LOL – Beyonce’s Personal Response to 2009 VMAs- Kanye & Taylor

“I knew it would come to this… this is just a hair flip”

WOW KANYE

all in good fun! im a huge beyonce fan! watch laugh && comment!

Category:

Tags:

beyonce response 2009 taylor swift kanye situation sad sorry laughing funny

source

NEW VIDEO – Madonna – Celebration

NEW VIDEO – Madonna – Celebration

Related articles by Zemanta

• Ooyala releases next wave video player (vator.tv)
• How to Make Your Own Video Game (chris.pirillo.com)
• Adobe upgrades, changes name of rich media content controller (infoworld.com)
• Free Screencasting (chris.pirillo.com)
• New content available in the Adobe Developer Connection (blogs.adobe.com)
• Google Docs “hidden” viewer feature coming to Chrome OS (downloadsquad.com)
• Top 3 Sites To Make Flash Cards For Your Kids (makeuseof.com)
• Weird Hobby Alert: Dancing With Cats and Dogs (manolith.com)
• Bombtune – On Air (Free) (bombtune.com)
• You Never Know What People are Going to Type (chris.pirillo.com)

– Hook A Brotha Up! –

[Editor’s Note: Janks Morton is the producer/director of Boys To Men and What Black Men Think, a couple of films AB.com readers will be familiar with. Peep what he’s got to say about Black folks obsession with “da’ hookup” and why it’s ruining indepedent Black film. This one’s pretty lengthy, but I encourage you to pour a cup of Joe and peep it. Show the guest some love, you-know-where, and cop his movies if you haven’t already.]

This past weekend I was having a conversation with a dear friend of mine some of you may know. Lamar Tyler of BlackandMarriedwithKids.com is also this up and coming filmmaker and between his website and the film, is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Well Saturday morning, early in the conversation, he proudly announced on the phone “Man, we just passed 10,000 fans on our Facebook fan page today!” Point for celebration correct? Maybe. In a very cynical tone my follow-up question to this moment of reserved jubilee was “so how’s the DVD sales going?’. After a downturn of his emotions and a slight pause, Lamar said “…..well” at this juncture I interjected and saved him having to express his frustrations and finished his sentence with “yeah, you know how we do…”And therein lies the premise of this blog and the ongoing saga of the trials and tribulations of independent film-making.

The back story and underlying support for this blazing generalization of “you know how we do” are two fold, and while I have a lifetime of experience and perceptions to assert this negative stereotype, I will reference (briefly)citing two recent occurrences to make my point.

After a stirring and heart felt presentation at a very large mega church here in Prince George’s county, a fine and upstanding member of highly visible law enforcement division, walks up to me with the following statement. “Brother (oh crap, did I pay those 4 parking tickets), I just wanted to say your documentary and presentation is one of the most important messages I have ever seen, and the DVD would be a valuable resource for our young men we work with (whew…) Would you mind if I burned a couple of copies for some of my team members so they can use them at their respective facilities? Hopefully you can here the sound of tires screeching in my head, or that scratching noise the old record needles use to make. And while the proper english, and professional demeanor of this gentleman was impressive, the logic seemed to escape me. Fortunately I no longer swear in public because in my mind something along the lines of “motherfather, don’t yawl arrest people for that stuff ?” (take full liberty in inserting your curse word of preference anywhere in the previous sentence), However, considering we were in church and he was carrying a firearm, I simply stated “c’mon on brother, I ain’t got Sony pictures behind me, it’s just me, so can you….And you all can see the look of oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah coming across his face as to have an epiphany and close the conversation with “oh dag, my bad”.

