branding

Brands and Choice

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Ever go to the Supermarket and see huge varieties of some simple products?  Which do you buy?

Inevitably, we tend to go with a simple choice.  One we know; a brand we like.

One of the powers of brands is that with many choices, they narrow them for us quickly.

Brands help us make a choice – even if the choice is no.  A good branding expert accepts that, because the “yes” is so powerful.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Dismal Yahoo News Of The Day and The Power Of A Name

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The Layoffs have Started.  Meanwhile, Yahoo is countersuing.

Honestly, I can’t see any reason for Yahoo to continue as anything else.  Their refocusing doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, I don’t see a plan, and I can imagine they’ve annoyed the bejezus out of people with the lawsuit.  What’s left?

However I’d add this – even if Yahoo does have a plan, a winning strategy, something that will work, there’s one barrier that really is holding them back.

The name.

Yahoo used to be cool.  It used to be a big thing.  Then they slipped, and everyone else came in and, well . . . you know the rest.  Yahoo is now laying people off and suing other successful companies, and people are just feeling sort of angry/sorry for them.

The name Yahoo now means “failure” (and a rather drawn-out, lashing-out failure at that).  There’s little chance Yahoo can get over that.

So, oddly, I think Yahoo’s best chance, whatever their other plan, is to acquire/partner up with some others and form a newly-named business to get the hell away from their name.  That may be enough psychological boost – and a good branding exercise – to help good plans be realized.

That requires good plans, but even they will have to overcome the name problem . . .

– Steven Savage

(Oh, and I maintain my “only apply with the utmost caution to Yahoo” stance.)

 

Review: Personal Branding Blog

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Site: http://personalbrandingblog.com/

PROS: Covers a variety of personal branding issues, often with a sense of humor.  Has a useful "beginner" section in the "About" and a variety of resources.

CONS: Wide variety may limit usefulness.  Requires some time if you're not used to personal branding.  Blog does play a role in promotion of its members (as to be expected).  Blog is definitely focused on its subject – nothing extraneous here.

SUMMARY: A diverse resource for personal branding, worth at least temporarily putting into your newsfeed to see if you'll use it.

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