How the Internet has now Branded you.

Many people talk today about how important a brand is in today's society. What feelings or thoughts that a particular item conveys, is very important, as an item tries to build rapport with it's customer base. Imagine computer giant Apple, who survives on their brand name. You hear Apple and you immediately think words like "Smart" and "Innovative". These words have came to signify not only their technology but the grand in general. People perceive brand's as an item or company so much, that they forget about branding themselves. Now your names mean a lot in this online world. When you were growing up and going to your first job interview at the age of seventeen or eighteen, the first thing you always heard, from your parents, was just how important that first impression was. Your parents would spend hours with you going through your wardrobe and trying to find the perfect outfit. Well the same thing can be said about your online presence. The first thing in today's society that many people see is your e-mail address or your social networking name. Your online identities say alot about yourself. Would you rather read an e-mail from RacerFan32@Gmail.com or Steve_Wozniak@Gmail.com. Which sounds more professional to you? If you read Racerfan, you can jump to two conclusions, either he has some affiliation to the sport of racing or you can jump to the conclusion that he is a nascar fan on the weekends. These names and persona's mean everything, and many people tend to forget this. How often have you viewed a Myspace page that is simply titled "Crazy B****" or some other random name. Many times, if you are intrigued you do, but more often than not you ignore them. Especially in today's professional atmosphere, there is no reason to view a "Crazy B*****" unless she's someone trying out for a new reality show. Imagine Linkedin.com, a professional social networking site, where you can post your resume on. Through Linkedin.com, you can create and manage your own resume page. Now imagine as someone sends you their Linkedin domain, as a place you can view their resume on. Would you want to hire WWW.Linkedin/in/RacerFan32, even if he is qualified for the job? You know immediately that this person does not care professionally if he is using such a name, but maybe the race means more to him than the position. This has caused quite a stir in recent years as people find it so hard to get their naming rights. Early adopters are quick to get their names, but imagine everybody else in this three hundred thousand packed country. Surely there are thousands of Jack Smith's and even a few Cole Watts'. Many professional sports players have found problems with this in the past as many have found their name rights bought up before they even get a chance to register them for domains. This has caused quite a controversy and many people offering money for their name rights'. Your domain name means a lot. No matter, what you say. It is your online persona that your friends come to recognize you as. What is your online persona? Do you have the same name for everything? Or do you just wing your names as you go? Because no matter what you pick your domain name says a lot about you, more than you probably think.