PRESENT / PLUS TUMBLR

Keep It Real.

A lot has been said about personal branding. Books, blogs, presentations, trend reports, you name it. Most of the people sharing their opinion and stories on this topic have witnessed some examples from the side-line. I’d like to share some thoughts of my own. Why? People seem to think I am the perfect example of ‘personal branding’. In this case we’re talking about being able to build a ‘brand’ out of Nalden, (my nick-name), within a few years. Like there was a plan. Better believe me there wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really proud of where I’m at today. Just don’t think there’s a formula. It’s a mix of common sense, gut feeling, luck and a good sense of style haha. 

The thing is: people are people. They are not brands. In most cases, when people become brands, they stop being people. Brands have assets or slogans sharing the values of the brand which can all be trademarked. Because unlike people, brands exist to sell something. The goal of selling isn’t a bad thing, but makes it difficult when you talk about personal branding. How can you remain authentic and real once you have surrendered yourself to business goals?

Is there, in this era of social media, really any value to turning yourself into a character or a product instead of just being… well, who you are?! And I am not talking about iconic people like Obama or Steve Jobs. I am talking about people like you and me. Although, during the years, Nalden became a house-hold name representing a group of like-minded people, the goal never was to become a brand. Even when I started to make some money (thanks to full-screen advertising on my blog), the goal always was and will be to share. Sharing is caring. I am addicted to sharing my enthusiasm whether it’s online or offline. By doing this for years, people follow me based on trust & enthusiasm. I created (digital) relationships. With both people & brands.

At one point I decided to register my name as a brand. This wasn’t a business driven decision. The real reason was just for fun. An expensive joke, that is. Fun is the foundation of anything I do. You see, I value authenticity. I think the less layers between people the best. Don’t pretend to be someone you would like people to think you are. Those extra layers of ‘personal branding’ are bullshit anyway. They will raise more questions, which will drive you further away from that one thing that makes you happy, motivated and excited. Dare to share the real you and be conscious of who you share it with. It’s fine to experiment or play that mysterious role. If it’s you, it’s you.

What I’ve learned is if you really want to brand something, focus on your business, your blog, or on your product. If the product is you, I hope your name is Michael Jordan or Kanye West, because otherwise you aren’t thinking clearly about this. Don’t get me wrong. I never knew what I wanted to become, but I sure knew what I didn’t want. It’s good to try out different things, widen your horizon and once you have found that one thing. Hold on to it. Focus will get you there to be one of the best. It makes you spend more hours than anything on something you love doing and you’ll become really good at it. A brand is ultimately an icon. Are you an icon? No. You aren’t. And if you become one, you won’t need to worry about building a personal brand.

So, forget that logo as your avatar on Twitter or the quest for likes for your Facebook page. Like anyone finding his way in life, I have struggled with this too. Trying to find a balance since I represent my businesses, but more importantly my values as a human being. I learned I want to put a smile on peoples face. Not like the Joker in The Dark Knight, not as Louis CK or Ricky Gervais. More like a friend. That dude that hooks you up with gear, supports your local startup or talented photographers. Driven by innovation and the utterly need to share. I also wanted to make sharing files easier. And serving (digital) art to people without any hassle. Things I managed to combine.



Consider this some straight up, un-asked feedback from your friendly neighborhood webwalker. Tips to forget personal branding and built a reputation by focusing on that one thing you like most.

1. Actions speak louder than words. One person who kept telling me this was a fellow Dutchie called Koen Bok. A regular straight up type of guy with that typical Dutch sense of saying things. He practiced what he preached with his former company Sofa. Together with his team he was obsessed by building great software. After winning many awards (amongst a prestigious Apple Design Award) and managing a successful company for over 5 years, Sofa was acquired by Facebook. Koen and his team moved to Silicon Valley to work directly with Mark Zuckerberg and make the worlds biggest social network a bit more sexy. This doesn’t mean you should stop blogging or making videos. It just means that the ratio of doing vs. talking should clearly favor the former over the latter.
   
   
2. Be relevant, not just popular. The other day I had this conversation about my Klout score. But really, in the end nobody gives a shit. What was Steve Jobs’ Klout score again? Instead try to solve a problem. Go cure aids. Build amazing products or help others creating them. Fight against racism. Start a project on Kickstarter. Do crowd-funding and support local communities. I guarantee that the closer you get to doing something relevant, the further away your mind will be from the latest popularity metric. I have gained much more ‘street-cred’ since I started working on WeTransfer and later Kuvva. Not to forget the blog it all started with.
   
   
3. Reputation is more important than image. It’s easy to create an online persona that claims success. Anyone can do this. All those titles on LinkedIN, who cares? Image is nothing more than marketing. Here’s something to bear in mind: The people who will actually be in a position to help you in life understand this. You won’t fool them with a superficial image. They don’t care about it and know how to see right through it. Build a reputation for yourself. Let others do the talk. It’s okay to be ‘optimistic’ every now & then. Embrace your reality-distortion-field and make it happen.
   
   
4. Make sure you look good. It’s not about how much money you spend, just make sure the clothes represents who you are. People expect you to look as good (or better) as you represent yourself online. This doesn’t mean you should wear a suit. I still wear sneakers to any type of meeting or keynote I give. I like comfort and technology driven fashion like Arc’teryx Veilance or Acronym. With all those fashion blogs and services like Nuji, it’s easy to get your head around on what stuff you would like and what not. 
   
   
5. Kill your darlings. Every person is for 80% a product of its own environment. This means you can better surround yourself with good people. Those who have a positive influence on the way you grow as a person. This will have huge impact on you and your business. It’s exactly the same with brands. No decent brand wants their logo on the same page as Skoda, right? Moving from Wilnis to Amsterdam was one of the best things I have done when I was just getting started. I was fortunate enough to meet all these inspiring and creative people along the way, who played a massive role in who I am and what I do today.
   
   
6. Just be yourself. If I have learned anything these years sharing (with the blog and onwards) is the fact it’s fun to be yourself. Every person makes mistakes. I fucked up many times including on live-television hahaha. Those experiences made me look like a fool, but I also learned those little flaws are part of who you are. Don’t get cocky. Be confident. It’s good to be insecure every now and then, as long as you keep going. Be nice. If you’re a kind, pleasant, interesting person, just be that and everything will be okay. Even if you’re an asshole, learn to be a funny asshole. People respect you for who you are.

In the end, if you really want people to know your name and take notice, go build something. Make something good happen. Create. Invent. Help. Solve. Improve. Apply yourself to any of those endeavors and in time, you will earn some measure of respect and even perhaps notoriety or fame. Become a writer like Bret Easton Ellis, influential as Jay-Z or successful as Richard Branson. Compare that to “digital serial business ceo” or “social media expert.” Something I learned along the way is to get this straight and become more entrepreneurial. Need inspiration? Watch PressPausePlay.

This entrepreneurial behavior is rooted in our company Present Plus, where we build beautiful products like WeTransfer and Kuvva with a team of people who inspire me on a daily base. And sometimes, we are invited to advice brands based on those experiences. I learned it’s not about Nalden. It never was. It’s about creating, inventing, solving, helping and improving.

words by Nalden / photo by Romain Laurent