Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future

by Dan Schawbel

"Me 2.0" shows job seekers and established professionals alike how to leverage the power of online media for personal empowerment and career success.

There is no job security anymore, which means that the way we manage our careers has forever changed. Now everyone in the world is your competition, and the single greatest differentiator you have is your personal brand. With social media tools, blogs, and mobile applications, there are endless opportunities to become known and connect with other people.

In "Me 2.0" personal branding expert Dan Schawbel gives you all the tools you need for building a powerful personal brand that will give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace, including a four-step process for discovering, creating, communicating, and maintaining your personal brand; how to use all the latest social media tools, including video, blogs, and social networks for job search and career development; the secrets to networking effectively both online and offline; proven branding advice from industry experts and insiders.

Whether you re looking for your first big job, want to climb the corporate ladder, or are eager to jump-start your own business venture, "Me 2.0" will help you achieve lasting success!

What s new in the revised edition of Me 2.0" New case studies from people of all generations on how they ve used social media to become well-known brands A new chapter on how to use the top social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, for job searching, with real success stories New insight on how to turn your passion into a business through the personal branding process New tools you can use to network professionally and grow your presence, including Google Buzz, mobile branding, and location-based social networking New research, examples, and more resources that will support your online brand campaign

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Social Media, Productivity, Professional Development

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2009

About the author

Dan Schawbel is a New York Times bestselling author and the Founder of Millennial Branding. He is the bestselling author of three career books: Back to Human, Promote Yourself and Me 2.0. His new book, Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation, is a Washington Post bestseller and was selected by The Financial Times as the book of the month. Through his companies, he’s conducted dozens of research studies and worked with major brands including American Express, GE, Microsoft, Virgin, IBM, Coca Cola and Oracle. Dan has interviewed over 2,000 of the world’s most successful people, including Warren Buffett, Anthony Bourdain, Jessica Alba, will.i.am, Michael Bloomberg, Chelsea Handler, Colin Powell, Sheryl Sandberg, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is the host of “5 Questions with Dan Schawbel”, a podcast where he interviews a variety of world-class humans by asking them 5 questions in less than 15 minutes. In addition, he has written countless articles for Forbes, Fortune, TIME, The Economist, Quartz, The World Economic Forum, The Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, and others that have combined generated over 15 million views. Considered “one of today’s more dynamic young entrepreneurs” by Inc. Magazine, Schawbel has been profiled or quoted in over 2,000 media outlets, such as NBC’s “The Today Show” and “Nightly News”, Fox News’s “Fox & Friends”, MSNBC’s “Your Business,” The Steve Harvey Show, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, Wired Magazine, GQ, The Economist, and NPR. He has been recognized on several lists including Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30”, Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30”, Business Insider’s “40 Under 40”, BusinessWeek’s “20 Entrepreneurs You Should Follow,” and as one of Workforce Magazine’s “Game Changers”. Schawbel is a featured expert in the upcoming documentary “The Revolution Generation”, which is directed by Josh Tickell and narrated by actress Michelle Rodriguez.

Reviews

[Lars-Christian Elvenes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Me 2.0 since Dan Schwabel is considered something of a guru in the area of personal branding, and working with career development this is important.

Me 2.0 mainly covers your online presence. How do you use a blog, facebook, linkedin, twitter, as well as your own website to portray a well thought through image of yourself to the world. Personally I believe social media will keep growing, and with it it’s importance and impact, so having this knowledge I believe will serve you well. Dan Schwabel also focuses quite a bit on the importance of registering your own name online, if for no other reason than to make sure that whatever comes online with your name, is under your control as much as possible.

Scwabel also presents some ideas on how to plan and stratgize when building your personal brand. I didn’t find these parts too useful. It felt a bit ”self-help light”, providing ideas that you probably have heard of anyway. Given that I have an interest in web 2.0 and social media already, the book didn’t have a lot of novel information. For me personally, I would give Me 2.0 no more than 3 stars. I you’re new to the idea of personal branding, and how to go about doing it, I would rate it closer to a 4.

[Christine Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I'm a little late to the game with this book. It is a little dated. I bet this would have been a great book back when it was published. But now most of these ideas are readily available with a simple Google search on how to brand yourself or how to find a job. This book is definitely geared towards college students and/or recent grads who are looking for their first job. Many of these ideas are still very relevant, but some are a little antiquated and no longer good practices. In my opinion, this book has run its course and it's probably better to find something a little more recent or just read some articles on the internet to understand the newest web tools to promote yourself and your brand.

[Bernadette Gatsby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn't a guide to achieve "Me 2.0". It is more about how job searching works today disguised as a "personal branding toolkit".

