So 2 weeks in and I'm already playing catch up. Still branding is an interesting topic which gave me lots to read and lots to consider. Like many other participants, I hate the idea of googling myself, but I did it. Most of what came up related to my previous incarnation as a community librarian in Kent Libraries & Archives. I moved on from there nearly four years ago, but the life of a school librarian is by it's very nature more insular so there was next to nothing online about me.
As for social media, I joined Facebook and Twitter a couple of years ago. I have kept up with facebook as it has been incredibly useful in keeping in contact with (and recontacting) friends - definitely a resource for the personal side of my life only. Interestingly, I recently returned to Twitter. But I use it almost exclusively for following interesting blogs in the library/information world - so a professional development/keeping up with best practice thing.
What I have yet try is LinkedIn. My husband uses it a lot both for contacts and job leads - both with some success. So far, however, I have not been convinced that I need LinkedIn, given the field I work in (I can see from the cpd23 schedule that I may have to reflect further on that in week 5).
So I think I have the personal and professional fairly delineated. But the process of checking and considering these applications and their use has once again made me ponder a bit further. What image do I aim to portray? How well do I achieve that aim? I recently went through some fairly major physical changes and I had a very clearly idea of how I wanted to style myself afterwards. I think that was in part fed by the stereotype of librarians. I wanted to dispel the myth. Not throw out the twinset and pearls, but vamp it up!
I can see that I need to make simailar decisions about my professional image as well. Ultimately, I hope I portray, the image of an up to date, skilled professional who can be taken seriously. I'd like to think that I can help dispel the public notions of librarians as old ladies who push trolleys and stamp books. I don't think I'm there yet with my online branding, but I'm making a start and I think I know where I'm going, which is surely half the battle?
I have only just found your blog, but this post about branding resonated with me too. I started out using social media and Web2.0 in a very haphazard and ad-hoc way, adding bits and pieces here and there. Now I have reached a point where I have two accounts for most things - a personal one that slides a bit into the professional and back again; and an account for the library itself. The library accounts are all now branded as "Library Online" and I call them collectively "Library Online Services - do a search for Dixie Library Online and you will see what I mean. My personal accounts are usually "The Librain". By the way, I am an old lady nowadays, but I do more than push trolleys too!
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