Part two of the drama unfolds this past weekend at, of course, another church on Saturday morning. Another heart felt, passionate (I had to pause for about 14 seconds because I almost broke out in tears during the section I do on forgiveness) and inspiring message to about 100 members after one of the best home-cooked sausage eggs and home fry deals I’ve had since I’ve been on tour. Now I’m not going to down the path of purchasing product after a free meal, a free screening, and a free sermon. That’s an entire blog entry unto itself but still in the same vein of this stream of thought. During the Q&A segment, a brother stands up (in front of everyone) and says, “Brother, I love what you have put together here. I got this (so and so) hook up in Chicago, with these brothers that are doing (such and such), and can I burn a copy of this to send to them to help you out? I stop, I pause, I look at the audience, they look at me, I grin and with this tilted head deer stuck in the headlights look, I say “are you kidding me?”. Again, good fortune prevailed, the audience was amused, and the gentleman made sure to come after the program and apologize profusely about his err, and of course I advised him “it’s cool, you know how we do…”

So back to my conversation with Lamar. Several days prior I realized that between all the YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook, and other web outlets, I have over 500,000 views of my videos, and God only knows how many hits to the BlackPlanet, Washington Post, CNN and all that other stuff out there. “Man if I could just get 10% of these to 10,000 fans to buy the DVD I would be straight!” stresses Lamar. “Man, If I just had one dollar from just the views on the PSA it would be over” I explained.

“but you know cuz, it’s just the way it is. you know how we do…”” I continued. Black people, you gotta love ‘em, but we missed the memo that seems to be circulating amongst alot of other groups throughout this country. I hate to play the whole slavery card, and the subsequent socialization process of making something out of nothing, however on the topic of the intrinsic value of supportive commercewe seem to miss connecting all the dots. “I’ve been thinking about writing a blog about this for a very long time but it’s such a touchy subject and a very fine line to walk, I think it could tick more people off than inspire” was how I finished the conversation with Lamar.

So at this juncture I’ll do what it is I always do, provide a couple of case studies for your amusment. Exhibit A. that dog gone Jeff Foxworthy (or the Caucasian version of the chittlin circuit). This dude basically drops these series of stand up comdeianic self deprecating, culture denigrating narratives, that are so uniquely, well, redneck, I have difficulty following the humor most times. It took me two whole days to catch this joke about matching salad bowls and cool whip containers, but I digress. My point, self-described rednecks ate that stuff up, and the intrinsic value of supportive commercebegan to kick in. In other words, they began to support their own through purchases, word of mouth and othe mechanisms. The other examples I would defer to would be Van Halen, Master P, and MC Hammer, but want to use them as a point of differentiation because they are musical entertainment (one of the few durable goods you’re allowed to consume, entirely, prior to purchase). Point being, that these acts probably were supported by as little as 20,000 followers at the time of their “big record deals” and commanded high percentages and millions at the table.

I’ll closed out with my other, not so favorite Tyler (Perry), and how long he was on the scene as a playwright in the church circuit before he got any type of nod from Lionsgate. Both Lamar and I use a documentary style format to advance socio-political-spiritual ideologues, i.e. restoration of black families, or positive images of healthy black marriages, and while it may not be as dramatic as say, oh, a grown man in a dress going to another family reunion, with the latest gospel track kicking at the climax, our works are actually capturing the heart, mind and souls of what is happening today in our community, and hopefully, about a 100 years from now, these films can truly be looked upon as documenting what really was the deal, from our own lens.

So what’s all the fuss about? What’s to stop us from continuing on our respective paths? Let me give you insight to the world many of independent filmmakers live. Tim Alexander, Eric McKay, Andrea Wiley, and a whole slew of up and comings are doing some things absolutely groundbreaking, totally unheard of, and by Hollywood’s standards, a little bit crazy. What we do is pay for our own stuff. No backers, no financing, no grants, no foundations, just us. I think the challenge is making the general public understand what goes on behind the scenes to take on these efforts. The blood,the sweat and the tears I have seen most of us go through in order to deliver a quality product to market. I’ve seen 2nd mortgages, foreclosures, pawning of cameras, bankruptcies, and a slew of financial worries, to make most thankful for their 9 to 5’s. Hell I’ve even had to start plucking more gray hairs monthly because of these endeavors. And please let us NOT begin the narrative of early morning chest pains that jump up until that first cup of coffee.

