Space Summary
The Twitter Space AIP 101: Personal Brand Building hosted by opencampus_xyz. The AIP 101: Personal Brand Building Twitter space provided insightful discussions on strategies to enhance personal branding, emphasizing authenticity, community engagement, storytelling, and leveraging educational platforms. Through collaborations, consistency, and the strategic use of digital tools, individuals can optimize their brand growth. Diversifying content formats, measuring brand metrics, and defining unique value propositions were highlighted as essential steps for establishing a strong online presence. The space catered to those seeking to build a robust personal brand in the ever-evolving digital landscape, showcasing the power of community-driven education initiatives in the journey of decentralized campus creation.
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Questions
Q: How does authenticity contribute to successful personal branding?
A: Authenticity builds credibility, trust, and fosters genuine connections with the audience.
Q: Why is community engagement important in personal brand building?
A: Engaging with communities enhances brand visibility, loyalty, and can lead to valuable collaborations.
Q: What role do storytelling and transparency play in personal branding?
A: Storytelling and transparency create emotional connections, build trust, and differentiate brands in a crowded market.
Q: How can individuals leverage educational platforms like TinyTapEDU for branding?
A: Educational platforms offer opportunities to share knowledge, engage with communities, and establish authority in specific niches.
Q: Why is measuring brand metrics crucial for brand growth?
A: Tracking metrics provides insights into audience behavior, helps refine strategies, and ensures continuous brand improvement.
Q: How can collaborations with other brands enhance personal brand reach?
A: Collaborations can introduce brands to new audiences, add credibility, and foster innovation through creative partnerships.
Q: What are the benefits of diversifying content formats in personal branding?
A: Diversification helps cater to diverse audience preferences, boosts engagement, and expands brand visibility across various platforms.
Q: How can digital tools aid in enhancing personal branding efforts?
A: Digital tools offer automation, analytics insights, and enable efficient content creation and distribution, optimizing brand growth.
Q: Why is consistency crucial in maintaining a strong personal brand?
A: Consistency reinforces brand identity, builds recognition, and instills trust and reliability in the audience.
Q: How can social media platforms be effectively utilized for personal brand promotion?
A: Strategic use of social media platforms allows for targeted audience engagement, content dissemination, and brand storytelling, driving brand awareness.
Q: What strategies can individuals adopt to define a unique value proposition for their personal brand?
A: Clarifying unique strengths, values, and positioning in the market helps create a distinct brand identity and attracts a loyal audience seeking specific offerings.
Highlights
Time: 00:07:42
The Power of Authenticity in Branding Exploring how authenticity builds trust and connection with the audience.
Time: 00:15:20
Community Engagement Strategies for Brand Visibility Discussing the impact of engaging with communities on brand recognition and loyalty.
Time: 00:23:55
Utilizing Educational Platforms for Brand Authority Insights on leveraging educational platforms like TinyTapEDU to establish expertise and credibility.
Time: 00:32:18
The Role of Storytelling in Personal Brand Differentiation Examining how storytelling sets brands apart and resonates with audiences.
Time: 00:40:57
Collaborative Branding for Wider Reach Benefits of collaborations in expanding brand reach and generating innovative brand campaigns.
Time: 00:48:30
Measuring Brand Success Through Metrics Importance of tracking and analyzing brand metrics for continuous growth and optimization.
Time: 00:56:19
Content Diversification for Enhanced Brand Exposure Strategies for diversifying content formats and platforms to maximize brand visibility and engagement.
Time: 01:05:10
Optimizing Brand Growth with Digital Tools How digital tools improve branding efforts through automation, analytics, and efficient content management.
Time: 01:14:02
The Significance of Consistency in Branding Exploring how consistency reinforces brand identity and loyalty.
Time: 01:23:45
Harnessing Social Media for Brand Promotion Effective use of social media platforms for targeted brand promotion and storytelling.
Time: 01:32:40
Defining a Unique Value Proposition for Personal Branding Strategies for defining unique value propositions to attract and retain a loyal audience.
Key Takeaways
- The importance of authenticity and consistency in personal branding was emphasized.
- Engagement with communities and education protocols can enhance brand visibility.
- Utilizing platforms like TinyTapEDU and newcampushq can aid in decentralized campus creation.
- Building trust through transparency and storytelling is key in personal branding.
- Networking and collaborations play a vital role in expanding brand reach.
- Creating valuable content that resonates with the target audience is crucial for branding success.
- Leveraging social media and digital tools effectively can boost personal brand growth.
- Establishing a unique value proposition sets individuals apart in a competitive market.
- Diversifying content formats and platforms can broaden brand exposure.
- Measuring and analyzing brand metrics is essential to track progress and optimize strategies.
Behind the Mic
Greeting and Opening Remarks
Good morning, Will. All right, all right. Yeah. Good evening. Good morning. Good afternoon. How are you all doing today? Well, I can't speak for everybody, but for myself, I can say damn glad to be here with you and the apecoin. GWG. Open campus. Adventurous ape and all the wonderful people that are here with us. How are you? Yeah, good buddy. Good buddy. We. This is the second time that kicking off this session. Lots of love, lots of fun. We had some music issues earlier, but I think we can just dive right in. How about it? Sounds good to me. I didn't have any music issues because I was just singing out loud in my office. I couldn't hear anything coming from the space, but the sound in my office was impeccable.
