In January of 2008, I made the decision to start a personal blog about things that interested me in my professional life – technology and communications. I wanted an opportunity to comment and post ideas that were outside the realm of Facebook and my corporate blog at my office. When it came time to seek out my next consulting project, the effort paid off. People I met had read my blog and took an interest in the subjects I was tracking and commenting on. The interviews were extensions to the conversations I had initiated online. I really enjoyed the experience – it gave me an incredible perspective on the power of personal branding and how much it has changed since the advent of desktop publishing back in 1984.
This google analytics chart shows the web site traffic I experienced as I went through the interview process. My conversations were spreading across the company! 
A friend (Robert Saric) went through a similar experience last summer. His blog posts generated all kinds of interest that landed him a key contract.
These experiences demonstrate the power of social networking and personal branding. Dan Schawbel has a great personal branding process at this link. Check it out!
Seth Godins post on the high cost of now got me reflecting on how my younger staff and nephews are constantly glued to their phones and instant messaging clients. I hear the alarms, nudges, “sup” questions and pokes going off all day.
I see a lot of the ME or pure digital generation accept these interrupts as simply part of day-to-day life in today’s hyper-connected, always on world. I am the first to admit, I like to stay in the know – the US election and situation in Canada right now are simply hard to resit.
A word of advise for when you enter the workforce. Think long and hard about what you are doing with these interruptions. They have a cost, and their implications need to be weighed throughout your day:
- they can drain on your concentration and ability to deliver on tasks and projects
- they can create the wrong perception about being focused at work…despite the fact you made up for lost time by working into the evening or at home
- using these devices during meetings may suggest you are not focused or worse, you are bored with the subject matter.
My advice for all these distraction?
1) mute your email and instant message alarms
2) turn off your SMS alarm when you are working on defined projects or tasks
3) answer email at defined intervals during the day
Take a step back and give yourself the breathing room to get your work done. Then reward yourself by getting back in the now through active listening and posting on your lunch or break.
The disciplined can turn these alarms off and resist the urge to be interupted, lose focus and ultimately get derailed from their concentration.
