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This version of “Right Where it Belongs” is - quite possibly - my favorite Nine Inch Nails song ever. This track can be found on the album “With Teeth (Japanese General Release)” or via remix.nin.com. [Thanks TR!] Seriously, though… I could listen to this song on loop over and over and over and… Enjoy.

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These are notes I took during Brian Oberkirch’s session on “Managing Your (Personal) Brand” at the 2008 Webmaster Jam Session on 3 Oct 2008.

• Do Epic Shit.
• Marketing is not a cure all.
• Listen to your users.
• If you don’t believe in your product, who will?
• You are a minister of information.
• You can’t move up if you don’t stand out.
• Be yourself. Embrace your quirkiness.
• You can’t build a brand in Photoshop.
• Brand is everything and then some.
• Find out what you are not. Zag against it.
• Example #1 ~ 37signals - Writing, copy voice is important. As is simple, usable design.
  • Do side projects.
  • Used enormicom.com as an example of a side project that 37s created.
  • Re: Blogging - Blog More. Posts have more value than tweets.
  • Who do you know? How can you give back?
• Example #2 ~ 43Folders, Merlin Mann
  • Be funny. Be who you are.
  • Merlin created the HipsterPDA and it put him on the map, so to speak.
  • Re: Productivity: “This is like pornography for me.”
  • Subtle, stupid things.
  • You don’t know where the network will take you.
• Example #3 ~ Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Took over his family business. Started vlogging. Built up the company and took it to the next level.
  • Leave a mark on people.
  • Build your tribe a person at a time.
  • One-off actions carry on.
  • Be passionate.
• The Playbook:
  • You need a home (to orient yourself).
    • Text ~ Blog, Twitter
    • Code
    • Bio
  • External sites ~ rel=”me”
  • Consider using something like chi.mp (Brian’s side project)
  • Be where your people are.
  • Be mindful about URLs, avatars and usernames.
  • Make it easy to spread the word and the work.
  • It takes longer than you think. Be prepared to invest yourself.
  • Ask for help. It’s all good.
  • Not buzz. Building.

I’ll be posting notes from Friday and Saturday within the next day or so. Wi-fi was spotty at times due to the number of devices trying to connect to the Loudermilk network, so I stayed unplugged for a majority of the conference. (It wasn’t critical for me to be on.)

I’m really glad my coworkers were able to come. Josh and Phil walked away feeling more empowered and inspired to do better work. Jeff walked away with a greater understanding of what it is we designers do. Next year, I hope PowerServe can become more involved in the conference. We had fun with all of the folks who came out to hang with us at Fandangles on Friday night.

I had a GREAT time and met lots of great folks, and made a lot of new friends. When the Webmaster Jam comes rolling around in 2009, I will definitely be there in some capacity.

I’m not sure what the next conference I’ll be going to will be. I’m looking at the Future of Web Apps (FOWA) in Miami FL in February and South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) in March.