My point, you may ask again? You gotta love my people to do what we do. We all have always heard the clarion call of support our own. From the Black Buying Boycott day (still ticked at whoever came up with that idea, zero units sold for 2 days on AMAZON) to the Black Shopping Network, to the “I’m down for supporting Black products, Brother (fist raised) ” I meet no matter what city I’m in. The challenge is that more often than not, our attitudes just don’t seem to translate into actions when it comes to specific independent efforts outside of music. I know probably one of the greatest spoken word poets ever in Taalam Acey.

If talent equated to compensation for your efforts, this man would make Donald Trump look poor. Gary Johnson, of BlackMenInAmerica.com and author of book “25 things you need to know in life” an inspiring book, should be part of your daily read for like a year. And finally Lamar Tyler with his 10,000 fans on FaceBook. What do we all have in common? All struggling to keep the electricity on, thinking about disconnecting the phone lines because of that HELOC loan that slipped behind, or dang, “If I could just manage to get 20 of the 100 people at this event to understand if they loved this so much, and you want to see more of it, you kind of have to buy something to support it”.

I know this is touchy with us, and I KNOW HOW WE DO, with that being said, I wanted to give anyone out their some direction around this whole deal; in the jerry McGuire diatribe of “help me, help you”. This is a tough line to walk, I don’t want to instill guilt to manipulate. I don’t want to appear to be grupmy and definitely don’t want to seem like we’re begging. With that being said, here’s a stab at a specific course of action that will ensure that this artform doesn’t turrn into, well, MC HAMMER, here today, gone tomorrow, and back in 20 years.

In bullet points, and summary:

1.While you may see us on CNN, CSPAN or any MSM outlet, I have never met an independent (non-major studio associated) artist who is just out right looted

2.Most of us out here are self-financed in debt up to our necks, and struggling to continue to advance this medium.

3.We love what we do, and if everything was right with the world we would do it for free.

4.We all are probably as guilty as the next guy of the “hook a brother up mentality”, by lifting free cable, downloading from Napster, or coping a bootleg at the barbershop. (now I’m feeling guilty ~ sorry all of you 80’s stars like D-Train)

5.I know right is right and wrong is wrong, and this instance, we need a “do the right thing mentality”. To sustain the lifeline of an emerging and necessary outlet, help us break the stranglehold that studios, networks and MSM have about the necks of the black community, this includes you Blacks Embarrassing Themselves.

6.Please support your local independent filmmakers by more than kind words on a twitter entry. While we love and appreciate the encouragement, really hook a brother up, BUY the dag gone movie. And if you’re feeling super generous, send a dollar! Really it’s a simple best bit of encouragement we can get.

7.And instead of burning a copy for your boys, please insists that your friends get their own.

8.And if you really want to help us out, send out one of those emails that says “if you don’t forward this to all of your email friends, you’ll have seven years bad luck, and your dog is going to get measles.

Thanks, we love you, and truly appreciate the hook-up.

Jynx

Question: Do you think Black folks love “hookups” too much? What can be done to make independent black film a more lucrative business?

More From Janks Morton [WBMT Blog]
source
Related articles by Zemanta

• Movie Theaters Cut Listings From Newspapers (huffingtonpost.com)
• Hollywood eyes $70 zombie movie wowing Cannes (cnn.com)
• Colin: a Zombie-Flick Made With $70 and Facebook Volunteer Zombies (neatorama.com)
• The Way We Live Now: South Philly Couple Wants $400-A-Week BiLingual Super-Intelligent Ombuds-slave With No Self-Esteem Whatsoever And A Fantastic Immune System (philebrity.com)
• Bug Means High School Students’ Schedule Errors May Last Days (news.slashdot.org)
• Maryland Furloughs Unconstitutional (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Are You Still Blasting Out Press Releases & Stuffing Envelopes and Wondering Why You are Not Getting Reviewed? (netnewmusic.net)
• (updated) 4Chan launches embarrassing attack on devout Christians on Facebook (thenextweb.com)
• Teens&Social Media (PEW Report) (slideshare.net)
• Are You Sick Of Hollywood’s A-List? [A-List Blues] (jezebel.com)
• Japan: Why the LDP will lose today (eastasiaforum.org)
• Final Destination Ends on Top Box Office (screenhead.com)
• Obnoxious behavior by Senator Harry Reid in threatening Las Vegas Review-Journal (johnrlott.blogspot.com)
• Lodd: Station Fire – Firefighters Killed in the Line of Duty (calfire.blogspot.com)
• UK shame: Lockerbie bomber freed to grease oil deal (jihadwatch.org)

Video – iJustine take on the Sprint Palm pre

Yes, I may have over exaggerated a bit.. but hey, that’s what the internet is for!

