Category Archives: Activist

Apr 07 Comments comments
Activist, Blogger, Careerist, Entrepreneur, Goal-Setter, Socialite

6 Personal Branding Lessons I Learned from Observing Dan Schawbel

Hi! Welcome to Twenty Set. Here you will find 4-5 insightful new articles each week about personal and professional development. I write candidly from personal experience.

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Dan Schawbel is kind of a big deal these days – he has a book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success that just came out (today! go get it), tons of press publicity, his award-winning blog, and his reputation as the #1 personal branding expert. But while Dan’s articles can teach us a lot about how to use social media to brand yourself, I actually learn more about personal branding just from watching Dan work his magic.

Here are some of things I’ve learned:

Dan gives a lot of himself

As one of the Personal Branding Blog writers, I get the opportunity to talk to Dan on a fairly regular basis about everything he’s doing in his career. What I’ve found is he has a huge heart and gives so much of himself to everyone he possibly can. He speaks at local colleges and organizations, he writes articles all the time, he shares interesting information through his twitter account, he does press interviews, he answers questions via email, he writes LinkedIn recommendations for everyone he knows… the list goes on and on.

I recently wrote a post about How to be Popular on Social Media, and Dan is the epitome of one of the points – to make the conversation about your followers, not yourself. It’s no surprise that Dan has a great following, because he truly gives more than he ever asks.

Dan keeps track of his online brand

Dan uses every outlet he has to promote good content of others, but he never misses a chance for self-promotion. I think this is a great thing, because nobody is going to toot your horn for you. Promoting your own accomplishments gives you credibility among your followers and sets an example for what people like you can accomplish.

In Dan’s case, he always shares every article that is written about him, no matter how large or small the publication. The situation is win-win – Dan gets publicity and the publication gets traffic, an incentive that encourages other publications to interview Dan.

Dan writes a ton of articles for various publications

Dan is known as the personal branding expert, but he knows that personal branding is not a vacuum. That’s why Dan applies his subject (personal branding) to broader subjects so he can write on a variety of topics.

Dan also knows that in order to grow a reputation, you cannot invest too much time into one community. He knows that every networking connection is a series of transactions rather than an intense, ongoing conversation. Instead of becoming just another member in several communities, Dan builds his own community around his work. He accomplishes this by gaining more reach - tapping into other communities through his writing, and bringing a portion of those communities back to his own blog.

Dan takes his network with him

The great thing about Dan is he uses his own status to elevate others in his network with him. He is constantly sharing press and speaking opportunities with the people who support him and his career.

For example, the week before Dan launched his book Me 2.0, he emailed the entire Personal Branding Blog team to thank us for making his book launch so successful. In other words, he let us know we were contributors to the Me 2.0 launch and could share in its success. I know that as Dan’s career skyrockets, he will bring his network with him.

Dan wrote a book to move his personal brand forward

I recently wrote that blogging to demonstrate “expert” credentials was sooo 2007. That’s not really fair, because Dan became a personal branding expert largely due to branding himself through his blog.

Not that Dan’s blog is his biggest accomplishment – not nearly. He simply used it as a stepping stone to make an even bigger career jump – writing his book.

While Dan did not get article in Business Week and the New York Times through his blog, he did get them because he had a book deal. So if you really want to become an expert, write a blog about a particular subject, and use your blog to sell a book.

But first you have to find a great hook that sells. And “personal branding expert” is already taken, unfortunately.

Dan is a Google Reader rockstar

I recently dusted off my Google Reader, and as I started using it, I was shocked to discover that Dan Schawbel shares, like, 50 articles a day. How the heck does he read that much, I thought?

But then I observed Dan’s shared items, and found a lot of truly great content. And I realized quickly it’s all in the title – you can skim article titles in Google reader and tell what’s going to be interesting and relevant to you and what’s not.

Now, I have over 200 feeds in my Google Reader. I give basically anyone who communicates with me in any way a chance, whether through commenting or sending me a message on Twitter. I add feeds to my reader without fear, because I can scan 500 posts, pick out and read the best 10 (based on titles), and share the most relevant 5 on Twitter and my blog in about 10 minutes.

