The title is the name of Guy Kawasaki’s blog, which roughly translates as “sign(s) without sound”; I’m thinking he’s walking in the shadow of Macbeth. I was initially drawn by his tagline: Blogger. n. Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do. Then I got caught by The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog.

This page is relevant to conversations I’ve had with Patricia lately- what’s the purpose of blogging? I’m mostly having fun; for her, it would be more business-oriented.

I landed on Guy’s blog from Kare Anderson’s Say It Better newsletter, a lightweight monthly email with business behavior and interaction tidbits that keep me fluent with business jargon.

Guy’s pages lead to Rajesh Setty’s site http://www.lifebeyondcode.com/, and his eBook on personal branding. It’s also lightweight, maybe a couple dozen pages of real content, but has ideas, references, and his own personal branding story.

My own personal brand, or lack thereof, has completely not worked in San Francisco. It’s been fascinating to watch people’s eyes instantly glaze over when I describe myself as an engineering manager (or Director, or whatever). I sorta think of Barking Cats as a brand, but it’s really more a channel. This year off, in one sense, is a rebranding exercise for me, both coming up with an updated brand and identity, and learning how to present it clearly.

(For the record, this entry took about an hour.)