Credit – iJustine.com

http://tastyblogsnack.com/2009/06/06/palm-pre/

TECH – iPhone 3GS Complete Feature Guide

By Jesus Diaz, – Credit – Gizmondo.com

Copy this whole post to another site

Slurp cancel

select site advertising consumerist deadspin defamer fleshbot gay fleshbot gawker gizmodo idolator io9 jalopnik jezebel kotaku lifehacker valleywag artists gawkershop

digg_skin = ‘compact’;digg_bgcolor = ‘#F1F8FA’;digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_3G_2009_Complete_Feature_Guide’;

As expected, the new Apple iPhone 3GS is out. And we were right: The screens and iPhone was real. Our hands-on is here. All the details about the iPhone 3GS’ new features are after the jump (updating constantly):

Speed
• Faster than the previous generation: Launching messages is 2.1 faster, load the NY Times in Safari: 2.9 times faster.

Camera
• New camera, with auto focus, auto exposure, and auto white balance.
• You can also tap to focus, changing white balance in the process. That is neat.
• Special macro and low light modes.

• It supports video, 30 frames per second VGA with auto focus, auto white balance, and auto exposure.
• Can trim video with a tap of the finger, and share it with MMS, email, MobileMe and YouTube.

Connectivity
• It supports the 7.2 Mbps HSDPA standard.

Graphics
• Includes hardware to support the OpenGL|ES standard, for faster and more complicated 3D games.

Design

• Same design as before.
• Greener materials: Arsenic-free glass, BDF-free, Mercury-free LCD.

Special features
• It has a compass application, which works with the included magnetometer. It’s integrated into the new maps, showing orientation, alongside longitude and latitude.
• Voice control. You can now talk with your iPhone, Enterprise-style. You can instruct it to play similar songs to the one you are playing, or call people.
• Nike + support built in.
• Supports accessibility features, like zooming on text, inverting video, and voice over when you touch whatever text is on screen.

Battery life

• Increased battery life.

Price and availability
• $199 for 16GB version.
• $299 for 32GB version.
• Available on June 19th.

Credit – Gizmondo.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Apple: All new apps must work with iPhone 3.0 (macworld.com)
• I Don’t Know If The New iPhone Has A Frontal Camera, But It Should (techcrunch.com)
• Following Apple WWDC 2009 if you can’t be there (thenextweb.com)
• WWDC Preview: What we know, what we expect with iPhone 3.0 (macworld.com)
• iPhone Beta 5 Observations (rev2.org)
• Four Rules For Selling Ads Against Web Video (financegeek.com)
• Facebook’s Biggest Competition: Mobile Platforms (allfacebook.com)
• Bites from the Apple: iPhone 3.0 Previewed (enduserblog.com)
• MobileMe 2.0: A wishlist (macworld.com)
• Palm Pre: Thoughts After Using it a Day (jkontherun.com)
• Android Market Needs More Filters, T-Mobile Says (PC World) (buddymob.blogspot.com)
• Google plans to enter the e-book business (macworld.com)
• Apple Rejects EFF Updates App (eff.org)
• Live from Apple’s WWDC 2009 (readwriteweb.com)
• Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2009) & Live Coverage of Keynote (laughingsquid.com)
• Safari 4 final available today: Now ‘crash resistant’ à la Google Chrome (crunchgear.com)
• Opera Browser Beats iPhone Safari In Popularity Contest (ubergizmo.com)

HELP WANTED – Mogul Bloggers/Vloggers &; Mogul Models

Make sure that you save or bookmark our website for future events. We are currently looking for folks to contribute to the site in the following topics – Fashion, Relationship, Gossip, Health, Books, Movies & Music Reviews, Finance/Money, Tech, Politics, etc

If you know someone that wants to earn some money in the new year please forward my email to them.

