CPD23 Thing 3

 Thing 3: Personal Brand

I’ve considered my personal brand a few times in the past and have blogged about it here. It’s a topic I’ve given much thought to and I’ve yet to reach a ‘brand’ I’m finally happy with.


In April 2011 I changed the layout of my blog, and went for a pink and pale grey colour scheme. I wanted something cool, sharp and uncluttered. I like the contrast between the colours and feel they reflect the different aspects of my personality, but I’m aware that pink isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and may turn off some people (particularly men). I’ve stayed with it because I like it, but it’s a constant dilemma for me. Recently, a few CPD23-ers have commented on / referred to BtB and the appearance has been complimented no less than 4 times! Those comments put a huge smile on my face as it’s something I’ve pondered long and hard.

Image taken by Jim Donnelly

I’d feel happier about my ‘brand’ if I had an image of some sort, which was instantly recognisable as belonging to BtB. Several blogs use images in this way (Wikiman, Joeyanne Libraryanne, Organising Chaos) and I think it adds a certain something. I’ll have to put my thinking cap on though – maybe the letters BtB in some sort of fancy arrangement?

Generally, I try to keep my personal and professional online profiles apart. I don’t usually mention BtB on Facebook and vice versa. I do have a Twitter account but I’ve never really taken to the mechanics of it and generally tend to ignore tweeting. It’s a powerful tool so that’s something I need to address – thankfully it’s one of the ‘Things’ to come!

I Googled myself, as advised by CPD23, to check my online visibility. My first search (‘Cara Clarke’) resulted in people with the same name on various social networks, plus my Race For Life sponsorship page. My second search (‘Cara Clarke library’) produced more refined results. The first page of hits included BtB, my presence on other library blogs / wikis, Cilip WM branch's Flickr photostream, Cilip’s Update with Gazette editorial panel and finally some Twitter remarks. The search produced a general summary of my library-related activity. I found it quite an interesting exercise to do and the results were quite surprising. It made me realise that although it might be a bit patchy, I've somehow developed more of an online presence than I thought!