Thursday, January 17, 2013

Become Shallow

Become shallow. Literally. OK, no don't become a pretentious, stuck up, jerk that no one wants to be around. But lets get real, what you look like matters.

I tend to think I have a sense of fashion but if I look back 15 years ago, that was questionable. It takes genuine effort to get up, put an outfit together, and look good. This matters. Regardless of the politics and reasons against this, people judge you for what you look like. This means that when you try to dress nicer, people label you as being more socially connected, maybe more wealthy, but most of all more important.

Socially Rebranding yourself comes from an online avatar and a real life replica. Care about the image you carry because people will respect you more when you do. Go to Pinterest and search fashion trends, copy them. Really fashionable people put them together.

It doesn't have to be brand name. Ok, I can tell what brand a persons jeans are by looking at them but that really doesn't matter. What does is the outfit you put together. Go to TJ Maxx, Ross, or any other store and spend some time putting nice outfits together. Become your own personnaly rebranding expert.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Become an Apple

If I surveyed everyone I knew or could talk to and asked them if they had an Apple product they would give me one of two answers.

"Yes"
"No, but I want one"

If I simply said the word, "Apple" and asked for their first thought, many would respond iPad, iPod, iMac, iPhone, iAnything. If I held a technology devise with nothing on it anyone could easily tell me if Apple was behind it or not. Apple's brand continuity is seamless. Their branding is so solid that many people who know nothing about technology can describe Apple's brand.

What Apple has created, is an image through speaking about what it can do and carrying out those tasks. Perhaps that is why recently they have received so much negative press about their maps app. Apple never messes up with cutting edge technology, and it did.

Imagine if you could become an "Apple". Everything you did and touched and spoke about would have your name all over it without having your name all over it. This can be achieved but the good ol' phrase, "do what you say and say what you do". If you want to be known as a philanthropist, engage in philanthropy consistently. If you want to be known  as a caring leader, then always care about the people who work for you. If you want to be known as a responsible business person, then be one and post it all over the Internet. Socially Rebranding isn't just managing an online reputation, its creating your legacy as not an ordinary, but an extraoridinary.

Become an Apple.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Mom Contract



One of the first viral posts of 2013 is The Mom Contract. A mom makes her 13 year old son sign a contract about how to properly use his iPhone. You can read the original post by clicking the link above. I found 5 rules that struck me as some of the most important rules any parent should give their child about the use of technology. The rules are:


8-9. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.
10. No porn.
12. Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts. Don't laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear -- including a bad reputation.
13. Don't take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.


When I was a kid I remember my mom telling me not to talk to strangers, look before I cross the street, and not to sit to close to the T.V. or I will go blind. Life seemed simple as a kid with a mom who looked out for me. Today there is no option about talking to strangers, hundreds of them read about everything you do, every minute of the day. Socially Rebranding yourself is not about being someone your not. Rather, recognizing the fact that you are always talking to strangers who will judge you by every heart beat you put on the internet. The new rules for your kids, The Mom Contract.