This is a question that I’m always asked, and while there is no set rule on the matter, it’s certainly something that divides opinion. Just glance through a handful of LinkedIn profiles to see what I mean. But as our personal bio becomes more important in a world where our digital profiles are read before our voices are heard, understanding how best to write your bio is definitely something worth figuring out.

Your personal bio serves several functions. Firstly, it needs to tell people who you are and what you’re about and it’s a great opportunity for you to tell people what makes you great/different/interesting/unique/qualified for the job/credible/worth listening to (*delete as appropriate). Ideally it should tell people what you think they will be interested in knowing about you and help you to stand out and be memorable. What you don’t want, are people giving up on reading your personal bio half way through because they’re bored or they think you’re an idiot. Anyway, back to the question; “Should my personal bio be written in the first person or third person?”

As part of my research for this post, I put the question to my Twitter followers, and here are some of the responses I received.

@Story_Jon Jon Thomas “If its your own site, I would say first. Otherwise, third.”

@colinjbrowne Colin J Browne “Third. That way people can cut and paste it, which is really the point, I reckon.”

@CopyFountain “Personal bios: 1st or 3rd person RT @colinjbrowne: @AlexiaL Third. That way people can cut and paste it. <- Mark likes this.”

@gspress4attnpr Greg Simpson “hmmm re personal bio, I would say 3rd person as often used by people who do not know you”

When I ran a poll on my Facebook page, the votes were 67% – first person and 33% – third person. What does that tell you? We don’t really know! So, to help us figure this out, I think the first question we need to ask ourselves is this:

Where is it going to be used?

Is it on your personal website? Is it for a speaker bio at a conference? Is it for the “Meet our team” page on the company website? Is it for a book? All these are very different environments and the reader will have a different expectation of “who” is doing the talking. For example, at a conference, all literature and collateral is likely to be produced by the event organiser. So, in this situation, most people would probably expect a bio to be written in the third person. Just as if the organiser is standing there on stage introducing this person who’s about to come on.

However, if it’s for your personal website or your LinkedIn profile they are going to have a different expectation. People are going to be engaging directly with you (you hope!). So, in this environment you want to be able to create that connection as effortlessly and as naturally as possible. Imagine being at an event and introducing yourself: would you do it in the 3rd person? NO! Not unless you’re an idiot or you’ve multiple personalities. People are going to assume that you are responsible for your own website or LinkedIn profile and that you write it yourself. That is, unless you want to create the impression that you have a team of minions that do everything for you. But even if you did, would you still outsource the bit where you meet and engage with new people? Probably not. A great bio will encourage people want to find out more about you. People are more likely to want to find out more about you if you’ve helped to create a connection with them and in this situation, a connection is better created when you’re speaking as you rather than through someone else.

@StoryJon ‘s response “If its your own site, I would say first. Otherwise, third.” highlights my next point.

Your personal bio never exists in the singular

You have several. It is likely after all, that you will be engaging with different audiences, in different places, in different contexts. Different audiences have different needs and will be interested in different aspects of you. In some instances your bio will need to be four or five lines, whereas others may be two or three paragraphs. Do you have the same bio in your Twitter profile as your LinkedIn profile? Knowing what to say, where, and to who is the art of communicating. So having one bio to fit all these is just not going to work. You don’t have just one way of introducing yourself when you meet people; you have several depending on who you meet, where you are and what you think they’ll be interested in. The same goes for your bio.

Free for all?

@ColinJBrown ’s comment “Third. That way people can cut and paste it, which is really the point, I reckon.“ is interesting. Personally I’d never considered that someone would copy and paste my bio from my site. Why would anyone be using your bio without your knowledge? In my mind, if someone wants a bio from you, it’s very likely that you’re already engaging with them on some level and that you know that they will want your bio. Maybe you’re speaking at their event, or contributing to their magazine or blog. In this case I would send them a bio that is tailored to the audience and message I want to get across. This may well be a standard bio that you have ready to send, even if it is a direct copy of your first person bio.

Keep control of your message

Mark (@copyFountain) likes the fact that people can copy and paste a bio from the online home where it may be living. Personally, I find this a risky strategy. If anything, you DO NOT want people to copy it. If someone wants your bio, then it’s worth taking the time finding out where it’s going to be used and who’s likely to be reading it. This then offers you the opportunity to tailor your bio appropriately thus ensuring that you are saying exactly what you want to say to that particular audience.

This close management of your message will go a long way in helping you to build and maintain the kind of reputation that you can be proud of. The lazy approach of letting people copy and paste what they like, maybe even writing it for you, means that you are relinquishing control of one of the most important opportunities for you to be clear on what you’re about and thus extend your reach and your network in the way that you want. In a world where people will first meet you through your personal bio, can you afford to take the lazy approach?

So, what are your thoughts on whether your personal bio should be written in the first person or third person? I would love to know, so please leave me a comment and let me know!

Have you done anything that you later came to regret? We all have, right? We squirm a bit when we think back, but after enough sweeping under the carpet, eventually we forget and hope that everyone else has too. But what about doing something online? Have you shared or posted anything that you later thought “ooops! not sure I should have done that”. Like this….

