Author Archive for Taylor

Reconsidering Personal Branding as a Concept and a Practice

Published by Taylor on December 18, 2009 in Careers, Culture, Lifestyle and Social Networks. Comments

A thought on personal branding from my friend Luis Sandoval, from his latest newsletter:

All of us have a level of personal value that in today’s connected community driven conversations, we can establish very quickly. This personal value relies heavily on the skills you hold and in how you use them. With access to social networks, online media outlets, and the ability to expand your network, personal branding can catapult you and the knowledge you have to new heights.

This strikes a chord with me, as I’m typically skeptical of “personal branding” as a discipline. It always feels inherently phony; as something you do to hide anything that doesn’t fit in whatever box you’re carefully crafting for yourself. But lately I’m giving in a bit to the personal branding evangelists, mainly because I’m gaining more and more confidence that who I am personally and professionally will, on balance, lead to more opportunities than disappointments if it is reflected online.

Part of what always bothered me about personal branding was a sense that you needed to be “on message” at all times. I first experienced social media in a purely social way as a college student on Facebook. The evolution of social media into a tool for business, politics, and activism still hasn’t changed my prevailing view that certain social networks can and should remain social in nature. Any friend of mine who seems “on message” on Facebook actually strikes me as being “incredibly dull.” Thus, any attempt at message discipline on my part results in a bit of self-loathing: I worry that I’m becoming “one of those people” who seem unable to let their guard down long enough to genuinely converse with people online or publish an honest, unfiltered reaction to news or life events.

All of the personal branding experts (and blogging experts, for that matter) will tell you to pick a single topic and stick to it. The word from social media “pros” is to develop expertise and build your reputation. I’m interested in many different things, and I go through phases of intense interest in very random industries, issues, concepts, and hobbies. I liken my consumption of online content to a continuation of the liberal arts education I so enjoyed. As a result I have trouble focusing with any consistency on one topic, one angle, or one message. Nowhere is this more apparent than, well, right here: the theme of this blog is “change.” And to think, Jarred and I worried that would be too limiting.

But now I’ve come to view my own brand—and, by extension, the concept of personal branding—to be inclusive of both my authentic self (versus a caricature crafted for the internet) and of my varied, ever evolving interests.

Continue reading ‘Reconsidering Personal Branding as a Concept and a Practice’

Worrying About the Real Time Web

Published by Taylor on October 25, 2009 in Culture, Sociology, Twitter and Web 2.0. Comments

Paul Carr at TechCrunch as a long and thoughtful post questioning triumphialism about the real-time web. Carr ties together experiences at a recent Weezer show (similar to the mobile-phone-armed masses I wrote about in this post) as well as his discomfort watching how social media seems to be driven in the wake of disasters, and how perilous Twitter and other real-time communications can be in an environment like a jury room (an issue I’d like to see some lawyers respond to like this). It’s well worth reading the full piece, which I’ll pull a few large chunks from here:

[The] real-time mentality – pictures/tweets or it didn’t happen – continues to seep into every aspect of our lives, both personally and professionally. Whereas once we might attend a conference to watch the speakers and perhaps learn something, today our priority is to live blog it – to ensure our followers know we’re on the inside; first with whatever news might be broken. And it’s not just journalists doing the live-blogging, but anyone with a laptop and a wifi connection.Worse still, we’re told that this is the future. The real-time web – a web where every single thought that enters our head, or image that passes our eyes, can be instantly captured, shared and archived for the approbation of our friends and followers. [..]

The assumption at all of these events is the same: real-time is where we’re heading; real time is good. Newspapers were good, cable news was great, blogs were better, instant attention bursts are best.

Hmmmm.

[...] it’s not just a question of micro-ego: when a juror is tweeting teasers from the jury room, part of them must know that a guilty verdict is much more exciting to their audience than one of innocence. How can that not subconsciously influence them? Likewise when we – the real-time generation – watch someone being attacked in the street or a plane crashing into our building and instinctively reach for our phones, can we be sure that our first impulse will be to dial 911, rather than firing up Tweetdeck or clicking the camera icon to ensure we get props for being there? I mean, really sure? In a perverse twist on the uncertainty principle, knowing that our behavior is being observed inevitably changes it for the more dramatic. Just look at reality TV.

And that’s when the real-time web – for all the attention it’s getting right now – starts to look less like a brave new world, and more like the path to a hideous dystopia. A world where our reaction to any event, no matter how serious, is influenced, not by what’s right, but by how it will play with our micro-audience. An audience that, thanks to Google and Microsoft’s wholehearted support of the real-time web, is about to get even bigger and more tempting.

When I wrote about some of these difficult questions, I defended those who would tweet and share and document their experience online out of the belief–one I still hold–that the enriching experience of the social web is our ability to be many places at once and maintain an ambient awareness (Jarred brought this term to my attention, and I love it) about the activity of those we love and those with whom we wish to be connected. Ultimately, understandings of balance and moderation fuel this debate. Journalists try their hardest not to “become the story.” That mandate is hard to follow when we can all be at times documentarian, entertainer, friend, expert, citizen, community leader, the subject of news or the target of criticism. The ubiquity of self-publishing tools (in other words, the social- and real-time-web) demands that we define for ourselves how far we will go, and at what cost (if at all) we will craft our reality to draw pageviews and re-tweets.

