Kribaby

Krista: Cultural Learnings of America for make Benefit Glorious Nation of Canada (Repost)

This was my first blog post EVER.  Posted to my Myspace Blog on April 12 2007.  Unedited.  Enjoy.

Chapter 1: Two Tickets to the Gun Show.

As an American "Resident Alien" I decided it was time to exercise my Second Amendment right "the right of the people to keep and bear arms". It's in the constitution.  I picked up a fellow Canadian and we headed to The Gun and Knife Show. Despite dressing up for the event (wearing army green, camo and army boots), it was apparent that we were out of place – in addition to being 2 of about 5 women in the entire place we appeared to be fairly far away from the general demographic of the event. 

After adjusting to the environment it was time to get to our objective – get educated on guns. Sweet.

Lesson 1: "If you shoot someone, you want to make sure you kill him - otherwise he can sue you...".  Note to self - aim for kill - I don't want the inconvenience of a law suit. 

Lesson 2: "My ex-boyfriend is stalking me – we're looking for some protection" Is apparently a perfectly acceptable reason to purchase a gun – even if you clearly know nothing about guns and have never shot one before.

Lesson 3: Ideal gun: Revolver No Hammer; compensates for bad aim and won't catch on your purse.  After perusing and trying (yes, holding, touching and pulling the trigger of) various firearms it was decided that the ideal form of protection for this situation was a revolver with no hammer. The revolver is ideal because you can fire off a number of shots quickly, which can compensate for bad aim (should people with "bad aim" really be buying guns?), and you don't want a hammer because it can get caught when you pull it out of your purse. 

Lesson 4: Carry the gun, loaded with you at all times.  Question: So…I would carry this in my purse with me? Answer: Yes - for protection. (OBVIOUSLY). Question: I've heard things about gun safety where you keep the bullets somewhere separate from the gun? Answer: That makes no sense.  Why would you do that? (WHY INDEED). Question: So….is there a safety on this…you know, since I would be carrying it loaded in my purse? Answer: No.  You just gotta be careful. (RIIIIIIIGHT – there is a better chance of me shooting my foot than whatever I would intent to shoot).

Lesson 5: Licensed dealers will not sell guns illegally; they will only point you in the right direction. Having had all of our questions answered we were ready to move on to purchase. Question: Would I register my gun? Answer: NO! Trust me; you don't want to do that. (Apparently no further explanation required). Question: So what do I need to walk out of here with some protection? Answer: Just an Ohio Drivers License. DAMN! As a Canadian I don't yet have an Ohio license! I guess that I won't be able to get any protection…… we begin to walk away…….. Pssssttttt….(motions us back and leans in and whispers)"I'm a licensed dealer, so I really can't help you out, but if you are serious about getting some protection there are lots of guys here who can help you out". Seriously. At least the guy understands his professional obligation as a licensed dealer. 

Lesson 6: It is easier to buy a gun illegally than to just GET an OHIO license (which involved a lot of documentation and testing).  Upon further investigation I learned that over 40,000 people die in car accidents every year vs. about 30,000 deaths per year involving guns, so maybe it should be harder to get a drivers license than a gun...........

Lesson 7: I am not "The People"  I guess it should be easy to get a gun – it is a Right after all. But apparently "Resident Aliens" don't have the right to keep and bear arms.  We aren't "The people".

 

Party Animal, Rockstar, Businessman? Who ARE you and what is YOUR brand?

The blogosphere has been abuzz recently with commentary on personal branding. The concept of Personal Branding (creating and building a brand around yourself) isn’t new – it used to be called reputation or image management and focused on how you presented yourself.

If you wanted to be seen as a serious business-type you wore suits, were clean-cut and spoke intelligently. If you wanted to be seen as the “cool design type” you wore jeans or trendy clothes to business meetings, had messy hair and maybe some dark rimmed glasses. This was creating a brand for yourself by managing people’s interactions with you to drive them towards a certain impression.

The premise of personal branding hasn’t changed online, we still want to manage how we are perceived by others’, and basic branding principles can be employed to achieve success.

There are 2 things that have changed dramatically.

First, in an online world there are more and more interactions to manage – Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blog, etc.

Second, the boundaries between “personal” and “professional” are dropping. In the old world you could wear a suit to work and be taken as a serious business professional and party like a rockstar on the weekend with your friends. The groups were distinct, and your image/reputation/brand with each of these groups was separate.

Now employers look you up on Facebook, your blog is read by personal and business contacts and your Flickr (or Photrade) photos are publicly viewable. The wall that many worked so hard to maintain between personal and professional is crumbling in an online world. Your boss can see the same things as
your friends.

What this means to personal branding is the need to be consistent is greater. In the increasingly transparent online world it is difficult if not impossible to manage one reputation for work, one for friends and one for family.

Your personal brand needs to be reflective of who you REALLY are. You can’t be one person for your clients and another for your friends because they find you, track you and interact with you in the same places.

When I first got online I ran into this problem. I had only used the internet socially – a search for me turned up “party pictures” with my friends and some random myspace blog posts – generally about events involving crazy behavior.

Now, I have made a more conscious effort to “brand myself” or manage my image/reputation online. I still have fun social content posted, however it is balanced with content that is more reflective of other sides of my personality (like this post).

Don’t abandon who you are – balance it – to promote the right brand/image/reputation for yourself.

If someone you have never met looked you up online, who would they think you are?