I’m looking forward to everyone’s feedback and comments on the blog.

P.S.

The Mogul Group is looking for 5 more Mogul Models aka Mogul Magnets for our events in 2009. If you know someone that wants to join The Mogul Team. Have them create a 90 second clip & upload it to YouTube talking about they will make a great Mogul Magnet. talking about why they will make a great Mogul Magnet ” BE CREATIVE – THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX”.

Send me the YouTube link with sample photos with a resume of there work. Please let me know ASAP. –

The best part is we’ll leave it up to AMERICA to choose the next 5 Mogul Models – Folks will be able to cast there vote for the 2009 Mogul Models.

Marchello Arceledi

The Mogul Group

www.mogulinc.blogspot.com

marceledi.themogulgroup at gmail.comRelated articles by Zemanta

• How to use TubeChop (slideshare.net)
• Is GChat crushing the IM competition? (k1v1n.com)
• Hulu turns one, adds social features (downloadsquad.com)
• Interesting Concept: Paying for Web Services (markevanstech.com)
• Problems With YouTube in the Classroom (q-ontech.blogspot.com)
• Bostonist Was There: Jon LaJoie at The Wilbur Theatre (bostonist.com)
• Updated: Another Google Fail: YouTube Search Goes Down (gigaom.com)
• How to Choose a Good Domain Name (chris.pirillo.com)
• YouTube Poised to Lose 25% of their Traffic (smtusa.com)
• April Fools Day Around the Web (lockergnome.com)

Video – Rick Ross ft. John Legend – Magnificent

Image by In My Name via Flickr

Rick Ross ft. John Legend – Magnificent

Rick Ross is going Deeper Than Rap on April 21st, and he’s brought along John Legend for first single Magnificent. The smooth duo croon their love song into the heart… of a thoroughbred horse. We admit, that’s deeper than rap usually gets.
(by Michael Reyes) Running Time: 4:16

VIP – Grey Goose Vodka Cocktail Cinema: Screening For Black List

Grey Goose Vodka Cocktail Cinema: Screening For Black List

Presented By: Grey Goose in conjunction with The Garner Circle PR and Cafe Circa
Date: March 3rd, 2009
Venue: Cafe Circa
Address:
464 Edgewood Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia 30312
Social Circles: Culturally-Inclined Events | Urban Trendsetters Events | Urban Young Professional Events
Guest List Offer: Complimentary Admission
Valid For: All Guests

Event Time: 7 pm – 10 pm EST

RSVP Start Date: February 24th, 2009

RSVP End Date: March 3rd, 2009 @ 1 pm EST

Maximum Number of People Allowed: 150

Dress Code: High-Fashion

Age Restrictions: 21+

Website: http://www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom

Contact Number: 770-256-1800

Contact Email: pr@thegarnercircle.com

Description:
In celebration of Black History Month, GREY GOOSE(R) Vodka announced its historic sponsorship of the YouTube((TM)TMScreening Room for an entire month. Throughout February, the YouTube Screening Room showcased a series of short films, feature films and special programming, including interviews from prominent African Americans of various professions, disciplines and backgrounds.

To commemorate this outside-the-box initiative, GREY GOOSE Vodka has partnered with Cafe Circa and The Garner Circle PR for a special cocktail cinema finale fete and screening on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at Cafe Circa.

Screening begins promptly at 7:30p

*You must be 21+ to enter
**Sip responsibly

<!–

Website: www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom

–> <!–

List Type: Featured Event

–>

---

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Black List Vol. 2 on HBO (takepart.com)
• Facing History (takepart.com)
• Black History Month (seantiner.blogspot.com)
• Celebrate Black History Month With Ham Hocks and Other Black People Food! [Let Freedom Ring] (gawker.com)
• A Time for Burning debuts on DOC, YouTube as part of Black History Month docs (realityblurred.com)
• Mills College Music Series Starts Today (avantmusicnews.com)
• [MISP] SAVE THE DATE – NMFO Black History Month Free Screenings (nm-mediatalk.blogspot.com)
• “Miracle on the Hudson” Pilot Gets Drink (gothamist.com)
• Celebrate Black History Month with Titles from the First Book Marketplace (firstbook.org)
• CNN Student News: Ten Questions (cnn.com)