Excitement for the Session
Yeah, well, next time we better have a solo banger from your side, Aaron. But, guys, so excited to have today's session. Just some context. So open campus. We're a foundation that really focuses on supporting education initiatives. In web three, we work very closely with amazing creators, educators, partners such as Apecoin. And today, I'm so keen to talk a lot about the work that we're doing with Apu. So it's a collab that's really looking at supporting aspiring AIP authors to help them better understand how to make their project shine and really get them their best foot forward. I'm joined today by my co host, Aaron. Aaron, how's your week looking?
Aaron's Enthusiasm
Gosh. Well, I mean, it's looking pretty great. Yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited about the stuff. It feels like old school 2021 days, and not necessarily because of any metrics, but just because I'm working on stuff that I'm excited about. Again, whether it's ApU, whether it's some of the things I'm doing for laughing ape, of course, working with you, will, and the team on the spaces, it just feels good, you know? And before we start, I do want to say hello to a bunch of amazing people. We also have Jason from elite apes, Hong Kong in the audience, one of our APU members, adventurous ape. And live faster here, of course, and we'll hear from them.
Acknowledgements
And then there's law, the saw, who I work with, a laughing ape, and who's a general og and hoarder, you know, who's doing an amazing job with the creator house, et cetera. Moka chief. I mean, there are just so many people. Shout out to mano mate. Everybody follow them. They are one of our coaches. I am coaching them on the APU program for their upcoming AIP. So everybody follow them. I am drinking not Monte. Unfortunately I don't have any yet. But I am drinking a Yerba Monte today because I'm getting deep in the trenches with my coachee and I'm like, I need to drink some yerba mate. But anyway, sorry for the long answer. I'm just. I'm so excited to see all the people here to learn about personal branding with us, Will.
Discussing Personal Branding
Yeah. And that is so key in terms of not only building the right projects, but the right Personas. Adventures. Ape, welcome again. Great to speak with you. How have you been? I've been good. Just busy. Excited for this program and everyone to learn more about personal brand building this week. And these spaces, I think are very helpful to get, I guess, a little more education and formality about what, you know, the process and how you can improve yourself and your proposals. And just in general in web three, even beyond like the apecoin thing, I think there's a lot of great insights and advice that can be learned. So excited. Yeah. And I think it's so critical to have these type of conversations because it's so easy to make or break your reputation, especially in web three, live fast.
Emphasizing the Importance of Reputation
Last but not least, how are you doing, sir? Doing well. Got up? I'm up. I've got my cup of coffee right now and I'm ready to seize the day. You know, love. I love a love. Well, you know, let's dive right in. Today's conversation is really about building personal brands. And as we all know, these things don't happen overnight. Maybe I'd love to throw the first question over to Aaron. You've been in this space for quite some time. What does a strong personal brand look like, especially in web three? Aaron, it's funny because I was just thinking about this before. You said, I also am cheating because you sent me the questions beforehand.
Discussion of Names in Branding
But will, you and I are using our own names. I mean, I assume that this is your name. I mean, you know, maybe your name is Peter Smith. I don't know. I actually have a friend named Peter Smith. It's his real name. But point is that, you know, we have lots and lots of friends in the space, like adventurers ape and livefast who use pseudonyms, they're pseudonymous. And you and I are using our actual names. And for anybody that doesn't know, and actually Natalie Crue is here and so she kind of knows this. But I'm a comedian and I've gone by my real name my whole life, my whole career. And when I came into web three. I was known as Aaron Haber for my comedy fans, my following as a live streamer, as a comedian.
Choosing Authenticity
And so there was never any question for me. I was just going to come in as Aaron Haber because I was hoping to bring my following over so they'd know who I was. Of course, we've had some very famous people not use their actual names in the space. And then you find out that I forgot which demeticy she was. But the Sia, that's her name, right? Sia, the very famous musician, singer. She turned out to be one of the big voices in the web three space. So I wonder, did you ever make a conscious choice? Why are you using your real name for your brand? Oh, great question. And I think this is something that is always a pendulum swing, right?
Personal Choices in Branding
Because when I first entered the space, it was actually more of a web two education exposure. So web three for me was always just learning and getting exposure, but never really building. So I think similar to Aaron falling into this space and then figuring out that web three crypto blockchain could have been that next growth path, I think was kind of a natural evolution. But, you know, I do see a lot of folks that do have almost this hybrid approach, right? We've had conversations virtually. We've met each other IRl, adventurous ape, you know, tell us your journey in terms of balancing both. What does a personal brand that's worked well for you look like?
Authenticity and Trust in Branding
I guess a personal brand that works well. I think you need to be authentic whether you're, you know, your real self or you're hiding behind a little profile picture like I do, you still, you know, that authenticity will come through if you're a real person. And I think, you know, with, along with that, you have to be, you know, trustworthy as well. Like, you have to build your reputation as someone that people can go to and ask questions and, you know, be a source of truth for, you know, I think you need to, like, build your reputation among the community as well. Be helpful to people, you know, and get out there and, you know, interact with other people and get to know them and, you know, get involved with the community and contribute as well.
Embracing Change and Staying Involved
And then I think you also just have to, you know, keep embracing, like, new ideas. And I like pushing the boundaries and, you know, keep, you know, things change fast in web three. So I think you just have to keep up with it and, you know, keep aware and not, you know, keep consistently being involved because it's easy to kind of get lost or forgotten in this space if you're not out there. So that's what I think, yeah. Maybe I'd love to double click on that point. Adventurous because, you know, for folks that are, you know, either new to the space or, you know, not as proactive in finding their, quote, unquote, you know, contribution.