When you lose control for a tiny moment in the real world, the only people who witness it are those in your immediate vicinity. But when it happens online, not only do you have a potential audience of thousands (unless you’re a celeb), but your faux pas stays there forever. Spare a thought for this poor guy…

“…He used to be a solicitor; back in 1994 he was suspended for six months at a tribunal following accounting irregularities.

Following his return to work he became fully rehabilitated by the Law Society, and the escapade became but an embarrassing memory, an unfortunate slip in an otherwise distinguished career. But recently, a legal periodical digitised all its back issues and placed them on its website; useful for the legal profession, but for the solicitor in question it was, understandably, a shock.

The report of his tribunal was now on the first page of results when you searched Google for his name. An indiscretion, 15 years ago, for which he’d paid the penalty, but which was now distressingly visible because of the online popularity of the periodical in question….”

Yikes! Not good. In situations like this, the best advice is to start creating new positive content. Things you might consider include buying your name web domain, setting up your own website or blog and posting comments on blogs and forums. But what if you can’t be bothered with all that. I have great news! You don’t need to. Yes really! My solution? Buy a new service called “Delete me”. Delete me is a new service launched by Abine where you pay between $10 to $100 to remove photos, blog posts, videos, and search results, delete old accounts, and stop companies from selling private data to advertisers.

Thank you thank you!!! I know, I’ve just saved you a heap of time in bothering with all this personal branding – digital presence malarkey!!

I think these guys are going to make a tonne of money!

Yesterday I attended a session run by Ecademy’s Thomas Power. They’re in the middle of recruiting what they’re calling Digital Coaches for their Ecademy Digital School.

Digital Coach is a term that was coined by Seth Godin in few years back. I’ve only recently come across it. If it sounds new to you, then let me take a few moments to share with you how they define such a person;

• A digital coach teaches you how to do things digital and how to get those things done.

• They help you to use value and optimise Twitter, Facebook, Ecademy, YouTube, LinkedIn etc

• A digital coach understands the difference between personal branding and company branding

• A digital coach is a friend, ally, support service, professional lifesaver, protector and brand guardian.

• They are someone who is a companion and change agent who helps businesses transition and benefit from the Digital World.

During the session Thomas spent a lot of time delivering a very clear message:

if you do not define yourself you will starve

If you can’t define yourself, then other people won’t be able to either. And, if they can’t, then they can’t recommend or refer you. Bummer eh? But you know what? Working that out isn’t a quick process. I have the T-shirt!

Thomas shared a great quote from Penny during the session

“Network value happens when others talk about you when you’re not there”

This quote is very similar to another great quote by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos

“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not there”

So, what we’re talking about here is the same thing, we just can’t agree on a good name for it.

The old adage, it’s not what you know it’s who you know has never been more relevant than today. Thomas rammed this point home several times. Generation Zero have grown up having hundreds of friends, connections and followers. For them, having a network of people who know them for being them is natural. It’s everyone else who needs to worry. Everyone else needs to start thinking about growing their network. Not only that, they need to ensure that their network know who they are. And by this I mean, know what they stand for and what they can be relied on. Oh look! Now we’re back to branding!

So, both Penny and Jeff are talking about the same coin, just different sides. Yes, you need to know what you stand for and can be relied upon for, but then you need to leverage the power of the network. And today, that network is online. If you’re not engaging and publishing online, then you’re not visible. If you’re not visible, then you won’t be chosen.

Oh dear!

And that’s where Digital Coaches come in. They can help you to both these things and walk with you on the path to discovering and defining who you are.

If you’re reading this and thinking “I’m an employee not a freelancer or a business owner, I don’t need to worry about this sort of thing”

WRONG!

Just ponder this; in 2017 all of IBM’s 400,00 employees will become suppliers. How do you think that is going to affect other employees?

In the current climate of austerity and cutbacks, many businesses are moving to using contractors and virtual teams, so now more than ever, defining yourself clearly is a matter of survival.

Have you defined yourself?

If you want to have a chat about discovering and defining YOUR brand, give me a call!

With use of social networking becoming even more popular, apps are springing up everywhere enabling you to update all your social networks in one go. This feature is even being incorporated into certain social networks. For example Twitter enables you to update Facebook and LinkedIn simply by adding #in or #fb to your tweet. Great news, right? Wrong!

But before I go on to explain myself, let me first ask you this. I want you to think about the following question: 

“What sort of person are you?”

Now, you might find it tricky to answer this question. Well, for a start, who’s asking? Do they know you already? How well do they know you? What sort of person are they? How long have they got? Your answer will very much depend on the conclusions you reach in answering these questions. Not only that, what is the reason that you’re answering this question. Is it conversational, or are you trying to sell yourself or are you trying to get rid of someone? Again, depending on your objective, you will have different answers.

Put simply, your answer will depend on your audience and your objective. So, now, think about who your audiences are on each of your social networks and what your objectives are for each network.