Video – T.I. – Dead and Gone (feat. Justin Timberlake)

T.I. – Dead and Gone (feat. Justin Timberlake)

T.I. – New Music – More Music Videos

Related articles by Zemanta

• You Wintour Some, You Lose Some (jossip.com)
• GQ: Justin Timberlake is America’s Most Stylish Man (shoppingblog.com)
• Justin Timberlake Goes From Pebble Beach to Fashion Week (popsugar.com)
• On the Racked: Diesel Dines in Midtown, Fashion Week! (curbed.com)
• Justin Smiles as the Most Stylish Man in America (popsugar.com)
• Justin Brings His Newest William Rast Wares to Fashion Week (popsugar.com)
• Apple Talking To More Labels About DRM-Free Music (paidcontent.org)

Marketing – Personal Branding 102: How to Communicate & Maintain Your Brand

February 12, 2009 – 2:16 pm PDT – by Dan Schawbel Add a Comment

Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.

In my previous post, Personal Branding 101, we discussed the importance of branding in this web 2.0 world, as well as how to discover and create your brand. In Personal Branding 102 we’ll discuss how you’ll communicate your personal brand, using social media tools and proven marketing tactics, and then how to sustain your future growth by performing brand maintenance.

---

Communicating your brand

---

This is the exciting and challenging part of the process. You’ve figured out what you want to do and have created content around it. Although the content can serve as a communication engine, such as a blog that pumps out content and ranks high in search engines, you have a better chance of getting the word out by being proactive.

Put on your personal PR hat and start to promote your materials. Before you go crazy with self-promotion, realize that the most successful people are able and trained to promote the work of others as well. Here are some proven personal PR tactics:

Evangelize: Although you are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, what others say about your brand (especially if they are respected and well-known) is more impactful than what you say about yourself. This means that you should try and find people who will help promote you when you aren’t even in the same room. You want people to blog about you, your products or your company without pitching. A fan base for your brand can really help you get the word out at the least possible cost and time commitment, but it takes time. There are people out there who are already interested in what you have to say, but you might not yet realize it. By starting a Ning network, for example, you have the infrastructure to support your own following and then communicate updates as you progress throughout your career.

Pitch media: Instead of spamming reporters, do some homework and figure out who covers what. Almost all newspapers and magazines have online versions and blogs now, which are easier to get into. It’s easier to pitch when there is actually news, but reporters are always looking for expert sources such as yourself. After you target the right reporter, email them your pitch and follow up after a week. If you still don’t hear anything, move on. Always use the journalist/blogger’s preference when communicating with them, such as Twitter, email, skype, phone, etc.

If you set Google alerts for terms in your industry or perform Twitter searches, you’ll end up finding reporters that cover your area. You can also go on Alltop.com to search for the top blogs in your industry and on mainstream websites such as the NYTimes.com to a section that makes the most sense for you. For more great tools check out Sarah Evans‘ post, “10 of the Best Tools for PR Professionals and Journalists.”

SEO: Ranking high for your expertise is extremely important. It takes time, patience and determination. It also helps to have evangelists that will link to your website. Reporters, conference organizers and customers are constantly using search engines to find expert sources, cool stories, speakers and solutions to their problems. If you’re at the top, they will contact you. It’s that simple, yet that challenging! Here are 55 SEO tips to help you rank as high as possible in search engines.

Attend events: Getting out into an area where people are already interested in what you have to say (an industry event), is where you can do some real networking. Remember that people don’t know about you until they hear about you from your mouth or from a 3rd party. Tell them what you’re up to AFTER asking them about what they do. Try some live video feeds using Qik or record video interviews during the event, so you can provide special content to your audience.

Speak at events: When attending events isn’t enough, speaking at events can satisfy your personal PR craving. It will be hard for you to speak without becoming known first though, which is why this falls after attending an event. When you speak, people automatically perceive you as an expert (unless you flop and prove them otherwise), so you’re bound to get attention, fans and new blog subscribers if you play your cards right. Make sure you have a recording of your speaking engagement, so you can use it in your marketing kit to promote to get your next gig. Try uploading it to YouTube for some added exposure.

