When I was about thirteen years old, my father gave me some advice.  I don’t remember what led up to it other than he and I were in the car returning home from an errand.  Since I have three siblings and Dad worked out of town, it was rare to get that one-on-one father/daughter time.  I’m sure his intention was to warn me against boys, but what I took from this advice was so much bigger.  He said, “You only get one reputation, and once you’ve ruined it, that’s it.”  Of course, that’s probably not a direct quote, but it’s pretty close.

At thirteen, I was an awkward, nerdy, tom-boy who took ballet.  Boys were not interested in me, so Dad had nothing to fear.  Still, the advice resonated and kept me out of trouble later in life.  It’s good to be concerned about how others perceive you to a degree.  Never let fear of ridicule keep you from doing the right thing, but you should consider your reputation before doing anything rash.

We’ve seen some pretty dramatic examples of this in the news recently, but you don’t have to be a politician with a funny name to be concerned that your actions online may have an adverse effect on your reputation.  Most web savvy people know that once you post something online it’s there forever, or at least a digital shadow of it remains even if deleted.  If you’re planning on inviting friends, coworkers, professional contacts or potential employers to follow you on twitter, friend you on facebook, or link with you on LinkedIn, then you should be sure that you post only what you would want them to see, or in the case of facebook, block them from seeing those party photos that might cause concern.  In fact, it’s really safe to assume that nothing posted online is truly private or secret with the ability to copy and paste available to everyone.

There’s even more to personal branding than just caution on the web.  You really have to walk the walk in your everyday life.  People can spot a fake from a mile away, and often they’ll tell the online world when they do.

So what is personal branding anyway?  A brand is defined in several ways.  For the purpose of this discussion, it is “a kind or variety of something distinguished by some distinctive characteristic.”  The idea of personal branding is relatively new and pertains to the fact that as a professional, you want to make a name for yourself by standing out in a good way.

Think about the brands you love: Coke, Gap, Apple, Sony, etc.  They stand out in a good way.  They represent a quality product in your mind.  You’ve developed an affinity for them and would choose them over competitors.  Personal branding takes that idea and applies it to one person: yourself.  Who you are and who you present yourself as to the world should be one in the same.  Any place your name appears online should honestly reflect you as a person.  Ideally.

In reality, we are all flawed because we are all human.  We are all unique and complex because we are all human.  What personal branding does is try to highlight our best aspects while ignoring or glossing over our worst.  Maybe instead we should use it to see ourselves in an objective, realistic light and challenge ourselves to become the people we are presenting ourselves to be.

Your personal brand = your reputation.  Live up to it and protect it, so you are able to promote it when necessary.

In my experience as both a communication professional and a meteorologist, I’ve learned that sometimes the most effective way of explaining a difficult concept is by using a good analogy.  (I once used a pizza to explain limited advertising inventory to TV sales people, and they got it.)

Recently, I sat down with Ryan Boyles of the State Climate Office of North Carolina to interview him for our “What’s Your Weather Job?” video feature.  After the interview, we chatted for a while about the difficult task of explaining meteorology and climatology in plain English.  One of the many issues addressed during the conversation was finding analogies to make it simple.

A prime example is using an ice skater’s movements to help explain vorticity.  However, there is not always an easily relatable reference for every topic.  Take climate change, for example.  The data points to the fact that the average global temperature is increasing.  Some will argue the extreme point of view that man is causing every bit of it.  Others will take the opposing extreme stance that we’re coming out of an ice age, so of course, we’re warming.  The general public is left to decide which side to bet on.  Many are tired of the arguments.  They just want to know what’s really happening.  They’re asking if all of the recent events involving tornadoes hitting heavily populated areas are due to man-made global warming.  They seem to expect a simple “yes” or “no” answer.  Right now, in all intellectual honesty, a simple answer is not possible.

However, a simple analogy to explain why the simple answer doesn’t exist might be possible.  So what analogy can we use?  It must be something with which most people can relate on some level.  The only thing I can think of is baking a cake from scratch.  Many ingredients go into a cake.  Altering the type or amount of any one can dramatically change the outcome and flavor of it.  A baker might experiment with different ingredients to find that perfect flavor or the amount of flour and eggs to get the perfect density.  Even time plays a role in the outcome.

So what if we used the cake analogy to try to explain the climate, or better yet, to explain how researchers are trying to create better models to more accurately predict the future of our climate?  The modelers are trying to find the right mix of ingredients that will lead to a realistic outcome.  They’re still working on the recipe.  Once developed, each recipe has to be tested and retested for consistency and flavor.

My analogy still needs some work.  Maybe you can think of a better one.  If so, please share in the comment space below or post in the forum.  All ideas are welcome.  As meteorologists and climatologists, we are all in this together.