Project Outlook: No Status Quo Option
So I did a look for my name online. The results are rather mixed. In truth, there shouldn’t be anything significant out there since I do not manage a website about me. However, using the Japanese Google search, the one I regularly use, yielded positive results for my Facebook page!! I was the first link on the search, which was a surprise! However, the English native version provided an architect’s site. Also, Daryl yields a magician! This seems like quite the competition.
My current Facebook profile picture
In my mind, these results will be beneficial for when I do create a website. I imagine that it will place high in all searches if created correctly! However, this makes the branding, imaging, and content even more important to get correct initially.
My largest problem now is that I do not know what direction I need to be shifting my image towards. In my option, I am too much of a generalist to draw much attention to me as a brand. However, if I do get into graduate school, I will likely shift my page’s focus to be on robotics, as a kind of online portfolio.
Despite not having a direction, I do have core values that can be well portrayed online. Often, people are afraid to link networking sites like Facebook to potential employers. Perhaps to demonstrate my transparency and confidence in my consistent behavior, I could use the site as a merger between personal and work related ideas, like a more comprehensive image of who exactly Daryl Hansen is to the public. Instead of being the normal about page, it would build a network around the idea of Daryl Hansen, and have the people who associate with me represent me just as much as I represent myself. While this may be very risky, I am interested to hear what people think about this kind of portrait.
William Lanier
on February 3rd, 2010
Hey Daryl,
Great post. I’ve noticed that you like to keep a generalized “Daryl” and that too is a branding philosophy.
Why hammer yourself out as this or that when you can be anything and everything. I think its brilliant.
You could still be general and have a brand. Try creating a unchanging Avatar of yourself. Maybe a cartoonized version of yourself. That way there’s still some mystery behind who Daryl is.
Just a thought.
edrahvalis
on February 4th, 2010
Hello there Daryl, I too am having some problems pinning down just what I would like my website to be about. While many people do use their blog almost like a personal journal, day to day events in life can be pretty mundane. Still though, for bloggers that are also talented writers, it is possible to put an exciting spin on a lot of the day’s events. I like your idea as using it as a portfolio for your robotics projects. The concept itself is very interesting!
Adrian Y. Chen
on February 4th, 2010
I like the idea of building a network around the idea of yourself and close the gap between personal and work related ideas.
In my opinion it can help you greatly as it will make you seem trusting and accessible. \
When a person hears about you over and over from different sources and receive the same consistent responses. They will have little reason to doubt your character and how you portray yourself to the public. Especially if you associate yourself with a wide variety of people with different perspectives.
Carol Welker
on February 8th, 2010
Hi Daryl…I think it’s a great idea to link to your other accounts. More employers are looking anyway, so why not make it easy for them. ..especially if you’re behaving on your social networking sites. About your domain name, I think your choice depends on whether you want to brand yourself or you want to brand yourself as a company. That’s a decision you’ll have to make. Responding to your dilemma about what to put on your site, there’s no harm in putting what you’re doing now. You can always add to it later.