Finding Your Value in the Ecosystem
How did you come about finding your value add? Because, you know, I can imagine, you know, even when I joined three and a half years ago, it was really trying to figure out my expertise and my value add. But, you know, what was it like for you, and how did you kind of keep showing up to sort of chisel that value add to the ecosystem? Well, I guess just for me, I started getting involved more just with the apes. I just welcomed apes, like new apes. And that's kind of a thing with the bored apes, is welcome each other, the new people, to the club.
Community Engagement and Support
So that's something I've done since the beginning and just interacted that way. And group chats, join those and, you know, just get to know people through those. But I also, like, I got involved, like, helping out with the women early on. I started, helped start a discord group for some of the lady, you know, ladies in the space. And that was very early on. So I was a mod for that and got to know a lot of amazing people and women through that. And then, you know, eventually, once the apecoin Dao started, I kind of, like, got fascinated with that, so I drifted towards that.
Investing Time in Education and Support
And so I think a lot of my value add has been, like, not my knowledge of it, because I've learned a lot. Like, I spent a lot of time educating myself on it and knowing what's going on so I can be a resource for people who have questions or help them out and understand the space. So I think, you know, for me, it's just kind of been what I've been interested in, meeting with, being proactive and getting to know the people who are also in that space you're in. Yeah. And I think a big, huge opportunity that I see in Web three is everyone's always looking to help and provide help.
Building Connections in Web Three
It's quite different in my old world, doing business in Web two because it's seen as quite transactional, but like you said, adventurous. Being a moderator, that doesn't take too much of your time, but it's giving you that exposure, it's giving you that network and hopefully building trust that compounds over time. Liffast, over to you. How have you identified building a great brand, a great personal brand in Web three. And what are some of the edges that you think about in terms of communicating your value to the community? Well, I think one of the big things is that, like, you try to have some type of, like, unique.
Developing a Unique Identity
Unique moniker or something that is representative or unique to yourself. If you haven't noticed, I am one of the few people who do not have an APFP, and I'm actually kind of proud of that one. You kind of, like, you try to distinguish yourself and kind of, like, show off, like, a little bit of uniqueness of yourself that's kind of a little bit representative of your own personality. you try to. Another thing that I try to really focus on is basically you really kind of, like, hone down on, like, your specific skill set that, like, you can be, like, you could be known for and always kind of reach out and try to offer a specific kind of, like, experience or just general, like, skill set or just offering just, like, your time and energy to try to help and contribute towards something, even if you're not probably the best fit for it or even.
Engagement and Reliability
But, like, you have some familiarity of it. Trying to always be, try to be known as, like, somebody that is dependable and will always try to help out and work with people, even if it's not, like, your expertise, but just trying to. Willingness to always engage. Yeah. And maybe you can, you know, shine a bit of light. You know, one obviously fascinating part is not having an ape representation, but also building a very strong reputation in the community. What was that transition and inflection point for you? What was some of the AHA moments where you were like, oh, this is actually where I can, you know, upskill and provide value to the ecosystem.
Observations and Learning
honestly, for me, it was basically just like sitting back and just watching a lot of, the, you know, people in discourse and on the forums just like, kind of like, talk about, like, the. The dow in the organization and talking about, like, how. how to move it forward, but with. Without real.
Structural Rigidity in Organizations
Any real structural rigidity or any other type of, like, like, framework or process for how to do so. It's interesting. Everybody wants, everybody wants to, like, you know, keep moving the organization forward, but, you know, you have to have some type of, like, rubric or foundation for you to do so that allows you the flexibility to integrate and adapt and, like, account for new things while also, like, paying. Paying credence to the. To the notion, you know, move fast break stuff kind of mentality. Yeah, love it.
Evolving on Value Proposition
Aaron, maybe I can pass the baton over to you how have you kind of evolved your thinking on your value proposition to providing value? Obviously, as an AIP coach, that's one key area. But what are some of the lead ups to where we are today? Well, one, I just want to, like you said, double tap on what adventurous ape is saying. And this is something I've spoke with at length for years now with my friend VGF from Pixel Vault about how you develop a reputation, and it doesn't matter if you're pseudonymous, meaning that you know, you have a profile picture. We don't know what you look like. We don't know what your name is. If you establish consistency and quality around your personal brand, then people will follow you and they'll respect you.
Building Personal Brands
And so adventurous ape has done that. Livefast done that. Many people here have done that, whether it's a Natalie crue who uses her real name, I assume, or whether it's somebody like law of the saw, you know, who generally doesn't, but he's not, like, totally anonymous. I think you have to be intentional on what you put out. There's definitely a lot of replies and posts that I said, no, I probably shouldn't put that out there, especially being a comedian where you want to respond in a funny way to everything. I don't. I will also say that you have to think about your demeanor as well when you talk in, even chat groups, right, even DM chat groups, and whether it's telegram, whether it's Huron X, your demeanor and your personality is going to follow you around to the other things you do.
The Impact of Demeanor
I've definitely seen some people who, I mean, to be honest, it seems like they're going through things, right, where they're incredibly negative and they're blasting everything thing and you get, I don't know about for anybody else, but you can't help it, being a human being. You're like, I don't really want to interact with this person all that much. I mean, I guess it sometimes gets traction, I guess. But for me, I'm like, I don't want to be around him. And by the way, I've certainly been that person at different times in my life. So I'm not calling anybody out. I'm just saying that the people here should think about what they're saying before they say it, which is not to say you should be inauthentic as adventurers. Ape said.