Facebook is likely to be your friends. If they’re not friends, then they’re at least people that you’ve met. LinkedIn on the other hand is going to be people in your professional network. You may have worked with them, met them at networking events or linked up with them through a group. Twitter, well, who knows who follows you on Twitter. They could be anyone, but essentially they’re interested in what you’ve got to say.

It might be easier to think about how what we say differs based on where we are. So, if we were to try and draw an analogy with real places, you know in the real touchy-feely non-digital world, what would that look like?

Well, Facebook is like being at the pub with your mates. LinkedIn is like being at a networking event, and Twitter is like being at a social event where you don’t really know many people, you might even be on a long train journey!

So, you’re in the pub. Your mate next to you is wittering on about stuff he always witters on about. He’s pretty dull when he gets going. But, you’ve known him for ages, and, he’s a really nice guy, so you put up with it. If you were at a networking event and you didn’t know him, you’d be making a beeline for the drinks table. The same goes for the social event. So, back in the online world; on Facebook, this means your status feeds are full of boring dross (sounds familiar?) But you can’t un-friend them, because they’re your friends. On LinkedIn, maybe you don’t care, because you only visit it once or twice a week and you probably miss most of it. On Twitter, you un-follow. Period.

Now the same applies to you. Speaking in a networking stylie at the pub will make everyone roll their eyes. They probably don’t even know what you do let alone care that you pitched to such-and-such and presented to whoever. On Facebook, you’ll share certain stories because people know you already. You feel safe saying certain things, offloading your crap day, because they’re your mates. And you’re not trying to impress in the way that you might be on LinkedIn. But, you whinge too much on Twitter and you come across as a whinge-bag. Your followers haven’t met you and don’t know that you’re usually the life and the soul of the party.

Now let’s go back to the real world. Imagine you’re at a wedding. Maybe you have some friends there. But if not, you think it might be a great time to meet some new people, you might even pick up some new work contacts. To avoid being sat on your own all night, you might be keeping your ears peeled for some interesting conversations that you could join in, or you might just strike up some random conversations. Either way, your goal here is to come across as interesting, so that you get to meet people. After all you never know who you might meet. The things you decide to say in this environment will be very different to those that you talk about at the pub, or indeed at the networking event.

Thinking about your environment, your audience and your objective is crucial in forming your response to a question.  So, the next time you answer the questions “What’s on your mind?” or “What’s happening?” are you going to give the same answer?

You might want to read these other posts on personal branding…

Personal Branding and your digital identity

Why Personal Branding isn’t all about the digital space

Why Personal Branding is relevant to business

3 reasons why you should NEVER use video on your site

Don’t hire a Personal Branding Pro until you’ve answered these 5 questions

The 5 perils of personal branding

I met up with Matthew Fraser last week, author of Throwing Sheep from the Boardroom, during his recent visit to London. We managed to find a quiet spot in the Mayfair out of the glare of the paparazzi (who were there for George Clooney and Elton John, not us!)

Matthew is a fascinating guy who has been fortunate to hold many interesting roles, one of which was as a talk show host on CBC Newsworld. He was keen to point that last one out as he felt it explained why he was asking me so many questions!

As a thought leader in the world of web 2.0, Matthew knows a thing or two about engagement and connection. And, with another book on the way that expands on the engagement theme, we could have quite easily just talked all things web 2.0 and engagement. But, intrigued by the fact that I specialise in Personal Branding, he was keen to share his advice, advice that I’m happy to share here.

Matthew was very open about what his advice would be for anyone: if you want to be known for anything, write about it! And he doesn’t mean a blog, but a book. Yes, write and launch a book. As the proud author of five books, this guy knows what he’s talking about.

I know that some of us have probably heard this before but, for Matthew, the book launch is only the beginning. A published book is a great way to position yourself as a thought leader on a topic that you want to own. Not only that, but it is a solid platform on which to launch yourself as a speaker on the international circuit. Within 6 months of his latest book coming out, Matthew, now firmly positioned as a web 2.0 guru, was touring the world doing talks on the social web. And, from our quick chat, it sounds like it’s a nice little earner.

Other titbits of advice that Matthew kindly shared include;

Differentiate
Obvious, but easy to forget. Review the others books that exist on your chosen topic and make sure that the angle you’re proposing is unique. It can be too easy to just verbalise your content without thinking about how it fits into the competitive landscape.

Make it a take-away!
Publishers love it when you offer the reader some exercises and actions for them to take away. Of course, you might prefer to intellectualise and stick to theory, but exercises and actions are more likely to get you the deal.

Don’t expect to get paid!
Really? Yes! The book is a tool. It’s a marketing brochure, a sample of you. The payment comes afterward in the form of speaking gigs, consultancy and the occasional opening of a supermarket!  You might be offered money, but if you’re not, don’t worry.  Do it anyway!

The thing that strikes me from this whole conversation, is that a thought leader in web 2.0, is encouraging the use of non-web 2.0 methods to build your personal brand. Of course, social media is still critical, but it’s in addition to what we do in the real world. And, we must remember that for most people, you just can’t beat the things that you hear, see and touch.