As Thing 2 was all about reading other Blogs and meeting other people I spent a lot of time looking through blogs rather than writing about the experience! It was nice to read about other people's jobs and backgrounds, and I commented on a number of blogs. However, I think I will wait until a few weeks into the CPD23 programme before reading more blogs, as there will be more posts to read at that stage. Also, as the amount of spare time I have is rather limited, I wonder if reading a large number of blogs, although certainly enjoyable, is the most effective use I could make of it for my CPD. There are also conferences to attend, journals and books to read, bursaries to apply for, skills that need developing, workshops to register for etc etc. As a newcomer to the profession I quickly found that one simply cannot do everything - learning to make the right choices (i.e. those that are most valuable for your personal development as well as for your career) is one of the most important skills that a new professional needs to master.
On to Thing 3: my personal brand. First of all, do I have a personal brand? I was surpised to see that most of the hits that google produces when googling my name relate to libraries and librarianship, as I have only been in this profession for less than a year (whereas I was a teacher for three years, and a Literature student for four years, and an annoying fansite-building teenager for god knows how many embarrassing years). So, appearantly I have unknowingly created a personal brand after all. Secondly, do I need a personal brand? I am aware that many trainees, students and young professionals in the LIS field, inlcuding myself, are on twitter, write blogs, etc. However, I do not think that an online personal brand will necessarily prove to be of much use when looking or applying for jobs. Although a strong online presence can facilitate reflection on the profession and the exchange of experiences that is vital for professional growth, doesn't face-to-face contact both at the workplace and at conferences as well as the development of skills and knowledge through self-study and courses far outweigh this? I think librarians should carefully think about which activities are most worthwhile, and divide their time accordingly. And although online networking may prove to be useful when recognising familiar faces at professional conferences, we musn't forget that not all information professionals blog and use twitter - in fact, most of them don't.
