I’ve been thinking alot about personal branding, and I felt I needed a little bit more than 12 seconds to communicate my thoughts this time around.

As a web worker in 2008, now more than ever, my personal brand has become essential to proving my relevancy, generating business, developing solid connections, and creating a digital footprint that highlights my passions. The passion to become an active member of the San Diego web and technology community has lead to a myriad of opportunities for me to carve out a niche market for myself. One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned over the past few years is that your personal brand is only as strong as the community who supports your mission – reciprocity and genuine interest in doing something for the sake of the community are the primary pieces in the personal brand puzzle.

One of the many benefits of sites like Twitter and FriendFeed is that I can develop pretty strong relationships with people I’ve never met. The online relationships become cemented in the cloud, making it that much easier to connect with like-minded and intelligent people when I attend events. In the interest of planning ahead, here’s a look at the upcoming conferences and events I’ll be attending. Leave me a comment, send me an email, or add me to a social network if you’ll be in the same physical space at the same time as me. We should do coffee, lunch, or better yet drinks!

New Media Expo – August 14/15/16

I’m headed to Vegas this week for what’s sure to be a memorable experience. I’ve only got an Expo pass (Tim if you’re reading this feel free to upgrade me at no charge), so I’ll probably be milling around and exploring the tradeshow floor (or getting into trouble at the craps tables). I’m traveling with the talented geniuses behind NAS Productions and the former show Viral – they’ll be covering the event. Look for live video interviews with the internet superstars you’ve grown to love and worship digitally. Maybe I can find a way to sneak in front of the camera . [Can you tell that I'm trying to find a way into the video realm?]

DEMOfall 08 – Sept 7/8/9

DEMO is in my hometown of San Diego this fall and I’m stoked to be attending such a prestigious event where I’ll be exposed to “the next big innovations in technology.” Did you know that Seesmic debuted at DEMO? I’m actually attending as a member of the press, so I’ll be blogging the entire experience with a San Diego twist for StartupSD.net.

BlogWorld and New Media Expo – Sept 20/21

Another must attend for all content creators, bloggers, vloggers, & mobloggers alike. The event is also in Vegas, I might have to join a Player’s Club at this rate, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with dozens of fellow attendees. Last year’s BlogWorld keynote by Mark Cuban will stick with me as one of the most amazing and inspiring keynotes I have ever experienced, and the pajama party that I went to in pajamas, unlike the majority of other attendees, was a social experiment like no other. This year’s headliners, including Gary Vaynerchuck, should make the 08 conference just as memorable.

What’s Missing?

What’s missing from my social (media) calendar? Where will you be this fall? Your suggestions are more than encouraged.

Is Ryan Kuder the first person to attract national attention for losing his job (he was only 1 of 1100 people laid off from Yahoo 2/12/08)? Probably not, but his story is truly unique in that he, @ryankuder on Twitter, used the 140 character real-time posting mechanism to broadcast the play-by-play experience of being let go from Yahoo.

Some of the questions we covered include:

• How did you go from 50 – 500 Twitter followers in one day?
• What did your inbox look like after you were covered in TechMeme?
• Given your exponential increase in Twitter followers, did you feel pressured to maintain a high-level quality of tweets?
• Did anything come of the articles about you in the LA times and the NY times?

It’s no secret that Twitter is the “it” web application of the moment for web and technology professionals, but little did I know how pervasive Twitter really has become — until last night that is. The San Diego Tweetup event, organized by yours truly @jbruin, was more than just a gathering of geeks answering the question, “what are you doing?”, it was a powerful networking event that facilitated impromptu interviews for open positions, relationship building between all types of web workers, consultants and potential new clients, introductions to some new San Diego faces, and new opportunities for using Twitter to drive both personal and professional agendas.

Matt Browne beat me to the punch with a great post on StartupSD.net that describes the quantity and quality of attendees, as well as the amazing content that will no doubt be produced as a result of the Tweetup, so I thought I’d focus on a few really amazing highlights from the evening.

• Aten Syndicate, our generous sponsor, supplied food and beer for all attendees for the majority of the evening. Their generosity is greatly appreciated by everyone, myself included, as the buzz about free grub spread virally prior to the Tweetup and added a little extra cool factor to the event.
• Ryan Kuder, former Diego resident and current Internet celebrity, let me interview him on the impact that Twitter has had on his life. A flip video has been captured and will be shared shortly.
• Kristina Allison, one of 6 finalists in the Mahalo VLOGIdol competition currently calls San Diego home, along with Lisa Brewster, a semifinalist in the same competition. Both women are forces to be reckoned with and among the list of notable Tweetup attendees.
• San Diego is full of incredibly ambitious women, and the best of us are all on Twitter. Notable mentions, in addition to the two listed above, include Christina Aris, Barbara Ludwig, Erin O’Connor, Anita Cohen-Williams, Lisa Hyatt, and Brynn Evans, but of course that’s just a small sampling.
• Photos, blogs, and tweets are already aggregating nicely, use the hashtag #sdtweetup (seriously check this link out for a good view of everything) and the tag sdtweetup.