Me 2.0 goes over the following:
What is Personal Branding (defined)
The Gen Y Workforce
Resume / Portfolio
Interview Questions
A Website- What info should be on your website
Posting on your blog
How to Find a Job Using LinkedIn
How to Find a Job Using Twitter
How to Find a Job Using Facebook
Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
Offline Brand

[Gianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a first-time entrepreneur who launched my own business in February, I was very eager to read this book. Being that my background is in marketing, and I founded a digital and social media marketing company, some parts of the book were a bit redundant and seemed to target recent graduates. That said, there were still a LOT of great messages and pieces of advice that I'm excited to incorporate into my personal/professional brand.

[Anupriya Mishra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here I finish my second book for #2020 .
Why I picked this book? I wanted to learn more about personal branding, brand proposition and building brand value. However, this book was not as per my expectations as I’m a branding professional myself and perhaps had higher expectations.
.
I would rather recommend this book to someone who doesn’t know anything about branding and wants to learn about establishing himself or herself in the marketing arena. This book is also for those who want to learn about different aspects and platforms related to digital marketing and brand building like the social media platforms (covers something as basic as creating profiles), buying a domain for a website, writing content and articles, SEO basics, and more.
.
Well, my search for the right branding book continues, while you can choose to read this book or gift it to someone who’d wish to learn the basics of brand building.

[Mohamed osama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me 2.0 offers some solid foundational advice on personal branding, making it a decent starting point for anyone new to the concept. However, as of 2024, some of the content feels a bit outdated, especially the heavy emphasis on blogging as a primary tool for building your brand. While the book does briefly mention podcasting and video content, these sections are quite short and only provide a small highlight of their potential. The principles discussed can certainly be applied to these newer forms of content, which are increasingly important in today's digital landscape. Overall, it's a good introduction, but you'll need to supplement it with more current resources to fully develop your personal brand and leverage the latest content platforms effectively.

[Alejandro · Rating 2 out of 5]

En general, el libro se sintió como una herramienta más del autor para vender su propia marca personal, lo cual es respetable desde todo lo que propone, pero en mi opinión no resulta útil para el lector. Esto se nota especialmente en el último capítulo.
Los primeros capítulos del libro me resultaron lentos y sin mucha utilidad.
Pude rescatar algunos conceptos interesantes del libro, los cuales anoté y trataré de usar.
Sin embargo, gran parte del libro (al menos la edición que leí yo) hacía referencia a algunas tecnologías desactualizadas, e incluso redes sociales que ya no existen (Google Buzz).

[Helen Pakhomov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reading this book with a career development professional lense. It was an easy read, very inspirational and had some practical advice. Written in a style that is motivating and inspiring, I think it will be a book I could recommend to anyone who is looking for career direction advice. One thing worth mentioning is that the book was written over 10 years ago and so a lot of tech reference needs to be taken at the right time value. Otherwise good read.

[Jeffrey Toves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, great book to read. It is the reason I have made some smart decisions on the web. The things I might have done wrong were negated in light of these small doses of reality about the social webosphere. It covers all the terminology of business leadership, and it goes into depth on branding and social media. Good stuff.

Jeff (Author of Modicum).

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book despite being out of college for 1+ years now. I found myself giggling or smirking in a few of the sections because of how relatable it can get. Like his other book, "Promote Yourself," it was motivating and helped strengthen my foundation for my next steps in what I have to do for myself.

[Axmed Bahjad]

It is about promoting yourself.

There aren't new ideas. The author repeats all the advices online in one book.

[Ruzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

At this point, the book reads as if it were written by a college sophomore named Captain Obvious. If you know anything about the internet and social media now, you probably won't learn anything here. When there IS a subject you could use real insight on, the book offers only vague, generalized cliches and stops there. Why? Well, he doesn't really have the depth of experience yet to be able to give actual advice. Can't really get around this occupational hazard of the self-styled whiz kid.

This book is an example of the recently popular seepage of hastily produced, self-congratulatory positioning pablum by privileged young internet expert wannabes.

Find something more substantial.

[Vasilena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me 2.0 provides an excellent skeleton to your personal marketing plan and job hunt. However, I'd ask readers to try and customize this as much as possible as they are reading. A lot of the techniques offered are great for people in the digital or creative industries, however not entirely applicable to careers in more traditional industries.

Personal pet peeve: the tone is very male and in general I felt that the book was very male-oriented, with little consideration as to the female aspect. Don't get me wrong - the author is not derogatory to women in any way! however I feel like he spoke to men mostly, not in terms of specific advice but just in matter of tone.

[Mihran Kalaydjian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Schawbel is the publisher of “Personal Branding Magazine.” When you take his suggestion and type “Dan Schawbel” into Google you’ll see that he practices what he preaches. His award-winning “Personal Branding Blog” comes up first. And my favorite section of the blog is his tab called “Quote Me” where he lists some of his favorite things to say like “Be the real you because everyone else is taken and replicas don’t sell for as much.”

That quote alone should inspire you to take your personal branding and online reputation very seriously.