I know this has to be how Dan Schawbel finds great content to share with his following, and has built a loyal fan base that makes him the personal branding expert he is today. And I love reading Dan Schawbel’s shared items because they are usually intelligent, insightful picks. And I think if I can share good picks with people, I can brand myself as someone in the know too.

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PS. I highly recommend Dan Schawbel’s book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, which I have already read and found very impressive.

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Jan 27 Comments comments
Activist, Woman

Need Something? Try Asking For It

Sometimes the number of requests I get to do something surprise me. After all, someone took the time to write me a personalized message asking me to read their blog, tweet a link for them, review their book, or announce their contest. Or, at the least, they copied and pasted a form letter and put my name at the top - hey, that still takes a lot of effort.

What surprises me more sometimes is that these requests actually work.

Someone DM’d (direct messaged) me yesterday on Twitter and asked me to read an article on his blog and write a comment. Though I’d never read his blog before, he seemed like a nice guy, his request was polite and personal, and either way I was already following him on Twitter, so why not cement that connection a little further?

I ended up going to his post and adding a comment, because I actually did have something to say about it. Then I found another one of his posts in his similar posts section, which I loved. I tweeted it immediately, and the post got three retweets from my followers. I also received a few messages from my followers, thanking me for sharing the link with them because it was exactly what they had been looking for.

Then I subscribed to his blog, because two good articles on one site indicates more good articles to come.

He didn’t ask me to do those last two things, but I’m glad I did because I benefited in the end - I got credit on Twitter for sharing information and I found a new source for quality articles.

Here is something maybe not so surprising - aside from the actual PR requests (or blasts) I receive, almost all of the requests I get are from guys. That’s because women are generally worse at negotiating than men, and naturally that trait spills into even trivial tasks like promoting a blog. I myself am guilty of this at times (though at least I do well at negotiating my salary, for the most part).

We all need to start asking more often. And as you can see, there are implicit benefits to respond to someone’s request and giving them exactly what they want. So here are some people who sent me requests lately:

The Forte Foundation

I love what the Forte Foundation does, and I was thrilled to receive this announcement:

An extension of our Career Labs, held on college campuses nationwide, the Career Lab Virtual Campus, provides undergraduates with free access to the secrets and insights that will help them navigate the early stages of their career.

Virtual Campus is broken down into three sections—Career Lab On Demand, Land Your Dream Job and Girl Talk—undergrads can watch videos, listen to podcasts, and ask questions on the Discussion Forum.

Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Magazine

As usual, Dan Schawbel has wowed me with another impressive issue of Personal Branding Magazine, which comes out February 1st.

Free sample URL: www.personalbrandingsample.com
Paid subscription URL: www.personalbrandingmag.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Personal-Branding-Magazine/18138629524

MWW Group Contest

This looks like a fun contest - entry is free, easy, and the prizes are pretty substantial.

MWW Group is asking individuals and organizations to provide a 100 word written or spoken (via video) description of a positive change that they hope will happen during Obama’s first 100 days in office. It’s based on the idea that ever since FDR’s administration, every President has been measured by their accomplishments during their first 100 days. Submissions are sent in via the website www.mww.com/change

Gen-Y Hospitality Report

Here’s a cool report about how Gen Y views hospitality. Good read for anyone who studies or writes about Gen Y - plus my friend Greg helped put it together. You can get the report here: Gen Y Hospitality Report.

And… Me

And since I should take my own advice about asking, here are a few requests of my own. If you aren’t already, consider subscribing to my blog (600+ already do) or following me on Twitter (1400+ already do).

Also, the job hunt I started in January is going extremely well and I should have good news within the next few weeks. However, if you have any good leads for positions within the city limits of Chicago (no suburbs) in the areas of social media, technology, marketing, or business, please send me an email, tweet, or leave a comment. Thanks!

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Jan 20 Comments comments
Activist

Today, the World Changed

I was hesitant to write anything about Obama on my blog today because it seemed cliché. But then I realized it’s one of the few events I’ve seen in my lifetime that have actually changed the world as I know it.

And really, it might be the first event that I’ve actually recognized as changing my world, as it was happening.

I was a junior in high school when 9/11 happened. I am embarrassed to admit today that I honestly had no idea what everyone was upset about that morning. Plane crashes happen every day, right? I didn’t even know what the World Trade Center was, because I lived overseas for 12 years and didn’t pay much attention to world events during that time.

