When you start thinking about developer branding,
you mostly arrive at similar questions.
"What should I do to brand myself as a developer?"
At first glance, it seems like a very normal question.
But this question,
is the question that makes many developers lose their way the fastest.
Because this question
leads us into the world of means from the beginning.
If the question is wrong,
All efforts go astray
The moment you ask the question,
answers like these come to mind.
- Should I write a blog?
- Should I use X (Twitter)?
- Should I create a thread?
- Should I do YouTube?
- Should I write better?
From this point on, branding
becomes not a matter of choice,
but a matter of consumption.
You choose a platform,
you choose a format,
you choose successful people,
and you follow their methods.
But strangely,
there is nothing left even if you work hard.
Why is that?
Common traits of people who fail at branding
When you look at developers who are not good at branding,
they have one common trait.
They only worry about
"How they appear"
and do not think about
"Why they should be remembered."
So they end up in this state.
- They write, but don't know why they write
- They share, but don't leave an impression of themselves
- They accumulate records, but their identity is not visible
This is not due to lack of execution,
but because
the starting line is set wrong.
Let's turn the question around 180 degrees
Now, let's change one question.
The original question was this.
"What should I do to brand myself as a developer?"
If you leave this question as it is,
only the means will change,
and you won't reach the essence.
So, let's change the question like this.
"Why should people remember me?"
This question is uncomfortable.
And that's why it's important.
This question
has no platform,
no format,
no correct answer.
Only you remain.
Changes brought by the question "Why should I be remembered?"
The moment you seriously hold onto this question,
the direction of your thoughts completely changes.
- What problems have I repeatedly encountered?
- How did I view those problems?
- What were the points where I thought differently from others?
- And what choices have I made as a result?
These questions
use the time you have already lived as material.
So, with this question,
there is no competition.
Even if there are many people using similar technologies,
the combination of problems you have faced
and the way you have interpreted those problems
is unique to you.
Branding is not an "additional task"
Many developers think like this.
"Branding is something
you do separately from your main job."
But this kind of thinking
makes branding the most difficult.
Branding
is not about adding something new.
It is closer to
giving meaning to what you have already done.
- The technologies you chose
- The features you gave up on
- The structures you went back to
- The attempts that failed
All of these
already contain your judgment and thinking.
Branding
is simply about
revealing that thinking.
So, let's go back to the question
Now, let's ask again.
"What should I do to brand myself as a developer?"
This question
still feels somewhat awkward.
The question you probably need right now
is closer to this.
"What kind of problems do I see
as a developer, and how do I view them?"
As you start to find answers to this question,
the platform naturally follows.
The format, frequency, style,
those are the next problems.
In the next post
In the next post,
we will push this question one step further.
"I am a ○○ developer."
I will talk about
why most developers
cannot finish this sentence,
and how to write it
to become a 'memorable definition.'
Branding
starts with being able to
honestly say this sentence to yourself.
Let's continue in the next post.