Comments on: Comment Challenge Day 27 - Personal Branding Through Commenting

By: Sarah Stewart

Sarah Stewart — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:58:45 +0000

Just tried to leave a Seesmic comment but couldn’t, which is probably just as well because I’m sitting here in bed, looking very…Saturday morning ish…

I agree with what everyone says that it is about being honest and consistent. We have to remember that we are on show all the time so we cant let down our guard, so to speak, especially if we are wanting to develop a professional brand.

By: Greg Schwartz

Greg Schwartz — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:04:11 +0000

I’ve never commented anonymously anywhere. Just not my style. But I’m only just now moving to the full name thing. One problem is that, if I’ve clicked on “Remember My Information” on someone’s blog, I forget that it’s in there as Greg and so fail to change it to my full name. It’ll take me a while to get into the full-name zone.

But yes, authenticity is everything in my book. Comment because you have something to say. The rest will follow.

By: Connie Crosby

Connie Crosby — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:41:08 +0000

I’m not a fan of the anonymous comment so usually put my full name on things. I believe that lends some legitimacy to what I have to say. When I am not known to the audience and want to be a little more anonymous, I’ve just put “connie” on it but haven’t done that in a while.

One way to build your personal brand and online reputation is to leave intelligent, thought-provoking comments on higher profile blogs and podcasts. That, in turn, can get you known within a certain community and help to build traffic back to your website.

Mostly, though, I think it is about being yourself and interacting with people and responding to their ideas.

I mean, I like to post comments on your blog ’cause you are my friend and that is one way for us to have a conversation.

Cheers!
Connie

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:36:16 +0000

@Sue Yeah, I don’t think you can worry about it that much in the long run. Just be authentic and the rest follows.

@TBL It’s a good brand, although I wonder how many people who recognize the handle also know the name of the person behind it. I also wonder if that matters or not.

By: Talking Books Librarian

Talking Books Librarian — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:28:03 +0000

I guess my brand is TBL, or Talking Books Librarian… And the little TB logo that sometimes appears beside my name, or on my blog… I think it’s working well!!

By: Sue Waters

Sue Waters — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:53:35 +0000

Trouble is over time our readers build a picture of who we are and what they believe we stand for. The image they build is based on their level of interaction with us and our responses. That is a gradual process that happens as a result of them interacting with our blogs.

When we write comments on other people blogs - the blogger and their readers don’t necessarily have that image already created so it is easier for them to make erroneous decisions on who you are based on our comments. Solution? None really — we can only be ourselves and ensure we are consistent in how we present ourselves when we blog and when we write comments. Do we achieve this? Maybe not — I know myself that I spend a lot more time writing my posts than I do writing a comment. mmm food for thought?