It didn’t click that this was terrorism, until one of my classmates explained to me. For the first time in my life, I was ashamed of my lack of perspective towards my own country.

I understood the fall of the Berlin Wall better. I was five years old, and my family watched it on TV. My Dad said, “Remember? You were just there Monica.”

And he’s right. I have pictures of myself, five years old, in a navy blue dress, writing on the Berlin wall only 4 months before it fell.

There are other events I remember that won’t have great significance to other Americans. I remember the Kurdish refugees coming to Guam. It was a huge deal for the island and the military, and my dad worked overtime on the project. I visited the camp where the refugees lived for months on end, and remember the nervous excitement in the air, of people who escaped and were given a second chance in America.

Today is significant too. I will always remember where I was today, and how I spent a historic American moment in history. But it’s not just that. I’ll remember the day Barack Obama was elected too, just as I remember the pain of the Kosovo refugees, hungry and exhausted but optimistic about their new lives. I’ll remember the most disastrous state of economy I’ve ever consciously lived in, just as I remember the fear that crept into all our lives after 9/11.

And I’ll remember the feeling of hope; as if I were 5 years old again, coloring a picture on one of the most famous walls in history.

Popularity: 11% [?]

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Oct 05 Comments comments
Activist

You Don’t Need a Big Idea to Change the World

Tonight, I met a young woman my age through mutual friends. She’s a teacher who lives and works in my neighborhood, so we had a nice chat about the economy, going to grad school and having full-time jobs, and how young Chicagoans are getting priced out of living in the city.

We’re both feeling crunched by our finances, or lack thereof. As breadwinners in our relationships, we struggle with the simple things these days, like putting groceries on the table. Or at least she does - she’s gone back to eating Ramen noodles once a day to keep her grocery bill down. I thought we were struggling because we can’t afford much meat or beer, or to have four different types of cereal in the pantry at once anymore.

I ask her how she likes the education system in our neighborhood. But wait - let me tell you about our neighborhood. It has one of the highest crime rates of all the Chicago neighborhoods, but I am lucky to live in one of the nicest and safest parts. You look up and down my block, and it looks good - green grass between the sidewalk and the street, and the brick fronts are less than 10 years old.

My new friend lives about seven blocks away. Her next door neighbor is the leader of the gang that dominates our turf. The gang sells drugs near every section 8 housing complex in the neighborhood. And suddenly, that chapter in Freakonomics - about how gangs are run just like fast food franchises - doesn’t seem nearly as interesting anymore, like it did when I read it on the comfy couch at my parents’ house in southern Illinois.

She loves her teaching job though. Even though her school cannot afford textbooks and she has to pay for supplies from her measly teacher’s salary. Even though she has to ask the parents for extra money to afford copied handouts, while 99% of her students are on free or reduced meal plans. Even though in her three years of teaching, she has lost six students to gang-related violence.

She is a great teacher and could get a job anywhere, so I can’t help but ask why she does it here. “I do it for the kids,” she replies. Simple. No hints of bitterness or regret for all that she’s sacrificed.

And her words remind me just how much young people want to change the world. It’s the main reason RH and RP wanted to start a company. It’s the main reason I started blogging. But now it is clear to me that changing the world is not done through grandiose ideas or innovative products or extraordinary services or endless capital. Especially today.

No, changing the world is done through community. In fact, there is no way to make a positive change in this world without focusing on improving a community - because changing the world is really only about making other lives better.

I get it now. I get why philanthropy is important, beyond logging hours for your resume. I get that incremental and seemingly insignificant change is not a waste of time, just because I’m only one person and there are no economies of scale. I get why people become teachers instead of computer scientists, even though the pay is crappy and the hours are worse.

Because at the end of any given day, I might have developed a software program. But at the end of her day, she has probably done something to save someone’s life. And she’s making all the difference.

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Jun 27 Comments comments
Activist, Woman

Put a Powerful Woman in the White House - Vote Obama

With a background in computer science and dreams of entrepreneurship, I am reminded every day that in my career I am a woman playing in a man’s world. So I am constantly looking for powerful female role models that have succeeded in a male-dominated environment.

Which is why I was extremely disappointed when Hillary Clinton lost the nomination for the United States presidency.

