I don’t think I am going out on a limb here by assuming that most of my readers are not celebrities! But, you do have something in common with a celebrity; you should reserve YourName.com – even if you don’t plan to use it right now.

If you have been following the whole Conan O’Brian story, you know that NBC’s contract prohibits him from appearing on TV until September. But, did you know that Conan had never even considered having his own online presence before the whole debacle with NBC? It turns out that a squatter owns ConanOBrian.com, and Conan himself was a bit of a luddite when it came to using social media.

The New York Times reported about O’Brian:

Gainfully employed by NBC for some two decades, a personal Web site had hardly been a priority until, well, his tenure as host of “The Tonight Show” screeched to an end in January. Suddenly he needed a new platform. He joined Twitter, and last month, helped by just a few tweets, Mr. O’Brien largely sold out his 30-city comedy tour, which starts on Monday in Eugene, Ore.

(Thanks @Twitter_Tips for that link.)

But, having ramped up quickly, many people now believe that Conan is using social media (Twitter in particular) to sell himself to Fox. (Hat tip @KathyOreilly)

Don’t wait until you need social media to corral the tools you need. Start building your online presence now! A social resume can help you build your brand and share information much more flexibly than other online mediums, such as LinkedIn. Creating your own site and building it into your online home is a project worth starting. Don’t wait until it seems crucial and you are pressed for time.

Just as you don’t want to leave your work address as a primary contact for your LinkedIn profile – since you would be locked out if you lost that email in a layoff, for example – don’t sit back and wait for someone else to take over your online presence.

Not sure what to do? I can help! CONTACT ME to learn about creating an online presence that would make anyone proud!

photo by rkolson

Related Posts:

  • http://jobs.dcrecruiters.org DC Jobs

    The Conan story is a great example because he’s such a well known figure that those with limited social media experience can relate to the story.

    The thing is, a guy like Conan that is a huge draw, will be able to build an online presence even if he has to go with a less than ideal domain name (i.e. the-real-conan.com)

    For the rest of us who may not be uber-celebrities we have even more reason to “build our well before we need it”.
    .-= DC Jobs´s last blog ..Keyword Proximity in Resume SEO =-.

    • Miriam Salpeter

      DC Jobs – It is true that Conan benefits from his celebrity in terms of a quick ramp-up on social media. The fact that he didn’t keep his eye on the social media ball and relied on his employer for all of his branding is not surprising. Most people do the same thing. It’s only when an unpleasant event occurs that the urgency of building an online presence comes to fruition. I absolutely agree – build it before you need it is even more important for those of us who can’t rely on a staff and celebrity for instant online fame! Thanks for your comment.

  • http://www.jimhorrell.wordpress.com Jim Horrell

    Hi Miriam,

    Thank you for sharing an interesting story about Conan. I agree that most people do not develop a social media presence until they need one. We live in a time when not being online in some ways means you don’t exist. LinkedIn, twitter, facebook, and blogging are just some of the tools people can use to show they are real people. I will admit, I am one of those people who didn’t create a LinkedIn profile, create a twitter account, start a blog, and most recently joined facebook until I felt I needed it.

    I have met many people on LinkedIn. I find value in the people I follow on twitter (including you). Most recently on twitter I have learned about chats and found them to be very good places to share information about employment search ideas and interviewing techniques. I started a blog because I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts, ideas, and experiences with others. Although I was reluctant to join facebook, I recently had a friend of mine help me set up an account. I don’t use facebook nearly as much as I do the other social media tools, but there is only so much time in a day.

    I am continuing to learn some of the tips and tricks of twitter and learning to use some of the applications available like tweetdeck and hootsuite. I am fortunate that I have a handful of people in my network who are well versed and in some cases at the expert level in social media. From the videos I have seen showing statistics of social media, I think it will be here in some way, shape, size, or form for a long time to come.

    Thank you for sharing all the advice you give to others, participating in the chats on twitter, and for giving support to the job seekers of the world.

    Jim Horrell
    .-= Jim Horrell´s last blog ..A customer service story =-.

    • Miriam Salpeter

      Jim – Thanks for sharing your story and for your nice note! I hope you find a lot of value in your engagements on social networks and continue to grow your reputation via participation there! I’m glad that you took the time to comment and hope to “see” you again here!

  • http://www.sbciusa.com Eric Mitchellette

    Hello Miriam,
    Your story on Conan O’Brian hits home. Unfortunately many of us were very busy during 00′s and did not take the time to embrace social media the way we should have, including Mr O’Brian.

    Do you believe Mr O’Brian can get his URL name back? My full business URL was picked up by another person which would have been helpful. Look forward to following.

    Best of Success,
    Eric Mitchellette

  • Pingback: 3 Tips to Shore Up for a Career Flood | Career Management Alliance Blog

  • Pingback: 3 Tips to Shore Up for a Career Flood « College Personal Branding

  • Pingback: Career Advice by Career Expert Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter : CAREEREALISM « ANDYWERGEDAL