Just because you’re taking personal branding seriously doesn’t mean you have to make it hard — Me 2.0 makes personal branding easy.

[Rick Thomchick · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be fair, I am not the target audience for this book (18-22 year old Gen Y job seeker with a limited vocabulary). But no, I did not particularly enjoy this book, although I did LMAO at the author's perspective on Gen Xers (in essence, labeling them as well-connected luddites with deep pockets).

All in all, not a bad job-hunting primer for young adults (primarily female, as suggested by the book's cover) and a "polite" counterweight to the Tyler-Durden approach that Scott Gerber takes in "Never Get a Real Job."

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

The word 'dreck' comes to mind. Self-serving, superficial, cliche, and full of the sleazy 'business for business' sake' slimey attitude that turns the stomachs of people like me. This book uses cliches, obvious and well-circulated info ("dress up for job interviews!" "If you get a reputation for being messy, instead be neat all the time!"), and circular logic, combined with a seemingly willful obfuscation of The Point, to craft a love letter to corporatism and the author's own devotion to it. There are a lot of good books on marketing and branding. This one did not impress me.

[Bjorn Hardarson · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I am very interested in personal branding on line. As I have read so many books on so many subject there was not much new in it, but still it is a very good book on a very interesting subject. I am though still looking for the focused book on on line personal branding and some of the sides of it all books a read lack. Maybe I need to just write it :), but recommend it for everyone building up there personal brand and career online and offline

[Kyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first sections of the book discuss the power of a blog in reaching out to large social networks. Time is spent explaining what LinkedIn is and basically this book is for someone who does not know anything about Web 2.0 or social media. Although, it did end with some good organizational points. There are checklists for ensuring you maximize your online potential. Tips for creating and maintaining an effective and consistent personal brand (online and in person).

[Mary Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Your personal brand is becoming infinately important with social networks replacing PR and advertising. And if you get a chance, definately read Jonathan Fields' interview with author Dan Schawbel about his new book, Me 2.0.

http://www.careerrenegade.com/a-conve...

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reasonably coherent, decent content... very much in-the-moment. I took a few ideas away from it all, and only found myself rolling my eyes a few times, so (kind of like a QB's touchdown/interception ratio) I'd say it was an overall win. Good for those just starting out in the professional world, or those for whom the whole Web 2.0/social media thing is a complete mystery.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I was a little younger, I probably would have given this more stars. It is squarely aimed at the recent college graduate, and while I enjoy thinking of myself that way, in reality I am not. Some of the advice, methods, and tools are applicable to developing a personal brand at any age, however, and I will be instituting some if it ASAP (or already have). A good personal branding primer.

[Mindful Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Best part? I zipped through it in about an hour this morning. Proclaimed target audience? College grads and newbies to the work force. Actual target audience? Freshmen and Sophomores. In high school. Great self-promotion material for Dan Schawbel, though, and that is a great lesson in and of itself.

[Humberto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good information covering the basics to generate and understand the on-line personal branding. I agree with other reviewers about the need to get an updated view of the topic from other sources, as the new social and technological trends during the last years have changed the context. Anyway there is value on the main concepts discussed.

[Mark Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. A bit annoying because of it slant toward recent college grads, and a bit annoying because marketing oneself is not something that appeals to me at all. But because of a need I perceive for doing this more at my job, and because of the need I will have if I try to establish a second career, I decided I should read this.

[Chris Armer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems that with personal branding books that if you've read one then you've read them all. I didn't feel like the book offered any really new information that would make a book worthwhile. However, if this book is someone's first exposure to the topic of personal branding then I think they might appreciate the content a little more.

[Jorge Criado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro interesante, con buenos consejos. Sin embargo, adolece de lo mismo que tantos otros libros similares: lenguaje exageradamente positivo, como si tan sólo hiciera falta proponérselo para lograr cualquier objetivo. Coincido en que es importante ser positivo, pero sabiendo que la posibilidad de fracasar también está ahí.

[Barnabas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book and how to guide on Social media, but I did not find too much news here.
I believe that this area is moving so fast that even 7 yrs - since the book written, changed a lot of things on these platforms. Probably a new revision would be more interesting and applicable than the one I have read.

[Yutaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

ざっと読み。パーソナルブランディングの本。多数の中から自分を認識/評価してもらうためには、「人とは違う自分」を「意識的に」形作る必要がある（それは時分を誇張するという意味ではなく、自分のイメージを正確に伝える（管理する）といった意味合い）。現代はfacebookやlinkedin,twitter,blogなど自己を表現する媒体があり、個人をPRする手段がたくさんあるから活用していこう的な。

自分のイメージをより分かりやすく伝える、ということ。知らない人に自分を知ってもらうにはそれは大事。フリーエージェント化していく社会には個人のブランディングは必要なのかもしれない。

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

from NPR booklist

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hitting yourself in the face with this book would be more fun than reading it.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2P2YKEM...