I came across a post on a website or an Orange County tech support firm called Defining You, in which they talk about the importance of establishing your identity online. I think I want to take their article one step further though. They talk about the importance of getting a domain name that reflects who you are and your brand but nowadays that’s not enough.

The reason is the rise of social networks. It’s not just enough to get your domain name, but you also need to stake your claim on most of the well known social properties out there. Networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all have thousands of people passing through every day and your name may ring a bell for them.

You also need to do this to avoid someone trying to take advantage of your name and leveraging your brand capital. Having a corproate account means you cannot take advantage of something like your driving license or social security disability details to prove who you are; your brand name says it all; and if someone has camped on it, it can be rather hard to pry them off.

So keep an eye on where people are hanging out and make sure you have a presence in those spaces. You never know when it may be important.