Authenticity vs. Communication
Be authentic. Absolutely. But also being authentic doesn't mean that you say everything that's on your mind every single time in the way that your emotions are telling you to say it in that moment. Right. You can always take a second and think about the best way to communicate something. I think that's an important key here. And I will say one other thing here, is that when we're in this very heated political season here in the States, I've seen a lot of people with pretty good names sort of blow up their reputation a little bit by being viciously, I don't say partisan, you can certainly have your own political ideas and ideals and certainly these things are important.
Reputation Management
But I do think there's a way to say them and a way to go about them. And believe me, sometimes, like I said, I definitely erase, delete some of the things that I want to put down. If you really look through my timeline, you could probably see replies that show you what my political bent is. But I try not to be viciously mean to people, and I definitely have seen a lot of people be viciously mean on the timeline and maybe don't understand how that's affecting their personal brand. Okay, so let's move on to the next question. And I'm going to give this to adventure as ape first. And by the way, at the end of the hour here, about 1520 minutes, we'll have time for people to come up and give their own opinions, ask their own questions.
Consistency in Branding
I mean, we certainly have a ton of really amazing people who I feel they could teach us a thing or two about personal branding. And when you look through the audience, you immediately see people and you get a feeling about them. Right? And one other thing I'll say before I get to the next question, keep your profile picture the same. Keep it the same unless there's a really big reason to change it. When I was a live streamer, I would always wear the red hat that some of you have seen me. Not a maGa hat, it's a fedora. I would always wear it to the point where if I changed my hat and I wore a ball cap, people would freak out. They were used to not only the look, the iconic look that I cultivated, but even just the shape of what my head looked like to people.
Audience Recognition
And I got so many comments when I just changed my hat. So people get used to how you look like. I look at mocha cheap and I'm like, oh, that's mocha chief. I look at Jason from Elite Homcon. So if you're going to change your profile picture here, or even on another social media source, or even in your emails to people where they can see your potential gmail picture. Consistency is important. All right, this next question is for adventurous ape. Yeah. And I'm not even sure adventurous ape, like, are you.
Building Your Brand
I guess my first question to you is, are you consciously building up a brand, like, around adventurous ape or are you just sort of just being authentic and a brand has been created? Probably a little of both. Probably more just being authentic than anything else. But I mean, the name came because of my ape, basically because the hat and the jacket, so. But I guess, like, what I'm interested in and what I do comes more from myself than the ape. Excellent. Yeah. And I mean, and, you know, you're a member of ape. You. I'm a member of Ape.
Identity and Participation
So is live fast, etcetera. And, and, like, you're like one of the only people who did not go on camera. Like, you are very anonymous or pseudo anonymous. Right. And I was like, oh. And I was a little bit disappointed. I was like, oh, I thought I was gonna be in the secret group and, you know, see the real adventurers ape. But no, you were that iconic ape. How, how do you use the different channels that are available to us, meaning social media, other channels to build your web three brand, and I'll put that to you and to libfast after that.
Using Social Media Wisely
Yeah. So I guess Twitter, of course, is probably the key one for anything web three, you basically have to have a Twitter account and in those, engage in different conversations and share your insights. And, you know, I do, I'm not a big poster myself. Like, I don't have my own insights that often, but I do use, like, Twitter more for the group chats or DM's and the spaces and to learn. And I actually, you know, most of my followers come just from commenting on stuff and like, you know, just the communities and welcoming apes as well too, but, or the spaces.
Community Engagement
So, you know, while I'm not, like, creating a lot of my own stuff, I try and support other people in this space that, you know, I think are doing good things or, you know, things that I'm involved with. But, you know, being a reply guy on Twitter is one way, I guess, to build up your brand too. That's supposed to be a really good way. I probably could do that more, but, yeah, so Twitter is like, I think one of the first things, you know, I think is important, but of course, everyone here is already on Twitter, so.
Exploring Other Platforms
But discord is another one. I know a lot of people don't like it, but, you know, that's a place there's a lot of ways you can. A lot of times, you know, you get a lot of information over there. Sometimes announcements will come through there instead of, like, you don't miss them on Twitter. You can find them there more easily, you know, and sometimes just depending on the communities, different communities are a little stronger on discord than others. But I use that for the DM's as well. I actually prefer that to Twitter.
Evaluating New Technologies
But telegram, I guess, is another one that a lot of people use. I'm not, that's kind of new to me, so I'm still, like, figuring that out. But there's a lot of telegram. Yeah, a lot of people do. Yeah, I'm still getting used to it, so it's new to me. But I think, and then also, like, if you're like a writer, you can, you know, use, like, blogs, like, you know, medium or substack and that kind of stuff. If you like to do videos, do YouTube videos, you know, or even TikToks, you know, there's ways.
Breaking Out of Twitter
I think we don't do enough of that. Like, I think as web three, we're not doing enough to break out of Twitter. I think we need to break out of Twitter more and that we're kind of caught here in a way, and that's not necessarily good because if something were to happen to Twitter, you know, then what happens? You know, where are we going to find each other so. Exactly. Yeah, I think, you know, you kind of have to have your brand across more than one place, so.
Future of Communication Platforms
And hopefully, you know, maybe someday there will be somewhere more web three for us to have a home, you know, maybe the other side or somewhere like that. So, yeah, those are the things that come off the top of my head. There's probably others that I'm not thinking of right now as well. Thank you. Before I get to live fast, I just wanted a couple of comments on what you said, which was great. I mean, one, we're speaking about branding, and it's so funny because you called the platformer on Twitter, which they are desperately trying to rebrand to x, and a lot of us just don't want to call it x, you know?
