Branding me, branding you
I think that BRANDING is the big thing in Sofia these days. And it's not product branding that I am talking about. It's people trying to brand and package themselves that I am thinking of.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of taking care of oneself and the ways others perceive you. I think that's a question of self-respect and a reflection of how much respect you have for others. Also, I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as keeping your work out of your personal life. I know for a fact that when I am involved in a project that interests me on a very gutteral, personal level, I work better and more efficiently. Therefore, I have no problem with people talking about work after 7PM or chat about their personal doing at the office.
Yet, I am mostly confused by the fact that so many people here seem to be so preoccupied with streaming a consistent version of themselves for the public to consume. I saw a lot of that in the States but it was mostly restrained to pseudo-celebrities and Hollywood types. Here, it's regular people who are spending insane amounts of time thinking about all types of appearances. Honest to god, I've never felt as self-conscious while in the States. I never felt I was being watched. Or, maybe, that was just graduate school?!
I feel that the very size of our country, not to mention the size of our city is one of the reasons why people need to be as self-aware as they are. Everybody seems to know everyone and that makes it necessary that you stay focused and alert about what you say and do, because you know that regardless of whether it's good or bad, it will get noticed sooner or later.
My other two explanations have to do with:
1] The size of the labor market
and
2] The stage of socio-economic development we find ourselves in.
I am more interested in hearing what you guys have to say about this. Have you noticed it too? You don't have to be Bulgarian to have seen it. Also, I don't think that what I am talking about is unique to Bulgaria. Maybe it's a "New Democracy" trend? Or, perhaps, a global trend? And, actually, is it necessarily bad?
Now, don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of taking care of oneself and the ways others perceive you. I think that's a question of self-respect and a reflection of how much respect you have for others. Also, I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as keeping your work out of your personal life. I know for a fact that when I am involved in a project that interests me on a very gutteral, personal level, I work better and more efficiently. Therefore, I have no problem with people talking about work after 7PM or chat about their personal doing at the office.
Yet, I am mostly confused by the fact that so many people here seem to be so preoccupied with streaming a consistent version of themselves for the public to consume. I saw a lot of that in the States but it was mostly restrained to pseudo-celebrities and Hollywood types. Here, it's regular people who are spending insane amounts of time thinking about all types of appearances. Honest to god, I've never felt as self-conscious while in the States. I never felt I was being watched. Or, maybe, that was just graduate school?!
I feel that the very size of our country, not to mention the size of our city is one of the reasons why people need to be as self-aware as they are. Everybody seems to know everyone and that makes it necessary that you stay focused and alert about what you say and do, because you know that regardless of whether it's good or bad, it will get noticed sooner or later.
My other two explanations have to do with:
1] The size of the labor market
and
2] The stage of socio-economic development we find ourselves in.
I am more interested in hearing what you guys have to say about this. Have you noticed it too? You don't have to be Bulgarian to have seen it. Also, I don't think that what I am talking about is unique to Bulgaria. Maybe it's a "New Democracy" trend? Or, perhaps, a global trend? And, actually, is it necessarily bad?
posted by petya at 11/22/2006 02:34:00 PM
10 Comments:
Do you watch Ze Frank? If you don't, you would enjoy this one on the subject of branding. Check it out.
Thanks for the reference :D
Yesterday, when I read this post I was like "Wow, Petya is reading my thoughts" but anyway I somehow couldn’t find the exact time and exact words to comment on it…
The personal branding has nothing evil like the usual branding itself. The bad thing in my opinion is when you loose tremendous amount of your time and the others' time just to flatter your ego. It is the same with the corporate and product branding - when you see an advertisement on the TV saying one and the same thing not to make you buy the product but just to flatter the ego of its “insane parent”, the marketing manager, you have this bad feeling that you have been used… and your precious time of 2 hours per day rest - as well.
It is the same with the people around you that have the unique goal in their lives just to promote them selves. You feel like being used. Yeah, they might be genius in their fields but why have they put it always in your face in such an obvious way… And I won’t agree that this reaction is kind of jealousy because I really respect the professionalism of the people I have in mind while writing this comment. I just don’t like the way they are constantly imposing it…
And last sentence, to be completely honest – I also don’t like my grandmother’s thought: “Be humble and some day someone will notice it”. This is exactly the opposite of personal promotion that so much irritates me and I don’t agree with it either. Because in our world of so many talents you can’t really afford to stay humble at the corner and wait for somebody to notice you.
So my personal believe is that the personal branding as each other branding requests strategy and consistence but one should always keep in their mind that the gold is in the middle:-)
absolutely!
nobody's saying that one should keep quiet and hope that others will take notice. in fact, i think that most of us are not that talented to count on our greatness simply to shine through. not being talented, however, does not mean that one could not possibly be good at what they do: there's a lot to be said about discipline and hard work and consistency.
all that being said, i completely agree with you that pushing one's own brand into everybody's face is more of a turn-off than anything else.
i similarly got tickled by the topic when you first posted, but found it hard to verbalize my opinion..consistency is one of the qualities i most admire in people, alongside relaxed and humble self-assured-ness, but i think this type of consistency projects naturally and without a conscious self-branding effort..funnily i just came back from a week in New England where i got reminded that exactly that type of consistency is what i was missing in most of my interactions in college..the branding on the other hand, the being able to put oneself for sale effectively, is (something i, unfortunately, never picked up) a useful asset to have, and its level of accepted exaggeration is measured only by the competitiveness of the situation one's put themselves in - it being job hunt, survival in Sofia's higher circles of cool, or selfestablishment in the blogosphere :)
consistency is easier to understand, i think. being consistent helps others "get" you. i still think that real people simply can't be consistent all the time. there are such things as feelings and moods and distractions that get in the way. :)
My take on this is that people who feel the need to consciously put effort into "branding" themselves actually haven't really found themselves. And by that I mean that they are not exactly sure of who they are, so they try to fit themselves into some mold of someone that they want to become. I almost see it as an insecurity. If you are happy, secure with who you are, you don't really worry about the image you project. You are automatically happy with the image. In that sense the consistency that purepleasureseeker refers to comes from that--you are consistent but not in an over-the-top branding way because you know yourself and are happy with who you are.
But that's just my opinion :)
Yes! And let's not forget those in showbiz ;)
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