Don’t get me wrong - there was plenty I didn’t like about Hillary. Just like there was plenty I didn’t like about Obama. But with the two having similar platforms I mostly agreed with, I picked the woman.

Yes, I admit it. I desperately wanted the woman to win, because in my field the women who win are few and far between because there are hardly any women to begin with.

But I may still get my wish for having a powerful female role model in the White House in Michelle Obama, which is one reason I’m now wholeheartedly throwing all my support behind her husband Barack. Here’s why:

Michelle Obama is Authentic

Michelle Obama speaks openly about her husband and their family life. She admits she never wanted Barack in politics and discusses the sacrifice she has made for this country - allowing her family to undergo scrutiny in order to support her husband’s presidential campaign. Women can relate to this sacrifice she makes - as a wife and as a mother - and Michelle rallies them around her.

Michelle’s authenticity wouldn’t be possible if she was running for presidency, because her words would be considered weak rather than heartening. But with no pressure to make promises to her audience, Michelle Obama is nearly unstoppable in her efforts to gain a following of passionate citizens.

Michelle Obama is Educated

Michelle Obama has the same impressive educational background as Hilary Clinton - she graduated from Harvard Law school in 1988 and has been a practicing lawyer since, serving at universities, for firms, and in politics with Mayor Daley of Chicago.

Michelle Obama has a strong career history in politics and law and is clearly a close adviser to her husband. I believe her ability to balance femininity with power is what the women in this country need to take the next step into leadership and eventually into a female presidency. Being an alpha female is no longer about joining the Good ‘Ol Boys club, which is the perception Hillary Clinton gave many of us. Instead, it’s about taking the natural abilities and strengths that women are blessed with and using them to change the world in a different way than a man could.

Michelle Obama is the new Jackie Kennedy

The elegance, grace, and personal aesthetic of Jackie Kennedy has made her one of the most beloved first ladies in United States history. As I watch Michelle Obama, I notice similarities between the two women.

For example, the White House Black Market dress Michelle Obama wore on The View last week is flying off dress racks at nearly every store in the country. Michelle Obama is not even First Lady and she is already set to become an iconic woman of the 21st century. After all, when was the last time you bought something Laura Bush wore?

Perhaps you think the power to sell dresses is a frivolous Paris Hilton trait, but just think what Michelle Obama could sell if she used that power to support a charity. The position of First Lady is perfect for a woman interested in making a real difference in the world. While her husband runs the country, Michelle can put her influence to use in other, complimentary ways.

What do you think of Michelle Obama? Is she the female role model the United States needs right now?

Popularity: 28% [?]

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May 28 Comments comments
Activist

The Change that Generation Y is Actually Creating

Here’s the thing: people talk a lot about how special Generation Y is. I wonder if we’re getting a little too much undeserved praise.

We say we’re going to change the workplace, but are we really doing anything so far besides benefiting from the situation we’re in?

Generation Y has a huge population, and this has shifted power in the workplace to make companies more adept to giving us what we want in order to retain us. Furthermore, we have our Boomer parents who, for the most part, have paid our way through life, through college, and even beyond as we search for the perfect career opportunities that allow us to collect a fat paycheck while still being able to work flexible hours. We’ve spent our whole lives getting everything we demanded from our parents: a cell phone, a TV, a new car on our 16th birthday; and now we waltz into the workplace and expect the same treatment. Sure, older generations give us what we want; but begrudgingly, because, like everything else in our lives thus far, we did nothing to earn it.

It’s really no wonder that other generations resent us the way they do. We say we’re creating this massive shift in the workplace, but really, most of it has been created for us. Of course, we’re happy to take advantage of it, just as we were happy to show off and brag about our brand new cars to our friends, conveniently forgetting that we didn’t actually earn the money that paid for them.

Here’s how I think we are contributing to the workplace: longer hours. As much as we say we are not willing to sell our time, do any of us work less than 45+ hour weeks? No, because we’re so desperate to stay ahead of the other rich, bright, hard-working, degree-holding overachievers in our generation.

We insist we are too smart to do the crap work. We demand tasks and projects that are meaningful. But who, then, is qualified to do the busy work? An undergraduate degree is practically a prerequisite for getting a decent-paying job these days, and anyone with a college education is too busy and important to waste their time on administrative duties, says us.

