Why it’s tough to trust Personal Branding Experts

When Carlos Miceli recently banished personal branding to hell, his post reminded me of what bothers me most about personal branding: the experts.

I firmly believe that along with the rise of social networks, we’ve also seen the rise of common-sense-y “experts.” And with them, we’ve also seen entire communities turn a blind eye to critical thinking. This is not just annoying. This is scary.

So, in the spirit of critical thinking, here are three reasons I think it’s tough to trust personal branding experts.

Self-serving rhetoric

In “Is Personal Branding Life?,” Dan Schawbel, one of personal branding’s chief cheerleaders, writes

Years from now, your boss might uncover something about you from a simply [sic] search for your name on any social network or search engine and decide not to trust you.

This, I believe is what Miceli was talking about when he said

Personal Branding bases most of its points on not upsetting…anyone else who will decide if you “live or die financially,” depending on what they find out about you online.

But can you blame the experts…

By leveraging fear as a rhetorical device, the experts are able to position themselves as benevolent guides who will help prevent your personal brand from such tarnishing.

Personal branding experts seem really good at creating a reason to exist. If nothing else, they’ve managed to place a finger between two tender ribs: our desperate desire to be wealthy with little actual work and our insatiable aspirations of notoriety.

Schawbel argues in a different post that everyone can be successful. And, when you do what you’re passionate about, you can achieve a career that’s like a “‘paid’ hobby, just like golf or video games.” Sounds tough, right?

Personal Branding is always the solution

Schawbel goes on to ask:

The big question: “Can I be myself but have a personal brand”? This question comes up a lot for some reason. I think it’s because a lot of people don’t think of themselves as a brand still.

No, actually, I think it comes up because it’s terribly difficult to determine what to share online. The answer is not in thinking of yourself as a brand, but rather in finding a way to combine personal and professional online without pissing people off. As Monica O’Brien observes

…there seems to be an ongoing war between the people who use social media for personal relationships and the people who use social media for business.

And in that war, I think the mix is unique for each person. The simple fact is that not everyone will have a bajillion blog readers. Not everyone will have a gazillion Twitter followers. And for some of us, that’s okay. We’re not interested in video games and golf. We’re not institutions interested in ROI. We’re just people hanging out, adding value where we can.

Be yourself and other inspirational B.S.

Schwabel again:

As I always say: “Be the real you because everyone else is taken and replicas don’t sell for as much.”

First, with all the value that’s placed on being genuine, consider Rebecca Thorman’s stance:

You are not genuine because you told me of your heartbreak…or relationship or promotion or demotion or disability or conflict or how your cat peed outside of its litter box.

“Be the real you,” has a warm fuzzy feeling associated with it, but to be honest, I’m not sure who the real me is, and I’m not sure it matters.

Because in the end, it’s the quality of your work that will determine your success, save for the few that can manage to build a cult following to their own personal brand.

And you?

Feelings on personal branding experts? Please share.

-Andrew