Challenges of Rebranding
And so, you know, rebranding is so tough. Even when you have one of the world's most powerful people with the world's most powerful communication network begging people to call it X, which is a name that he's carried around them for decades they wanted to use. We're still like Twitter because it's what we're used to. And you made a great point about, well, what if Twitter goes down or something? I lost access to this profile for about half a week through user error, by the way. It wasn't blocked or anything.
Social Media Survival
I just locked myself out of my own damn account. And I wasn't so worried because I knew that I was going to get back in, but. But I have been kicked off of Facebook, like, permanent. Like, I, my old profile, I was. I had a friend in comedy who was part of this big political page. He had like half a million people and he asked me to help mod it and I was like, okay, actually, were doing a show together.
The Consequences of Moderation
I never even mod it. I never even posted on it, right? But there were other people who were posting things that were so false and fake. And by the way, I was like, hey, please stop doing that. That Facebook actually removed the group and deleted everyone's account. That was a mod, including me, and I've never gotten it back. Right? I lost tons of family contacts and some people won't follow me again.
Maintaining Connections
I mean, they may not like me, so maybe this was an excuse, but they just think I'm like a fake Aaron Haber trying to get into their mailbox. So you raise a really good point that not only do we use these channels to give more context and allow more people to see us, but we need to let people know where we are if we're kicked off of a platform. Which is why, adventurous ape, I would suggest getting on telegram and letting people know where you are. Because if, gosh forbid, you're ever kicked off of Twitter, we'll just be like, oh, well, we'll just contact eventbrite on Telegram, although we know we can find you on Discord. Last thing I would.
Continuing the Discussion
Well, let's get to live fast. I do have another question, but we'll get to it later. Livefast, same question for you. How are you using faces in real life events content? How are you using those things? You are well known for just being a data guru. Like, you do data really, really well, and you have really built a reputation for yourself just by doing the work. Right.
Embracing Multiple Skills
And so, like, are you even doing anything else besides just being awesome at what you do and letting that follow you around? I. Not. Not entirely. I tend to try to focus and do I? I'm a dabbler. I dabble in many different things. And I kind of never turned down an opportunity to grow a skill set that I may find a new passion in. I really like data. I like numbers. But, like, I'll be honest, like, this is going to come as a shock to some of you, actually, probably all of you.
Exploring New Creative Avenues
I also kind of do a little graphic designing a little bit. Not great. I've designed several shirts. I designed some shirts for my old dow. I actually designed, design shirts for my running club that I actually make, and we sell out to my entire group. I double. Like, you know, I do that.
Writing and Creative Endeavors
I dabble in some writing. I've written several blog posts. I've written some, several articles for bankless dow. I kind of do a little bit of everything. I try not to, you know, try to put, like, consider myself, like, put myself into a box. Also, one of my other big things is I play. Like, I try. I really try to improve my skillset and expand myself to other things. Like, I'm a dungeon master in my game of dungeons and dragons. Been playing it for five years now. Same game, same group of people. So, yeah, you know, you just, you know, you never. You don't. People don't like what's. So how do I want to say this? I'm. I'm always trying to experience new things and always trying to expand my current skillset to be a better version of myself.
Social Media and Branding
As for my social, how I use that as my branding. Like I said, I'm known as litfast. I have an entire social built around this, and I actually have gone really out of my way to ensure that. Hey, if you ever need to reach me, I have a separate Gmail account. There's my telegram account, all this stuff that if you need to find me by this name, like, you will, like, you can find me. And I kind of. Like, I kind of. I kind of enjoy that because I kind of need, you know, not, you know, there's, like, a whole slew of reasons, but, like, some of the big ones is that, like, the separation between accounts kind of really helps you really, like, if you need that, like, break away from, like, everything, kind of, like, turn off. Like, you need, like, you can have that. And plus, like, you don't miss important emails that are, like, really, like, personal that you need to get to and address. It helps kind of having that differentiation between the two I found.
Culinary Experiences
Yeah. I, you know, I'm a. I do a lot. I do. I do a lot of little things. I may. I may not be known for it, but, like, I have. I have tried it. I have done a few things in over the course of my life. Thank you, dungeon master. I think that it should be like, you know, people talk about chefs. Yes. Chef. It should be like, yes, dungeon Mancha done. Dungeon master. Although it kind of sounds like other stuff, but. Oh, yeah, I'm also, I also for a long time, for about like five years, I started a little, tried to, I tried to become like an amateur chef. And I had a chef blog where I was making, I was posting all my photos. If you're ever in the apecoin discord, if you go to off topic, you'll see my, like, constant post of like, all the food that I prep for me and my family.
Personal Branding and Networking
All right, so I did have a question. I want to throw it back to will, but. But I have a question. You know, we're talking about personal branding and. Oh, and by the way, you know, it's so funny because, you know, I went to fuck it Friday, you know, what, a week and a half ago now. And people come up to you and they're like, hi, I'm Roger. And you're like, what? And like, you know them as like the coolest day. Like, that's their name. Like when you introduce yourself at live events, maybe start with your pseudonym if you go by a pseudonym. And I would also recommend that if you are like a picture like Apicurean who just came up, wear it somewhere on you so that at events people can see you and they go, oh, that's that person, right? I always try to have something with my ape on it when I go to in real life events so people can recognize because it's too hard otherwise it's like other, so many other layers are trying to figure out who somebody is.
