Written by ‘Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.’
T.S Eliot
Welcome to the hubris era of ‘personal branding’.
Where to showcase your value as a marketer, you no longer need to do the work you’re paid to do, that’s for others to pick up. Instead, you take the ‘LinkedIner’ approach, being online 24/7, ready to spread your pontifications and respond with snide and passive-aggressive comments to anyone who dares suggest nuance or complexity.
Partisan ignorance is your tribe, and they’re ready for the digital dogfight as they prove the rule of ‘Trevor’s Axiom’.
It’s about who can showcase their thought repetitions better than those who said it before them.
We live in a time where life’s complexities can be solved in 280 characters and for the currency of ‘likes’, you’re ready to die on your algorithmic hill. Forget real life and continue to neglect it, our digital lives are ‘worth more’.
That’s what this rant is about.
Because long gone is the notion of ‘reputation’, we’re in the era of personal branding where people’s dependence on their own importance is causing trouble.
What is personal branding?
A quick search on the interwebs (like it’s 1999), and you’ll find a raft of articles, videos, and expert regurgitations on what a personal brand is. The most succinct can be found on the ever-so-reliable Wikipedia:
‘Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition, to ultimately advance their career, widen their circle of influence, and have a larger impact.’
‘…ultimately advance their career…’ so, let’s forget about actually doing the work, just preach about it. That’s how you get ahead <insert ‘the more you know’ meme here>.
Maybe that’s why the article has been flagged as ‘appears to contradict itself’.
Being an authoritative voice in your industry also derives from the ability of having real, tangible experience of successfully implementing the work you’re talking about.
Like anything in business, taking action, successfully, means working with others. Sharing the vision, bringing them on board, delivering on the idea. And that requires something that ‘personal branding’ advocates seem to miss, you need a good reputation and trust with colleagues (real people) that you actually work with.
So, rather than praising the pontifications of an ego, we should be watching and wondering how they work with others. Are they really a team player, or are they sacrificing ‘the team’ for their own self-gratification?
The Dalai Lama XIV once said, ‘Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it’.
They may be praised and seen as a God’s gift online, but let’s not forget we’re yet to know what they’re like to work with. No amount of fame will compensate for an arsehole.
And that’s where reputation comes in.
We’re focussed on the optics and have forgotten the substance that sits behind it, becoming blind to this fact.
It’s said that if you lose one sense, your other senses become enhanced. And maybe that’s what the issue is, we’ve all lost the ability to have a sense of humility and therefore have a heightened sense of self-importance.
For some, it appears that we’ve forgotten how you engage with others, is also a reflection of your ‘brand’. While you’re writing your latest shitpost, remember, no one’s going to be reciting them at your eulogy, but they will be recalling who you were as a person.
Algorithmic distortion
Whether we’re talking about attribution for campaigns, the political landscape, or the current mess that is personal branding, algorithmic distortion is warping us all.
In my opinion, the whole shitshow that is personal branding comes down to two things: Dopamine and the Kruger Effect.
You know, dopamine, that feel-good feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. Well, we no longer need chocolate or sex to get it (Harvard Health).
Countless studies have proven how social media has become the new dopamine supplier. We’re addicted. Our phones are the new dealers, ‘…with each swipe, like and tweet feeding our habit’ (Walters, 2022).
Social media is like alcohol, in moderation, it’s manageable, and some might say it’s fun. In excess, it can lower inhibitions, and cause anxiety, depression, disillusionment, and aggression.
Yet, our phones have created this digital dependency, fuelled by the addictive nature of algorithmic distortion, and further influencing our behaviour.
Because with each engagement, each partisan exchange, shapes the echo chamber you’re part of. Your reality. The algorithm needs you to stay there, after all it has ad space to sell (marketing’s conscience kicks in).
So, you call out the ‘stupidity’ with the whataboutary, getting you more enraged, and more inclined to show your ‘true self’, several thousand times a day. You can’t let go. You need them to know what YOU think. That you’re right.
And this is all by design.
You’re distorted by the reality that’s presented to you. You’re either against the world or set on a pedestal within it, because as Roth (2019) outlined in their paper ‘Algorithmic distortion of information landscapes’ it creates a double dichotomy.
Summarising the paper, you create your own shit. Getting more and more absorbed into a world that you constantly add to and get either argued against or praised for. Reinforcing the ignorant, instinctive nature we have adopted and the misinformation that is out there (neuroscience.com).
Likes are the currency of reaffirmation
And that’s where the Kruger Effect comes in. Because we now add the element of the ego, the need to be ‘known’ for something. A legacy. Lighting a fire in those who have overconfidence in their own abilities, and giving them a platform to showcase their ‘brilliance’.
