Dec 29

The Social Media Branding Revolution

Personal Branding, Social Media No Comments »

A year ago, I was completely “anti-social media”.  Yes, I am willing to openly admit to that shortcoming.  Sure, I frequented a forum or two on various interests—anonymously—not willing to contribute.  However, my reasons were strictly based on watching “To Catch a Predator” on Dateline NBC, having teenage children, and online personal sites.   You see, I had only really looked at the bad side of social media.  Of course, EVERYTHING nowadays can be exploited for bad but when you have children, the natural parental instinct goes into effect (even if you are technically savvy with capabilities to block sites from your children).  Not only that, but I associated social media as a way and means for people to “hook up” sort of like match.com or some other type of online personals.  Therefore, with these two factors added to my already pigeon-holed perception of any type of information technology outside of Information Security, I was completely stymied!

Social media is so important to establishing yourself.  I’m willing to go so far as to say that it is absolutely necessary for you to use social media as a means of personal branding.  It goes so much further than your resume, the “About Us” section to your website, or a cover letter.  I like to compare it to three-dimensionality—you see and learn more about me AND my knowledge set from various perspectives.  No one should proclaim to know it all.  Yes, we have our niches and our expertise areas.  However, social media isn’t just about claiming your expertise.  It’s about putting YOUR own spin and flavor to your niche, expertise, and what you know.

This is definitely old news to a lot of the social media and personal branding experts out there now.  But for those of us who have finally caught wind of this form of expression, it is by far a whole new exciting world!  The one thing I can say is that it truly matters to be personable and just being yourself.  I will finish out this post with a tweet I had posted earlier today,

“Personal branding is simple:  It’s you instinctively!  Your personal brand is instinctively YOU!”

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Dec 20

Branding: Don’t Compromise Who You Are!

Personal Branding, Social Media No Comments »

This is near and dear to my heart!  This morning, I was reading an article by Heather Huhman called, “5 Rules for Maintaining Your Brand Once You Have the Job”. Step number 5 states:  Don’t compromise your brand for your new employer.  This isn’t a jab at employers by any means.  But it is about not forsaking who you are and forgetting what you originally brought to the table at your place of employment.

To talk about my own personal experiences, I’ve been in this situation, unfortunately.  I’ve been so absorbed into a job where I have completely forgot who I was.  I became adaptable to the corporate culture and other tasks not associated with my brand and lost myself, thus, becoming ineffective.  It’s almost like a deep sleep!

With the new age of social media, I think that it is easier to stay who you are.   You stay accountable.   In fact, you are highly unlikely to veer away from your brand because your reputation is at stake—your brand is at stake.  For example, as I blog about who I am and what I know, I am establishing ME!  The corporations, businesses, consultants, and people that I work with now and in the future will want my skill set for ME!

It is possible to be loyal to your employer; however, it’s even more important to not lose yourself.  Losing yourself spells out compromise for you and your brand.  This compromise will then cause your credibility to be questionable.

Don’t lose who you are!  Don’t compromise yourself!  Be unique, yourself, and maintain your brand!

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Dec 19

Google Chrome OS: Will it become the next Microsoft Windows?

Technology 6 Comments »

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Google stating that Google Chrome for Mac was available in beta for Mac OS X.  I recently installed it on my Mac and have been using it in the place of Safari for a day or so.  Thankfully, upon installation, it imported my bookmarks and browsing history from Safari.   My reason for installing the browser stemmed from my research on the up and coming Google Chrome OS. This new OS seems to be following the web 2.0 technology progression.  Will this OS be the new Windows?

Ben Parr of Mashable pointed out the 5 main differences of the OS compared to other OS such as Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

  1. The browser is the OS.
  2. It’s designed to fix itself.
  3. All apps are web apps, no installations.
  4. Chrome OS doesn’t support drivers and will not run on your laptop.
  5. Super-fast startup speeds.

Security!

Finally!  For once an OS is being developed from the ground up with security on the forefront!  Google has released an overview of security in its Chromium Projects that summarizes in great detail the efforts they are taking to secure the OS.  They even have a System Hardening document that “lays out a technical vision for making Chromium OS-based systems difficult for remote attackers to compromise using various system-level mechanisms.”

However, the one security issue that the new OS contains is its single sign on (SSO) login.   Everything that’s done on a Chrome OS netbook is based on the user/password concept.  The SSO key unlocks all information stored in the Google cloud.  Therefore, a bad password choice = major security compromise to ALL stored information.  Not good.

The Next Windows?!

So, could Google Chrome OS become the next Windows?  It’s definitely possible but I think it may be highly unlikely.  People generally stay close to what they are familiar with.  Microsoft Windows has been around for quite some time.  Let’s face it; most non-technical folks were “raised” on this OS.  They are familiar with it and all of its nuances, updates, and vulnerabilities.  Techies that are into emerging technologies will find Chrome to be prominently relevant to the web 2.0 era.  New start-up companies along with companies that are into their bottom line will also want to know what the Google Chrome OS netbook is all about.  Most appealing is that Chrome OS will only be shipped on specific hardware from manufacturers Google has partnered with.  That means if you want Chrome OS, you’ll have to purchase a Chrome OS device. According to web chatter, Google Chrome OS will not be released until around this time next year.  The first Chrome OS netbooks will be available in late 2010. I am anxious to see how it all unfolds.  I belief that because the price for a netbook is anywhere between $300 and $500–the going rate of today’s netbooks –the Google Chrome OS netbook will be a large success.