What’s Next for Tweetup

I’d like to take this good thing to the next level. The June Tweetup needs a sponsor and a venue, and I’d love to see comments on ideas for both. The July Tweetup, however, could be spectacular. I can’t say anything yet, because the plans have not been put in motion, but if the idea comes to fruition then I’m pretty sure it will be as incredible in real-life as the fantasy twitterstream playing in my head.

Also coming soon is a sdtweetup wiki for group collaboration on events, venues, topics, sponsors, the twitter roll etc. I’d rather not reinvent the wheel so I’ll do a little searching to see if we can leverage an existing Twitter wiki, but either way I will keep everyone posted.

Twitter Roll

This list of sdtweetup attendees is by no means complete. I need your help filling in the blanks, you can either @jbruin me on Twitter, send me an email jvangrove [at] gmail [dot] com, or leave a comment below.

@AboutLisa Lisa Hyatt
@abull Angela Bull
@adora Lisa Brewster
@bjschone B.J. Schone
@bmevans Brynn Evans
@cbaron Chris Baron
@DamienH Damien Howley
@danlarsen Dan Larsen
@declan Declan Fleming
@docwho76 Daniel Spisak
@DowntownRob Rob Marlbrough
@emp Alex Kawas
@gemalynn Gema Lynn
@hober Edward O’Connor
@Imagium Phelan Riessan
@jbruin Jenn Van Grove – Organizer (that’s me)
@jimmyhendricks Jimmy Hendricks
@jocelynrobind Robin Darling
@joebird Joe Spurr
@kirinqueen Erin O’Connor
@lisinsd Lisa Rosenfelt
@madrox David Horn
@mattsurfs Matt Browne
@mikeschu Mike Schumaker
@mokulabs Patrick Crowley
@msmommyw Pamela
@nateritter Nate Ritter
@nathangibbs Nathan Gibbs
@nomatophobia Sarah
@northlight Steve E
@nrek Enrique Guiterrez – Sponsor, Aten Syndicate
@paperkristina – Kristina Allison
@richandcreamy Richie Edquid
@ryankuder Ryan Kuder
@searchguru Anita Cohen-Williams
@SDTechGirl Christina Aris
@sethinsd Seth Caldwell
@stevievep Stephen Kenny
@techlifeweb Scott Kingery
@the_peg_is_in Peggy Gartin
@thekid Ben Cote
@tonybalsamo Tony Balsamo
@viss Dan Tentler – Sponsor, Aten Syndicate
@wigsie Barbara Ludwig
@wizardElite Chris Rodgers
@zenchaos Jerry Sheehan

It’s the Networking

We’re all still figuring out to how to use Twitter, and we’re all using it differently, but there’s no denying that Twitter is the most effective networking web tool available. Don’t believe me? Then, you’re either not using Twitter or you’re not living up to your Twitter potential.

Here’s a crash course, with examples, on how to network on Twitter.

Twitter Networking for Beginners

1. Follow the people you want to meet. The easiest way to introduce yourself to someone important at an event, is to say, “Hi I’m XXXX. We’ve never met, but I’m following you on Twitter.” It’s such an easy conversation starter and an excellent way to get a new follower. I’ve personally used this approach several times and it’s always successful; a mutual appreciation for Twitter is an immediate bond and instant way to make yourself relevant.
2. Use Twitter as a substitute for email when connecting with a new contact. First, make sure you talk with someone long enough that they’ll remember you (that’s a basic rule for all networking). Second, ask them if they’re on Twitter. Third, whip out your cell and send an SMS message to Twitter with “follow [twitter name]“. It’s fast, simple, and less intrusive than following up with email. If done right you’ll get an immediate new follower, and you can solidify the professional connection through replies or DMs, especially if you’re attending the same sessions or events later in the day/week.
3. Put your Twitter name everywhere, especially your name tag. Most people on Twitter know me as “jbruin.” I never want to miss an opportunity to connect with fellow twitter users and I find this tactic to be a conversation opener (either “oh you’re on twitter,” “what’s jbruin?” or “oh hey I follow you”), and a way to reinforce my online identity in offline settings.
4. If you’re hanging out with recognizable Twitter names, you should be tweeting about it. Chances are you’ll get some immediate street cred, and/or new followers.

Twitter Networking for Rockstars

1. The DM feature is powerful; use it! If you’re following someone and they’re following you back, you really should take advantage of direct messages (DMs). Most people have their DMs sent directly to their phone (or via email at the very least), this means that when you DM someone they’re likely to get an immediate notification. Speaking from experience, DMs are way more effective in getting an immediate response than email. Maybe it’s the 140 character limit (you’re respecting someone’s time by being succinct) or the novelty of getting a private message, either way you’ll connect with someone faster and more efficiently through Twitter. Now that I blog for StartupSD, I use DMs to reach out to the people I want to interview. So far I’ve always received an immediate response.
2. Use your Twitter network to get a job. You can do this multiple ways. You can tweet that you’re looking for a new career opportunity (and ask your friends to retweet), you can create keyword RSS feeds specific to your job search via Summize or TweetScan, or you can simply wait for job notifications to show up in the public timeline.

So what’s your take? Do you use Twitter to network, and if so what are you doing?