Social media presents a situation where provocative and hubris manifestations of thought regurgitations are praised through the ‘likes’, and the dopamine hits continue to flow. Reaffirming our echo pedestal and satisfying our ongoing digital dependency cravings.
That’s why the online discourse is both volatile and tribalistic. We had the ability of autonomous critical thinking, but it got lost in the echo chamber.
And maybe that’s what is driving all of this. A fear of becoming irrelevant, or worse, forgotten.
Because the legacies we leave are not tied to our real lives, it’s our digital ones that will last forever. So, prepare for QR codes and follower counts on the gravestones, because today’s social media is creating a new social status that is tied to making people think their opinions matter more than someone else’s. Purely based on the sheeple they lead.
The loudest voices get amplified. Not based on merit, but because of volume. And that’s where the problems start. Just look at the state of LinkedIn.
Algorithmic distortion is real, we’re going to suffer the consequences for many years to come and if left untreated, will ultimately lead to society’s downfall. That’s the hill I will die on.
Forget the personal brand. Build a reputation instead
If we go back to the basics of what a brand is, it’s a perception that is created and received between two entities. The act of branding refers to the tools and frameworks for creating this perception and maintaining it through carefully constructed touch points and interactions.
That’s what’s missed with the noise around personal branding – every touch point matters.
The ability to go ‘viral’ over some contrived, shallow ‘insight’, should not be the sole indicator of your ‘brand’ (especially as AI can now write the content and responses for you).
Your ‘brand’ should be based on all your interactions – the initiative you take, your ability to deliver work, what you’re like to work with, how you spend your time, how you treat others, the way you behave and the way you interact with others – offline and online.
That’s your reputation. That should be your focus.
When it comes to building a reputation, I live by the words of the elders that spawned me:
- Treat people with respect. Everyone has something to teach.
- Experience counts for nothing if you haven’t achieved.
- If you’re going to do a job, do it well.
- You’re only as good as last week’s results.
- Those who talk the talk, don’t walk their talk.
- If you’re too busy doing, you won’t be a wannabe seeking.
And a bonus, one which I think perfectly summarises the experiences of those who can see the echo chambers for what they really are:
- You laugh because I’m different, I laugh because you’re all the same.
There are 8 billion+ people in this world, and like any brand, trying to cater to everyone, means you cater to no one (Ritson, 2022).
Branding is not one-dimensional; it needs more strings to exist. Having the compulsive need to share every thought and critique online is not enough to build a sustainable reputation that won’t damage you in the process.
So, let’s normalise focussing on the work people actually do, and the contributions they make outside of the screen. Let’s recognise and value people as the individuals they are and not by the follower counts that precede them. Because in a world where wannabes and arseholes have a platform, those who can think for themselves are the ones too busy doing.
And while it’s nice to be important, it’s important to be nice. So, forget your personal brand, focus on your reputation. That’ll be the leverage for your career, that will be the legacy you leave.
Share your thoughts
What do you think about personal branding? Do you think it’s missed the point? Let me know in the comments below, tweet/X me @CJPanteny, or get in touch.
See you next time.
References
Camille, R (2019) Algorithmic Distortion for Information Landscapes [Book] Available from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334669171_Algorithmic_Distortion_of_Informational_Landscapes[Accessed April 2024]
Harvard Health (2024) Dopamine the Pathway to Pleasure, Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/dopamine-the-pathway-to-pleasure [Accessed April 2024]
Neuroscience.com (2024) Social Media Algorithms Distort Social Instincts and Fuel Misinformation, Available Online from: https://neurosciencenews.com/social-media-behavior-misinformation-23752/ [Accessed April 2024]
Ritson, M (2022) Good Purpose, Bad Purposes: Marketers Shouldn’t Oversimplify the Arguments, Available online from: https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson-good-purpose-bad-purpose/ [Accessed April 2024]
The Decision Lab (2024) The Dunning-Kruger Effect Available from: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/dunning-kruger-effect [Accessed April 2024]
Walters, J (2022) Constant Craving: How Digital Media Turned us all into Dopamine Addicts, Available online at: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2021/aug/22/how-digital-media-turned-us-all-into-dopamine-addicts-and-what-we-can-do-to-break-the-cycle [Accessed April 2024]
Wikipedia (2024) Personal Branding, Available online at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_branding [Accessed April 2024]
Xavier (2024) Success Quotes: Top 10 Best Success Quotes, Available online at https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/quote-archive1/success-quotes [Accessed April 2024]
Carl Panteny 