I am reminded of the movie GATTACA, where science creates a superhuman race through genetic births, leaving anyone conceived the normal way left cleaning toilets. Is that really what Generation Y wants to be remembered for - the generation that divided the workplace into the over privileged vs. the underprivileged? The generation that killed off the middle-class worker?

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk then about money: how many of us are actually saving, or even (gasp) investing? Most of the Gen Y’ers I know are living paycheck to paycheck, and their higher salaries are going toward their rent and student loans. Oh, and the 54″ inch HDTV they had to own. And shopping trips for clothes and furniture they didn’t need.

If 30 is the new 20, retirements really are dead, as Ryan Healy says. Because we’re going to be so far behind in saving for a traditional retirement, and so focused on instant gratification, that we won’t be able to afford it. A conscious choice we are making, or the consequence of our “me now” upbringing? To me, a three month vacation now sounds like a sad consolation to having to work the rest of my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being a member of Generation Y. I want to believe we actually are special and can bring about the change we idealistically cling to. But right now I have more questions than answers, and I have to wonder if all the generational talk is making us forget what’s important - that every generation has contributed to where we are at now. That we all need to figure out where we belong in this new workplace we’ve been inching towards for the past 30 years.

And above all, Generation Y needs to consider the change we are actually creating, because, in the end, we’re the ones who will have to live with our choices.

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May 22 Comments comments
Activist, Video

Learn About Yourself From Rising Gas Prices

Author’s Note: Feed subscribers, click through to view attached video.

Gas prices are going up. Again. So what?

Here’s the thing about rising gas prices - we still pay them. I still pay them, in some form. And truthfully, I’m done talking about rising gas prices, because I’m comfortable with my gas consumption and the costs associated with it. But I also don’t drive a car much these days, and people who drive a lot seem to be more upset about rising gas prices than anyone else.

What do rising gas prices have to do with personal development? Plenty. Because if you react negatively to rising gas prices that might give you insight to how you react in other situations too.

Do You Complain?

We don’t need as much gas as we consume to survive. Water definitely, food comes second, shelter is pretty nice too. But gas? Not so much.

We already know this, right? So what gets to me is people who complain about the prices of gas and then line up at the pump to pay them. Doesn’t make sense, when there are alternatives to driving your car everywhere, the least utilized of which are attached to the lower half of your body. For other cheap alternatives, try biking, skateboarding, roller blading, carpools, scooters, buses, trains, and planes. Some may still use gas, but the cost is lower or split.

And really, we complain because we think it’s justified. In all aspects of life, not just rising gas prices. But if we were justified in our complaints then we would have good reason to stop buying gas. Since we keep buying it, rising gas prices isn’t a good enough reason yet. Maybe when it hits $10 a gallon?

Do You Blame?

Who is responsible for rising gas prices? The government? Bush? The war on Iraq? SUV owners? Greedy gas companies?

I’m no economist, but I don’t think any of them are truly to blame for gas prices. We love to point fingers at others when things go wrong, but sometimes the problem is ourselves. So maybe the person to blame for rising gas prices is you. And him, and her, and me. Because each of us has the power to lower gas prices; we just lower our demand for it. For anyone who has studied even basic microeconomics, lower demand = higher supply = lower prices.

So shift the curves, not the blame. The beauty of free markets is the power lies with the people.

Do You Make Excuses?

Every time I talk about commuting or public transportation, I get people telling me reasons about why they can’t make the switch. Like their town doesn’t have public transportation, or their job/home is not on a public transportation route.

Here’s my response to those excuses: Move. Or change jobs. Because frankly, we each have our priorities, and excuses are for people who want to pretend something is a priority for them when it really isn’t. And if commuting costs are truly a priority, people have factored that into their work/life choices already, right?

So if using less gas is not a priority for you, that’s okay. Just admit it yourself. And stop worrying so much about what other people think. Be honest with yourself and others about why you chose whatever else you did over using less gas, because that something is probably important to you, and part of growing is knowing where your priorities lie.

Want lower gas prices? Do something about it. It may just help you succeed in other areas of your life too, like if you get stuck on an escalator.

Popularity: 22% [?]

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