The book Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy describes how people can rely on today’s social media platforms to build powerful personal brands that can help them get whatever they need. The book’s chapter 8, “Other Social Networking Tools” describes new social networking sites that can be relied upon to build one’s social networking and personal branding scene (Deckers & Lacy, 2017). The paper summarizes the chapter and this involves the identification of major ideologies regarding social networking sites, such as Google+, Meetup.com, and podcasts. The three main points of the chapter are Google+ network has a few features and products that make it unique and loved by its fans, Meetup.com ensures that people step away from their computers and meet in person, something other social networking sites lack, and podcasts are today’s radio shows that allow individuals to talk about their passions and what they want others to know about them professionally.
Google+ network has a few features and products that make it unique and preferred by its fans. While some of these unique features and products are present on other social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, Google+ has rabid fans that have a profound love for the network (Deckers & Lacy, 2017). A striking element of the chapter is that Google+ attracts individuals who are interested in a variety of topics despite its inability to replace a site like Facebook. Also, Google+ has various features that make are favorites of its users and they include stream, collections, and communities. Stream features what a Google+ user’s friends have posted since their last visit on the social network. A user can share photos, text, links, and videos on the stream to help build their personal brand story. Collections on Google+ are like a user’s blog home where they interact with various topics. Following a collection allows one to get notifications when new posts are added to it. Communities, just like LinkedIn’s, is Google+’s forum or group function. Every topic that can be discussed has its communities. Google+ offers an ideal social network to develop one’s expertise in a subject.
Meetup.com ensures that people step away from their computers and meet in person, something other social networking sites lack. The ability to do this makes Meetup.com different from other social networking sites and it is due to this that it is considered to fall under the strictest definition of social networks (Deckers & Lacy, 2017). By allowing people to meet in person, Meetup.com encourages them to focus on their shared passions, such as LQBTQ issues, creative writing, business networking, filmmaking, computer coding, dragon boating, speaking conversational French, and beekeeping. The networking site’s opening site allows a user to explore different groups within their area that can be of interest to them. After the identification of groups that one is of interest in, they can meet safely in public places to share their passions and interests. Getting started on this social networking site begins by creating an account and being prompted to fill in personal details. In the process of filling out one’s profile, they select various personal interests, as this will allow them to find various groups that might be appealing to them (Deckers & Lacy, 2017). It is advisable to identify many personal interests to allow a user to find groups that might appeal to them and then scale down to these groups. One should look for groups with hundreds of members who meet regularly.
Podcasts are today’s radio shows that allow individuals to talk about their passions and what they want others to know about them professionally. Podcasts are pre-recorded shows that people can listen to at their convenience (Deckers & Lacy, 2017). Podcasting has grown as a form of personal branding that allows people to talk about their passions in the form of recordings and share them with others. Users can record what they want others to know about them professionally and share these. People should listen to podcasts regularly, as they exist on various topics. In specific, preference should be placed on podcasts that focus on the things that one wants to promote as part of their brand. A significant reason to have a podcast is the financial gain associated with it; however, this is not the only reason to have one. With a podcast, one can make a decent living from a podcast. Additionally, a podcast can help one land new gigs and clients (Deckers & Lacy, 2017). Not much is needed when starting a podcast and this is why the barrier to entry is low. In specific, one requires audio editing software and a microphone. On what one’s podcast should be about, it is important to find an area that they want to be known for; however, it is important to avoid well-populated niches.
In conclusion, the chapter discusses other social networking sites that can be relied upon to build powerful personal brands, which include Google+, Meetup.com, and podcasts. The three main points of the chapter are Google+ network has a few features and products that make it unique and loved by its fans, Meetup.com ensures that people step away from their computers and meet in person, something other social networking sites lack, and podcasts are today’s radio shows that allow individuals to talk about their passions and what they want others to know about them professionally.
References
Deckers, E., & Lacy, K. (2017). Branding yourself: How to use social media to invent or reinvent yourself. Indianapolis, Indiana: Que.