I think it is absolutely correct and important to question the real-time web. But at this point, the “real-time generation” that Carr describes has arrived. It is incumbent upon us–content creators and, perhaps more importantly, consumers–to embrace technology in ways that enrich our lives without detracting from the offline obligations that ultimately define our relationships with others and our commitments to values like integrity, honesty, and justice.

Ring Them Bells

Published by Taylor on September 18, 2009 in Music. Comments

Sometimes the only way to break the silence is by playing music at a ridiculously loud volume. Now is one of those times. I’ve been absent for the blogosphere for quite some time, tending to incredibly important things like a life that is altogether new, amazing, and fulfilling thanks to the love of my incredible wife, an affectionate puppy, and many supportive friends. I’m well, and I hope to write more now that the dust (good dust!) has settled.

In hopes of making this post more than a typical “I swear I’ll blog more often….starting NOW!” vow (I’d love to see statistics on how many blog posts start with some variation on this theme), I thought I’d share a mix that I created tonight for my friend Sam. Sam hasn’t received his mix in the mail just yet (is it possible to ever find a blank CD lying around when you need one? I think not), but it’s ok because there are a a few surprises left out of the online mix.

Enjoy the tunes. I might blog more often, and I might not. You’re busy people. You understand.

I recommend listening to this playlist in a car at night or under headphones, just because those are my two favorite ways to listen to music.

Mix for My Friend Sam

TED Talks: Jonathan Harris

Published by Taylor on June 24, 2009 in Art and TED Talks. Comments

This is part of an ongoing series in which we highlight particularly fascinating talks from some of the world’s most innovative thinkers. These videos are featured courtesy of a Creative Commons license; for more on the TED conference (Technology, Entertainment, and Design), click here.

I’ve been at times transfixed, horrified, depressed, inspired, and astounded by the information streaming out of Iran. Following the active cloud of conversation regarding the Iranian election via Twitter, I’ve been reminded once again of how powerfully the web changes the ways in which we as communities experience events in real time. Only now can a group of physically scattered people experience history together, blending real time reports from ground zero of a revolution with distant analysis and global reactions. These recent events reminded me of a TED video that I wanted to share. The projects Jonathan Harris demonstrates in this video are not comparable in urgency to the situation overseas. But Harris’ work evokes the same unique emotional connection we feel with far-flung individuals through the modern miracle of the modem. I hope you find his projects interesting and inspiring:

You can also download this video to iTunes (MP4 file) by clicking here (”Save Link As” on Windows).

New Urban Visions and Shortcomings

Published by Taylor on June 10, 2009 in Design, Environment and Sustainability. Comments

I’ve spent the past few weeks studying for my upcoming LEED Accredited Professional exam. As a result, I’ve been ruminating on sustainable development generally and LEED in particular.

This is a very effective video argument for New Urbanism (HT: The Daily Dish):

I find this vision compelling: walkable communities, condensed necessities like grocery stores, schools, workplaces, and churches, large public parks and recreation spaces, and conserved natural areas. But it’s silly to have a conversation about New Urbanism or neighborhood revitalization as if it’s an intrinsically and universally beneficial trend. The fact is, I’m drawn to this vision because I’m exactly the demographic that stands to benefit from it: white, middle/upper-middle class, well educated. Part of the creative economy and able to work essentially anywhere there’s a wireless connection. Lover of overpriced “artisan” sandwiches and ratios of coffee products and steamed milk. I own a Kindle for crying out loud.

The uncomfortable assumption underlying so many of these New Urban dream-scapes is that what would make for a REALLY great community would be an exclusive bunch of people like…well…me. And that’s crap.

As much as I like to think otherwise, I’m a boring cliche. I’m a product of privilege (more of the “great public schools” variety than the “trust fund” variety, but I digress) and will have the luxury to find parks for my hypothetical future children to play in, take bike rides on greenways, and work from various coffee shops whenever I need a change of scenery. New Urbanism seems well-equipped to satisfy that lifestyle but, frankly, I’m not worried about people like me.

Because walking to work can’t just be the accepted ideal for those of us who set out daily to work in a brightly-lit office or take our laptop to the village green. The checkout clerks at the grocery store, the teachers in those great public schools, and the folks waiting tables at the neighborhood restaurant all must be a part of this vision. But thinking about those folks (not to mention the factory workers and farmers who are presumably at the margins of this type of scenario…theoretically manufacturing wind turbines and growing organic spinach) brings up all sorts of difficult questions about affordable housing and the costs of living in trendy, clean, sustainable communities.

So here’s my challenge to New Urbanists: prove that your ideal communities can be inclusive of all people. Show me a plan that includes affordable housing between the coffee shop and the grocery store. Factor in the carbon footprint (not to mention actual costs) of low wage earning commuters who can’t afford to live in newly-remodeled trendy lofts.

Some of this admirable, inclusive work is taking place, but I think it merits a larger role in the conversation about green building, sustainable communities, and New Urbanism.