I will certainly be following the developments as they transpire….

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Dec 17

Who is Jeri Brown?

Motivation, Personal Branding, Social Media, Technology 2 Comments »

Who am I?  Well, that’s a good question!  As I have been struggling as to what my first blog post would be about, I thought the best idea would be an intriguing introduction so that you are able to get to know me.

I’ve always disliked the saying statement at job interviews, “So, tell me a little bit about yourself.”  I never know where to start.  Obviously, the requester wants to know about my professional experience so I will start there.  I’ve been consumed in the information technology world for quite some time.  Believe it or not, my first appeal to computers was back in middle school when I signed up for an after school program on beginner’s programming.  Back then, our task was to create a functional computer game using the BASIC language.  I even remember the name of my game:  Ranger Bob.  I chose Bob because it was easy to program the B-O-B visually!

Some 15 years after that, I became captivated with Microsoft Windows.  I think it was Microsoft 2.0 where it ran on top of DOS.  As crazy as it may sound, I used to like to hand-draw cartoons in Microsoft Paint—by freehand using only a mouse.  I was very good at it and would take comic strips from the newspaper, bring it to my summer job, and spend the day “drawing” between doing menial admin work.  I was working in an IT office and became so curious and intrigued that I went back to school the following semester and changed my major to Computer Science.

It went uphill quite fast for a while after that.  I love to learn and information technology was second nature to me.  So I quickly went from working in a helpdesk to system and network administration and right into information security.  For a while I continued to grasp everything that came my way but these past 4 years, I’ve been in a deep “sleep”.  Sure, I became a CISSP just about 5 years ago, wrote a number of security policies, and performed a large number of challenging C&A tasks.  But what’s next?   I have achieved information assurance expertise but I did so with blinders on unaware of the current technological trends and slowly rotting with menial information security “challenges” which to me, no longer embodies the true essence of information security.

Now I am awake!!  And ready to move at top speed to the technological developments ahead.  With my new consciousness, I have shaken the title Senior Information Security Analyst and have adopted the self-proclaimed title of Technology Strategist.  Sure, the information security analyst is my day job but not what I am all about.  I just no longer want to be boxed into the information assurance/C&A “genre”.

I decided to start a blog for a few reasons:

1.  Discuss my ideas and opinions on various emerging technology trends.

I have become fascinated with Web 2.0 technology.  I feel that it has opened my eyes and has me feeling the same passion I felt when I first discovered BASIC programming some 25+ years ago.  Because I’ve been emerged in the world of certification and accreditation (C&A) for the past 7 years, I’ve been blind to its emergence and popularity.  Where have I been?!  Now that I’m enlightened (and awake), I see that there is absolutely no reason why the various platforms of social media shouldn’t be used in our everyday lives to include business.  Look at twitter and facebook.  Need I say more?

2.  Discuss information security and how I see it in the workplace.

Information Security is my forte so to speak.  I’ve been particularly submerged in information assurance and certification and accreditation.  And, not to toot my own horn, but I know my stuff.  Lately, I’ve become aggravated at being hired on as an expert with my experience and background only to be told “that’s not the way we do it here” or “do it this way”.  Why’d you hire me then if you know I bring fresh ideas, experience, and crave challenge??!!  I bring to the table insightful ideas, and yes, I play by the book when it comes to security.  If the directive says, “a, b, and c”, then, by golly, “a, b, and c” it is!  To me, it’s not rocket science.  It’s just playing by the rules.  That is what ENFORCING information security is all about—not seeing what you can get away with!  Excuse my mini-rant.  :)

I so long to be an effective, insightful information security contributor … sigh…

3.  Conquering the “web frontier”.

I feel that our society is headed more and more onto the web front.  There are a number of emerging technology trends that are making their way onto the forefront of optimal and affordable business practices.  One topic that has recently make its way to my knowledge base is cloud computing.  With Microsoft’s upcoming release of Azure, I can only see this technology being the new wave of the future.  Yes, the technology has been around but it’s a trend that I am sure many businesses will be leveraging.  I look forward to exploring this technology as well as others that are out there.

4.  Discussion and interaction.

I want to interact and discuss with my peers on what is going on in technology.  Information security, new technology trends, or anything else, I want to hear and discuss it.  Learning comes through discussions.  Sadly, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been afforded the opportunity of stimulating, intellectual conversation about technology topics with my peers.  I believe that everyone is able to add something valuable that will shape and enlighten the topic of discussion.

5.  Social media is where it’s at!

Upon waking up out of my deep non-technological slumber, social media is where it is at!  I cannot say that enough.  Wikipedia couldn’t have said it better when it states that:

“It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”

How awesome is that!!!  So with my ever-expanding knowledge, I plan to use social media to its fullest.  I know it hasn’t been around very long but I feel as though I have a learning curve which spells a challenge to me.  I thrive off of challenging situations when it comes to learning and solving problems so this is all right up my alley!

I hope my rants, raves, and requests for interaction will be profitable for anyone who decides to subscribe.  Learning definitely comes from sharing experiences and I certainly have a large number experiences that I would love to share as well as learn from your experiences.  My plan and my goal with this blog is to leverage information technology and information security by teaching, learning, sharing, solving, and enlightenment.

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