have a Personal Brand, I just have me.

There are other folks who do the same online.

Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Robert Scoble and the king of all marketers, Seth Godin, and others use their names as their online identities and allow their words to define who they are. Are they careful with their word choice and subjects, sure, but most folks are aware of the effect of their conversation with others and on others.

Personal Brand is like Coke. Its easy to get addicted to the concept of personal brand and the need to “protect your personal brand,” personally, I say enter a 12 step program and just be you.

Most of the time, you is pretty damn cool by yourself.

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