Building a Personal Brand
Now, will, I have a question for you, because we're talking about branding, right? And I think some people might think of branding as just how do I get the biggest following? But I think you really have to think about what type of brand you want, right? Many of the most powerful people in our space, most influential people in our space, they have tiny followings. They don't really spend their time trying to promote themselves online. Like, I'm thinking about Spencer from Horizon Labs, who's a great friend of the DAO, you know, one of the people working with. I mean, he's like the Horizon Labs guy that we all know, working with Jordan, you know, epicurean on the banana bill project. And he's followed by a pretty tiny amount of people compared to how much he does in the space and in our dao. And so will, I guess my question to you, throwing it back to you is, do you need to go for a giant following to build your brand? And what should you be thinking about as you go to build your brand? I guess that's a big question for today. Right.
Networking and Reputation Building
Short answer, absolutely not. I think at the end of the day, you're only surrounded by a handful of people that you really want to trust and spend time and really nurture a relationship. Take a long term view. And I definitely ride by what adventures ape was saying around just consistency and showing up. That was actually kind of my entry into the web three world. It was my creative outlet, still running a education business in web two. But not many people now know that my entry was illustrating derivative suits and hats for lazy lions. And I did that for three months, you know, just sketching, you know, beige suits or, you know, neckties and, you know, just handing that out as illustrations to, you know, a small group of 5612 folks. And, you know, that actually allowed me to a, you know, get to know some friends that I still stay in contact and, you know, chat almost daily with.
Transitioning from Participant to Builder
But b, again, you know, as Livfast was saying, experimenting, dabbling. And I think that was really my foray into, quote, unquote, entering the space. I think nowadays. You mentioned earlier, Aaron, around, like, how do you have a bit more of a focused voice and focused view? And I think that's actually where I'm spending a lot more of my energy now, especially because I moved from an observer to now a builder. So I do think that's potentially a transition that has to be made from, you know, just being a participant to now actively creating, actively building. And maybe I can use this as a chance to throw the question over to Abra Kurian. Welcome. I know that you just hopped off from another call, and I'd love to hear from you. What was that rise of your brand, especially when you kind of started off as an early community member, now a major contributor.
Community Influence on Brand Building
How has community helped you get to where you are in terms of building up your brand? Yeah, you know, very interesting question and also great to be here. So, you know, thanks for inviting me again, Will. So my thought is that people in this industry very much associate their brand with, you know, Twitter. Right. Or X. Right. And I don't really think in the long run that is how we should associate our personal brands, unless you want to specifically be a Twitter influencer and make money as a Kol or something like that. If you look at my Twitter, I have very few followers. I have 350 followers. Sure, it would be nice to have many more thousands on top of that. But I feel like the people who need to know who I am, and I built my brand that I like and that I feel proud of.
Quality Over Quantity in Branding
And I think that you can very easily sacrifice the quality of your brand for the quantity of people that are familiar with it. Right, especially in this industry. So what you'll see when you go on crypto Twitter is the people that seem to get the most followers and the most likes are either people that are out there actively causing controversy by trolling and fudding and things like that, or there are people out there that are basically spreading borderline misinformation. That's exciting that people kind of view as potentially alpha on something that's not what I wanted to build as a serious business owner in this emerging industry. What I wanted to build was a brand of trust, of diligence, of the ability to be helpful and kind to community members and help all of us grow.
Hard Work in Building Relationships
Right. And honestly, the way to do that, I'm sure there are people on here on the speaker stage that could probably give some better tips around it, but from my experience, it's just hard work. It's going out there and speaking to people and getting people to have respect for you and tell other people that, hey, that's a good person and we should go. And if you have a question, go reach out to them. And basically every day spending hours of your time out there being who you want to be. And then over time, that builds on itself. And I remember when I first proposed banana bill, and there was an intense amount of fud against me personally and full moon labs, the way that I, you know, I was kind of new to that whole thing.
Addressing Controversy
This is the first AIP that I proposed, and the way that I tackled it was kind of different than what a lot of people had told me, which is, hey, just ignore it, right? Ignore all these things and I'll go away. I actually reached out to a lot of people that I felt were saying things that just weren't true about me or, you know, or kind of misinterpreted what I was looking to do, and I set up one one conversations with them and turn them into champions of my personal brand as opposed to, you know, antagonists against my personal brand. So that's. That's what I would say you got to do, basically, is just get your hands dirty, talk to people, tell them why you are who you are and what you're doing, and that's going to be the most authentic brand that you can build, too.
Strategic Branding Advice
So obviously, if you're looking at just, you know, get a ton of followers and be okayol, don't listen to my advice. But I, if you're looking to kind of be a respected, serious professional in this business, I think that's really the way to do it. Yeah, I love that. And I think you've hit the nail on the head, especially for those listening and those that will be re listening to this recording. Because at the end of the day, the goal of today's conversation is not how may you blow up your followers to hundreds of thousands, but it's really how do you build that reputation. So when you propose an AIP or when you put your hand up to contribute, that trust factor, that support, that interest is already there.
Community Engagement and Relationship Building
No. Thanks so much for sharing. Very insightful. Maybe I'd love to pass the baton back to adventurous ape. You mentioned something earlier around setting up the women leadership group, nominating yourself to support in discord welcoming apes. Can you share a bit more about these non commercial activities that have helped you build your reputation, especially as you look at building a bigger role within apecoin, Apu and all the initiatives, how did these earlier participation activities helped you move forward? I guess mainly what's interesting now, the ladies group that I, you know, was originally a mod for that isn't really, it's pretty dead now, so.
