I have read a lot of articles and watched a lot of videos in which futurists and Web3 enthusiasts alike talk about a future in which "working" — as we know it today — will radically change... often in the direction of each of us simply being "our own business," rather than employees of an actual company who pays our wages.

In a sense, we will all become "our own brand" with our own micro-niches of expertise, within something that looks like a giant gig economy.

But how do we build a brand? What does that even look like?

Is that really what is going to happen? I don't know! My crystal ball has long has a crack in it...

People like to say that — at least in an IDEAL world — this would level the playing field for people, but would it really?

Strikes me that there will always be those who have massive amounts of resources and influence to build their personal brand, and a whole lot of us that don't.

I can set up and try to build "Brand Curator Cat" to my heart's content — well, I already AM, in a roundabout sort of way! — but can I make myself seen against someone who has $100,000 sitting around to throw at a slick marketing campaign to make themselves a household concept?

I do think that in this context it will become really important to have a very clear idea of who you are, and precisely what you have to offer.

A long time ago, I was taught that one of the best things you can do for yourself is become so good at one specific task that people will seek you out to do it. Because you're just that good.

But how will that manifest in a world of AI? A world in which oftentimes people will be replaced by machine learning?

Recently, I sat in on a panel discussion of writers and editors, and one of the interesting things I learned is that in the publishing field, few things will get you "blacklisted" faster than an editor discovering that a manuscript was generated wholly — or even in part — by generative AI.

In the subsequent discussion, someone else pointed out that since AI is based on whatever information it can glean from all sources, all AI is basically plagiarism. That is, it will invariably include large chunks of copyrighted information.

Ironically, several of the publishers represented admitted that they were actually using AI to detect AI in manuscript submissions!

So how can we build an honest personal brand, without getting lost in the ocean of information created by the more sketchy corners of the web and its users?

No clear cut answers there, so I guess we'll just continue to post cat photos and write assorted commentary about the strangeness of life! It might not be the most relevant or functional brand on the planet, but at least it's something we can consistently follow!

Till the next one... Feel free to leave a comment — this IS "social" media, after all!