Defining Who You Are on the Web
Who are you? How do you answer that question? Have you asked how people see you in the greater scheme of things? What we do, where we live, and who we know are all aspects of how we define ourselves. We need to think about how we share these aspects of ourselves with others.
Current technology makes it possible for us to share information about ourselves across the globe through the Internet. Many companies operate databases for professional services, personal interests, and job hunting. By creating profiles on these sites we help ourselves create and shape the visibility we want and need.
For example, let’s take a look at George Jones. Who is he? He is a retiree who lives in Maine, apparently having worked in the tobacco industry for many years. Let’s not try to hold that against him. George looks like a nice guy.
And what about Dennis Tamburo? Unlike George, Dennis seems to have made hardly any statement about himself in his profile. Now maybe Dennis is a really great guy like you, but if you don’t want to leave an empty profile for people to find, you need to fill out your own profile. Don’t just let people assume you’re a great person.
You might just need to promote yourself in business. Many independent business consultants and agents do just that, like Cindy Thomas. Just by searching on her name you may be able to find out where she works, which professional organizations she participates in, and what skills and qualities she brings to her profession. That could be important information to know.
The bottom line here is that people will judge you by how much or how little they find out about you on the Internet. They don’t have the option of asking all your neighbors what sort of person you are, so they do the next best thing: they ask complete and total strangers what sort of person you are. Isn’t that the best kind of information you want people to use about you? No? It’s not? Then maybe you have some profiles to fill out, don’t you?