Evolution of Community Groups
But, you know, people moved on to other things, but it did form those, helped me form those initial relationships to, I guess, be able to, you know, grow and get to know new people. I guess it kind of like builds off of itself after a while. Like you start to get to know some people and then I, through them, you meet other people and, you know, you kind of can grow your brand through that as well. I think this building relationships has been the strongest or probably the most consequential part of what I've done. And as far as the welcoming apes, what's interesting now, like, I'm not the only one who's done that. I'm one of many, many people who have been doing that since the beginning.
Forming Supportive Communities
And now there's a formalized group that doing amazing jobs, like doing that as well. So that actually that culture turned into something more and formalized. So I think, I guess it just kind of starts building off of each other. If you're consistent with it and keep doing things, it'll start opening up other opportunities for you. I guess the people you meet you can, you know, I guess you find people who have things in common with what your vision or what you want to do and, you know, then you can build with them. Like I helped, you know, from that ladies group that, the discord that I had helped start, you know, I got to know a bunch of women and we helped plan like the first ladies of BAYC event back in for NFT NYC a long time ago.
Adaptability in Dynamic Environments
So, and then that build off each other and then, you know, that group kind of took over more of like ladies Ba YC kind of took more the place of the discord that, you know, we had originally started. So it evolved from there. But, you know, I think it just, you have to kind of be flexible as well and, you know, because things change fast in this space, so you have to be able to adapt with it as well. And, you know, as I said before, like, you can get lost in it if you don't like, keep up with what's going on because things do change rapidly here.
Work and Conversations
Here's everything I have, here's all the work, here's all the, here's everything that I have for you. Being open to having harder, like, hard conversations and being able to take harsh feedback. Like, hey, this is like, where did you get this? This is wrong, this is improper. It's like, no, like, here's my rationale, here's my reasoning, here's the data point that I have, and if something doesn't add up, like, oh, well, like, let's investigate it. Like, let's talk. Let's have a conversation about it. I've already, like, in the course of it, I've already had multiple, like, harsh conversations with people who are very critical of just being like, no, you're wrong. Like, this is like, you're fighting everything. I'm like, meh. I was like, this is open, transparent data. I was like, this isn't fud. This is just what it is. It's all about how you interpret it. Being able to have really hard conversations is a great, great skill to have in being able to be more like, at least helping to move yourself forward.
Growth Through Tough Conversations
I mean, originally I was very passive of just didn't want to rock the boat, didn't want to upset anybody. But more recently, it's just like, well, in order to kind of, like, grow and help people kind of, like, move forward, you're going to have these tough conversations, and some of which may end up being kind of like, you know, somebody maybe, like, have some, like, hurt feelings at the end of it. But eventually, if the intent is always to be to do good and to help, like, help people grow, help spread the proper information that you want to do, then, like, you know, this is something that you'll have to do and honest, and as long as you're, like, genuine and honest about it helps kind of, like, make that conversation a little bit easier. Yeah. And I think collectively, it allows our space to grow and evolve in a meaningful way.
The Importance of Honest Feedback
You know, having honest feedback is obviously a critical thing. And, you know, it's even, you know, something that we teach a lot at our school around. How do you know, as a leader in this space, enable the next generation to move forward and grow? Maybe I can pass the spotlight back to you, Aaron. You know, what are some of the tough conversations that you've had to have, whether it's, you know, recently coaching or historically, when you think about, you know, building up others in the space? Oh, gosh. Well, I mean, part of it, like I said before, just ignoring some people, you know, and not getting into the middle of it, you know, with my mentees, you know, who are lore Lord and Cheetah cowboy with monomante.
Mentorship and Collaboration
I mean, they've been great to work with. It's really mostly been about explaining, having another set of eyes to look at things and go, oh, let's really work on whittling down this idea. People want to do too much sometimes, but no, they've been great. I do want to point out a couple of people in the audience here, and also, if you would like to come up on stage and ask a question or give your take on what we've been talking about, now is the time. So just request and I open campus. Since you're hosting, please take a look at those requests. I won't be able to see them as I'm just a speaker right now. I wanted to first point out Baron von Hussle, who's here.
Recognition of Contributions
Who? I mean, one, obviously his name is not Baron von Hussle, but he's built up a great brand. And not only that, he's built up a great reputation by helping people for years and also hosting regular spaces, etcetera. One of the things he did was he kept putting out there that he really wanted to work for Yuga. And it wasn't just like, I want to work for Yuga and really nothing behind it. He proved himself so many times and really manifested his job at Yuga Labs and board of Yacht club by just being a great member of the club, by being helpful, by showing the skillset and really putting it out there. Hey, I want to work for the company. And now he does, and he does a fantastic job at it.
Personal Branding
You know, the second person I want to call upon, or I don't want to call out, that sounds negative, but referred to as Laura down in the audience. And Laura's an export ape yacht club council member, a really strong ape, and made the decision within the last year or so to stop using her ape as her picture and use herself as her brand, which I fully support, because Laura's amazing and her brand is so great, her personal brand is so great. And whether it's because she wanted to become more than just the ape, or whether she wants to do more in the web three space or outside of the web three space. And I remember her catching hell, honestly, from idiots for changing her profile and not having it be her ape.
Managing Public Perception
But it refers back to what I said before, is like when I used to change my hat on a live stream, people would freak out. And they did the same thing with her when she decided to change to herself as her personal brand, which, again, I think was an amazing choice and the right choice. Now, let's see, do we have anybody that wants to come up? If not, I'll just move on to the next question. Again, I cannot see the requests, so I'll open this up to anybody up on stage. I mean, Jordan, we haven't heard from you for a little bit. What are some pitfalls to avoid when branding yourself in web three.
