On personal branding

I’m obsessed with the idea of the looking-glass self. I’m so obsessed with it that I wrote my undergraduate thesis about it. 

It’s one part of how we form our own self-image; it’s how we think other people see us. To my extreme dismay, we can’t control how we’re perceived. I’ve thought about this a lot in the context of LinkedIn. Everyone knows that it’s for self-promotion, but a lot of us want to pretend it isn’t, or we’re too proud to admit it. (See also: “the medium is the message”.)

But what if you don’t want to promote yourself? Is it possible to exist in a social media landscape when you would rather be invisible? 

When you’re employed at a company, you can effectively “borrow” that company’s brand and attach it to yourself. “I’m a [job title] at [company name]”. The person you’re talking to starts to make assumptions about you, but you get the chance to disappear into the background if you want. You can share what the company does or what your role is, but you don’t have to talk about your self (two words). The modern workforce asks that our identities and careers   become so intertwined that they are one and the same. And being unemployed is a sort of chasm; not having a brand to attach yourself to is not existing.

This dynamic creates an immense pressure to build a “personal brand”, whether you want to work for yourself, or if you want to get another company to hire you. And this makes me want to explode. Because I don’t want to do that — I just want to be a person. And I really don’t want to be perceived. I don’t want to have a personal brand. But the least I can do is try and own mine. 

I write

I write all sorts of things. I write in-app copy (my specialty), product marketing documents, emails that come from no-reply addresses, knowledge base content, internal memos, product vision documents, push notifications, and a bunch of stuff you read on websites. I’ve written social media posts for brands, updates for the App Store, user research guides, and satire pieces that won’t ever see the light of day. I once wrote a cover story for an indie newspaper. I wrote what you’re reading right now.

I design

I’ve worked on product design teams for more than 5 years. I can prototype things in Figma, weigh in when a border radius looks too round, and know when the elements on a page are in the right order. I think about a customer’s journey the whole way through — from when someone sees a billboard to when they cancel their subscription. 

I organize

I can’t relate when someone says they have too many tabs open. My tabs (and browser windows) are all tagged and color coded. My bookshelf is alphabetized by the author 's last name, and the cabinet under the bathroom sink is pristine. I make spreadsheets for my friends to manage their life tasks when they feel overwhelmed. In another universe, I’m probably an event planner.

I strategize

I plan ahead and look backward before focusing on the present. I ask a lot of questions and I always think out loud. 

I help

I move work forward by connecting people and ideas. Friends, family members, and colleagues come to me for advice. I jump in on projects if I notice that a colleague needs support, and I step up in situations when I notice that no one else will. 

I’m Gracie, the person.

Thank you for perceiving me.