So…what do you do?

Well, there it is - the one question that always seems to pop up while chit-chatting with some new people.

So…what do you do?

Why do people ask this question and why is it so important? Well, it seems that for many years now we (people who eat, sleep, work and play in this world) have always been judged by what we do, as opposed to who we are. There is an easy explanation for this and it’s basically that it has always been fairly difficult to find out who a person really is without having the luxury of having a few minutes of solid conversation with them.

You know those types of conversations, right? The ones that go far beyond the empty questions of ‘How was your weekend?’ and ‘How long have you been coming to these networking meetings?’. The types of conversations where you really get to know who someone is and what they’re all about. The types of talks that result in things that will never be created by asking someone about the weather - a couple of very powerful things, understanding and trust.

So, since we can’t always have these types of conversations and there is no other easy way to find out these ‘below-the-surface’ details of others, we seem to always fall back on the always popular question of ‘…and what do you do?’. This question gives us at least something that we can form some type of opinion around and to tell you the truth, it’s all that we’ve had for a while now.

Well, not anymore.

With the tools that are now available online, there has never been a better way to be understood. There are now ways to self-brand yourself, or as we will call it from here on out, ways to create your digital ethos, that have never been available before. This is why all of us here on this blog are so excited and feel that this is a new arena that has just begun to take shape.

People are now expecting more than just a job title - they want to not only know that I work for a company called MediaSauce, but they want to know that I coach special olympics, that I throw great events in Indianapolis and maybe even that I just got my wisdom teeth pulled out (ok, maybe not). Whether people want to watch them or not, these are all part of my digital ethos and are things that create a level of transparency for me with those who are looking to find out who I really am.

As time goes on these tools will only become more and more available, allowing us to create a digital ethos that will tell our story better than ever before. But, to create this story we must be able to understand these tools and we must continue to keep up with the ones that seem to emerge on a daily basis. But, that’s the fun part, right?

Your story…packaged and delivered how people want it. Your digital ethos.

8 January 2007 | Ryan Hupfer, ethos | Comments