Create your own event: The only thing bigger than being a speaker is actually starting your own event or event series. When you do this, you are perceived as a leader and a go-to-person at the event. Try using a wiki to get people to register for your event or create a blog around the event, so that you can get the attendees involved in the conversation before, during and afterward.

Comment on blogs: Bloggers love comments. Don’t even deny it! When you comment on someone else’s blog it’s like a kudos or a pat on the back. A blogger is more apt to comment back on your blog, subscribe and link to your blog if you’re a part of their community. If you comment on every blog in your industry on a consistent basis, people will get to know you based on your avatar (go to gravatar.com) and your brand will flourish.

Write articles: Article writing is a great marketing tactic. Depending on your writing portfolio and the strength of your brand, you can write for magazines, online sources or blogs (like Mashable!). There are also online article directories that you can submit your work to, such as ezinearticles.com. By contributing to these sources, you’re able to get your brand into new places, while marketing your current web properties.

The communication process never ends, unless you want to go out of business or stop growing. It can happen within a company, where you convince your manager to work on the next big project, or as an entrepreneur, where you’ll want to convince venture capitalists to invest in your company because of your brand. Either route you take in life, your brand will shift over time, as you accumulate more experience. This is where brand maintenance comes in.

---

Maintain your brand

---

There are two main parts to brand maintenance that matter: online “spring cleaning” and careful listening.

Online “spring cleaning”: As your brand grows, you must ensure that all the online assets that you have control of grow in the same respect. This means that you need to constantly update your LinkedIn profile so it contains your latest contacts, experience information, and summary. It also means that your physical resume has to be updated, in addition to your video resume and so on.

I know this is a painful task, but the reasoning is simple: first impressions on the web tell you that someone’s entry point into your brand can be a variety of sources. If one of these sources isn’t current, then you may lose an opportunity. Update your picture if you look different and your interests have changed.

Careful listening: People are going to be talking about you in various places, such as Twitter, blogs, social networks and more. You need to keep track of what they are saying, so that you can respond accordingly. There are many tools out there to help you such as Twitter search, Google alerts, and more. By listening to your industry, you’re able to react and better position yourself, as the economy changes and your niche isn’t as relevant anymore.

It all starts with you. You can make anything happen and now, with these social tools, it’s easier to accomplish more in less time. People that can help you accomplish your dreams are at your fingertips. It’s up to you to figure out what you want to do and surround yourself with the people that can help in your personal branding conquest.

Remember that right now these social tools pose as a differentiator, but soon they will be so standard that they will be a qualifier. Take advantage of what’s here before it’s too late and good luck on your personal branding journey!

---

More branding resources from Mashable:

---

– Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand
– Top 10 Reputation Tracking Tools Worth Paying for
– Top 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand’s Reputation
– 10 Ways Personal Branding Can Save You From Getting Fired
– HOW TO: Build the Ultimate Social Media Resume

Imagery courtesy of iStockphoto, hidesy

source – mashable.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Have You Registered Your Personal Trademarks? (threeminds.organic.com)
• Searching the Map: Searching the Territory (echovar.com)
• Keywords, search marketing and data mining (socialmedia.biz)
• Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand (mashable.com)
• Tweeter Getter – Interesting Concept. Your Thoughts? (howtospoter.com)
• Professional Web Presence & Visibility: Key Terms (lookuppage.com)
• The Most Mashable Social Media Stories This Week (mashable.com)
• Marketing Authentically with Personal Brands as Corporate All-Stars (micropersuasion.com)
• The Power of Personal Branding (drivenleaders.com)
• 5 Ways Blogging Can Make a Difference for You in This Economy (problogger.net)
• Skyfire Bumped Up To v0.9, Learns To Be Social (mobilecrunch.com)
• Imagine there’s no Google (Part 2): The Alternatives (thenextweb.com)
• How to Rise Above the Recession: Branding Yourself Online (lookuppage.com)
• Twitter Success is just around the corner! (web-workathome.com)