Page 17 - Seniorstoday November 2022 Issue

concept to most and relevance till the final the baker’s dozen soon ) touching upon
adieu is the new mantra. Why not?
The other day I came across a person
posting a pic of himself with Marc
Zuckerberg eulogising Meta, from where
he had been recently laid off, literally
seeking job from anyone who is on
LinkedIn. A similar post popped up today
morning. What is refreshing is that there
is no stigma or depression about being laid
off, but using the opportunity to brand
oneself with relevance and seeking a
job. It is a classic case of ‘spray and pray’
where you do multiple things to meet an
objective, like getting a job or clients or
funding or name and fame or whatever,
hoping that you will strike pay dirt
somewhere.
In this context it would be fertile to
imagine the descriptors that may be
used by Albert Einstein or Ramanujan
or Aryabhata or Leonardo da Vinci or
Mahatma Gandhi or so many others over
eons – people of metier and impact who
have left an indelible mark with their
scientific or mathematical or life changing
discovery or transformational forte and
force.
In a commonly understood parlance,
brand is a product with an enduring
characteristic, differentiator and a
value proposition that attracts and
retains consumers. In a crowded and
commoditised and competitive world, it is
the brand recall that ensures a continuing
demand. It is not just about products alone;
it is about people as well in the current
world of a universalised net and web.
The other day I was at a book launch
(the author is a close friend and a prolific
writer on brands, who recently published
his 11th book titled “All The World’s A
Stage” – am sure he is going to redefine
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #41 | NOVEMBER 2022
the importance of personal branding and
limitless potential and opportunities
in the world stage of social media like
LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
The essential take away is that personal
branding or networking is not bad or
negative but increasingly essential for
anyone who wishes to be in any active
profession or business or employment
or who wishes to be an influencer. It is
all about connecting the dots and staying
connected to get to your goals. While the
book is relevant and good in today’s times,
it is unidimensional in its approach and
does not touch upon the psychological or
behavioural aspects of humans, which
would have made it far more interesting.
While everyone has something or the
other to say or will have an opinion on
everything under the sun, it will always
be relative and hierarchical. The relevance
cannot be merely based on impressions
or likes or shares or whatever, given that
it has become a social grace of sort to like
posts or share posts or when driven by
bots and managed posts. Realistically,
relevance or influence of a post by most
will be relative and limited to family or
friends or close circles/professional circles.
The possible exceptions could be the posts
by leaders of a country like our own PM or
other public persona with a fan following.
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