Thanks to a great conference with Colette and a lot of time inside my own head, I have finally secured an official plan for this conference journey. There is so much I want to accomplish throughout my research process and and the more I consider the possibilities, the broader my spectrum of ideas becomes. However, I do not want this project to be an incomplete mess with too many loose ends to make sense; the goal is to create a log my research and experiences in a way that will allow any reader to easily track my progress and have a full understanding of what is going on in my process.
With that said, here is the breakdown. I will reiterate what I have already said in previous posts, so bear with me. The purpose of this project is to explore the sources and tactics through which I, the real Ryan, can improve my personal brand and make my various social media outlets present the most professionally marketable me. This is the practical skills part of the conference and may not get the most attention on this blog, but I will be posting things I have learned about the experiences; this will include what I have learned about the self promotion industry, resources I found friendly, and tools I employed that have proven affective for me in some way.
The second and more important purpose of this project will be to see if it is possible to develop a personal brand from the ground up. This is where the inauthenticity comes in...I will be assuming a false identity in order to really immerse myself in the experience of building a brand. This will be entirely different from reshaping my preexisting brand, because there are fewer limitations, and far more challenges. I have chosen to build my brand in the world of body image and personal fitness inspiration, predominately on tumblr. This is a filed I don't know much about, but have always had an interest in understanding. If I can make a name for myself, or even just secure a few followers by the end of this process, I will consider this experiment a success. Regardless of the outcome, it is all about the journey.
Of course, all of this will be supplemented by social science theory and other case studies I will be reading (including the course reading). I will comment on and analyze these readings in my blog posts as well. This way, there will be an ample balance between theory and practice and I will be kept academically honest...if not authentically so ;)