Brand U

Pretty soon, we can show-and-tell in Meta verse, turning Self into Brand. From selling of a consumer category – industrial revolution with excess supplies- that bleeds into the selling of a Congressional candidate (red vs blue tie) to self-branding both professional and personal (Hollywood casting call automated as “What’s on your mind” on fb).

The branding of the self in everyday life, more possible than ever. Bandwidth-> brand U.

What are we for and from? Most importantly, where are we heading.

The 80’s motto used to be “he who dies with the most toys wins” (Greed is Good).

Now, it’s how many eulogies and likes – are you gone viral? How do we differentiate ourselves on and offline from other “Kim’s” (or else, they put us in the wrong casket).

We’re born with a distinct fingerprint yet leave behind digital footprint. Searchable and page-ranked like a Google key word search or “above the fold” (to use an old print expression).

Life evolves in tandem with technology. Excess capacity now makes possible and masked off as “free”, a U from those expensive campaign and contest between JFK and Nixon, the latter being perceived as not trustworthy (shifty eyes and sweaty), the former telegenic. Candidates used to crisscross the country on bus, eat sandwiches on the run, while media folks camped out on front lawn for days to catch a few-seconds soundbite.

Last month, we’re treated to J6 committee video reports. Polls show viewers either change mind, double down (a few jailed). Those raw “reels” shown to us (the beating, punching, going medieval etc…) were emotionally arousing.

It’s as if we relived the moment, of mob shoving and law enforcement feared for their safety (by the Secret Service themselves).

In short, it’s movies. Life as film. Story on a Metaverse near you.

Lean back. See and show (used to be a slideshow on carousel) in your own AMC’s. What our kids have known for years, now it’s our turn: you ‘ve got to get with the program. Go beyond pure selfies just stop short of 24/7 v-blog, since a picture is worth a thousand words, and film clips keep your narrative flow in time lapses (one can always tell an old movie by the look of car and phone make and model of that period).

When I first started in media in the late 70’s, I was surprised that the US did not have MTV (music on radio only, while prime time was for All in the Family). Turns out, new releases were prioritized e.g. live concerts sold exclusively via Ticket Master to promote vinyl sales.

Now, with YouTube, all bets are off. Even the best of Rock and Roll generation are scrambling to re-brand. The long tail. The residual. The one-dollar song that Steve Jobs helped re-coup as IP rights violated by MP3 (now we all “Skip Ads”).

You and I will either do it poorly or semi-professionally. But it’s inevitable. Unavoidable at the expense of our privacy. The line (public vs private) will be blurred. It will not stop. No one wants to put the Genie back in the bottle.

In the future, we’re all famous for fifteen minutes, like Campbell soup , per Warhol.

Once a message in the bottle. Now, it’s the reel that captures and show how Genie comes out, even her breathing and bathing. Law enforcement doesn’t need to sift through evidence. It’s there in living color, willingly and voluntarily self-implicating. Part of transparency and price to pay for “free” self-branding.

Gotta make an U turn in how we operate. It’s no longer the 60’s. And it’s not just for Presidential debate, with Fairness Doctrine and Equal Time (rebuttal). Now, it’s a reel here, a reel there. Some clips and soundbites…to be sifted through that nudge the flow of self-narrative along. Present continuous.

Perhaps Google should coin a new term for page-ranking, since it’s no longer a static web page (1.0). Even Web 2.0 now an intermediary, prepping us for media-verse: anytime and “above the fold”.