So my domain & website (juliewatts.net) was a gift in college. I was getting my MA in Online Journalism so it made perfect sense to have a website. When I began applying for my first TV jobs (back in 2003 when personalized sites were rare) it worked as a marketing tool. It also showed I was innovative and set me apart from the flock of graduating broadcast students. Fast-forward six years and yourname.com sites are a dime a dozen. So… what do personalized websites say about you now?
I mentioned my website to a co-worker he other day and she seemed a bit put off by it. She said I didn’t seem “like one of those people.” I mentioned that I thought it was a great job-hunting tool. She pointed out that personal websites might give hiring news directors the impression that you are more about ego than content.
So… I ask you, is a personalized website innovative or egotistical?
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3 comments:
I'm not sure what your colleague meant by "one of those people". It's clear that you were a step ahead of the game, so kudos to you! Hey, I saw somewhere that you are from San Jose. My friends and family all wonder what high school you went to, as we're all from there! You do a great job at KCRA, and congrats on earning your seal!!
It has nothing to do with ego. If you website was brightsunshinenewsperson.com I would never remember it. JulieWatts.net is clean, easy, and simple to remember. People should worry about the content of the site and not something as superficial as the name! Keep it up!
Steve S.
I say it's neither innovative or egotistical. It's personalized! Your name is your brand; just like Old Navy, Reebok and Heinz, your brand comes with a reputation that people hold in mind.
Blogs that are run on websites like Blogger, LiveJournal and MySpace generally don't stand out as much as blogs that are run at, say, JulieWatts.net or RadioMatthew.com. The reason is because visitors associate the blog with the service its run on; in the case of Blogger, the association becomes with Google. With your own brand backing your website, you are saying to the world, "This is me and me alone, a reflection of who I am, and my own identity backs this 100%." It's a very powerful, sometimes intimidating, feeling.
In my case, RadioMatthew.com became such a powerful brand in Sacramento media that my own boss at KTXL didn't know my legal last name and was introducing me to our newsroom as "Radio Matthew." It wasn't until he looked at my application that he learned my last name! That goes to show how powerful a brand can be ;)
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