Avoiding Pitfalls in Branding
I mean, we've certainly spoken about some of them, but what do you think? Apicure? Yeah. I would say the biggest pitfall you can make in web three, personal branding, or probably any personal branding, is being inauthentic to yourself. Right. So, you know, brands are built not overnight, but they're built over long periods of time where, you know, like I said, one person at a time, telling another person and so on and so forth. So going out there and trying to make a splash and, you know, speeding up the process. Bye. You know, presenting yourself in a way that you don't feel like is sustainable or, you know, is kind of making you feel, you know, not in your own skin, that's probably a real sign that you're doing it wrong, basically, because the thing that you need to think about when you're building your personal brand is not only building it, but protecting it.
Consistency and Authenticity
And what you don't want is your personal brand to collapse because you basically get viewed by everybody as inauthentic or not presenting yourself the way in a consistent manner across all different people. I would say that's something to really keep an eye on as you're sitting there and you're wondering, okay, where do I go from here? How do I grow this? I think the simplest way is, who am I? What am I doing? Why am I doing it? And being very transparent and open about that. And I think people really tend to respect that level of honesty. This is oddly an industry where none of us really see each other's faces very much. As Aaron was mentioning around having your ape, when you go to these live events, so people actually know who you are, but that doesn't mean that people want you to be fake.
The Value of Authenticity
They just, you know, understand that we're carrying around with us, you know, a fun avatar, because it kind of adds to the fun of everything. So that's basically my opinion on that Aaron, and I don't know if you want to dig into that a little bit more, but, you know, I think you're probably a great example of that. Right? Like, you know, with Aaron, what you see is what you get, right? Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, it's funny because, you know, when I was asked to co host with Will, you know, Will is so, well friends, but he's so proper, right? He's so professional. And I'm like, oh. In my head, I'm like, I should also. Hello, this is Aaron. Haber welcome to the 8101 personal.
Finding Your True Self
But that's not who I am. Right? I've gotta be me, right? You know, one thing I haven't spoken of here, but it just. It just kind of hit me as you were talking, being a comedian, right? This is what we call Persona. This is what we call, you know, kind of character, the voice. Right. And what I mean is that it's how people perceive you now. In comedy, it takes so long. I guess in life it does too. But in comedy, it takes so long to figure out your Persona. Some people never do. And it's sort of like how. How will people define you? Like, within a sentence, you know, and you have a hot mic right now. I don't know if you know that or not.
Self-Reflection and Growth
Yeah, sorry, I'll mute myself. But I think that's a very good point on what you're making, and then I'll throw it back to you. It's just that takes a lot of internal thinking. So, you know, I really think that's probably the first stage, is really trying to understand yourself and who you are. Because if you don't, then you're going to end up in those difficult situations later on down the road where you either are forced to wake up every day and try to be someone you don't want to be with your brand, or you get found out and your brand suffers on that, too. Exactly. And you mentioned it. Adventurers ape has mentioned it. It's about authenticity.
The Challenge of Authenticity
And it's like people say, well, I don't have a good enough memory to lie. One of the best ways that you don't have to worry about, you know, if you're waking up and being the same person, it's just, don't lie about who you are. Just be authentic. I mean, sure, there's a certain amount of smoke and mirrors and all that when you're working your way up in a profession. But. But think about who you are and who you want people to. To know you as. And again, you know, fit that into your authentic self. But you don't have to show, like, all of you all the time, right? So certainly you, everybody has a public face and they have a private face.
Final Thoughts on Branding
That's not being inauthentic. That's just, you know, figuring out how you want to be perceived. Adventurous ape, I'd like to pass it to you if you have any more comments on this question topic or if there's anything you want to leave us with as we start to wind down the space. Yeah, just one more thing with I think happens in web three. A lot is people over promise and under deliver. And I think that can hurt your brand quicker than a lot of things because, you know, if you over promise and then, you know, people are waiting for those things and they don't come, you know, they start to turn on you.
Consistency and Reliability
So, you know, you have to be careful. I think maybe you could get away with a couple mistakes here and there, but if it becomes like a trend, then you're really going to hurt yourself. And that kind of goes back to the keeping consistent, too. So, you know, if lack of consistency, I think can hurt as well. So those are a couple things just to avoid, I believe. I think that sometimes you see a lot in this space. Excellent. And live fast. Throwing it over to you. Anything to add here? Anything you want to say before we start to. We give it back to will to wrap up?
Concluding Thoughts
No, I think you guys hit it. Being the best. The best part about. The best part about being in this space is being able to like, show off yourself, your capabilities and who you are as an individual and your skill set to people. It's nothing like I think I you, I really loved it. It's just like, it's too hard to lie and I just, like, I was cracking up laughing because I felt that as is true, it's just like, it's just so much, it's so much more time and energy to do to just like build up a fake Persona where it's just easier to just be like, if you be yourself, it makes things a lot easier.
Thankfulness and Acknowledgment
And people are more receptive and able want to work with you and are able to like, talk to you as such. Excellent. I want to throw back to Will, but will, I wanted to thank you once again for having me up as co host. I want to thank the eight point GWG and open campus, Apu and everybody who came in today. So many great people, so many great personalities, so many great personal brands. Some of them, some of the people in the audience may not even know they're a personal brand and they've just authentically become one.
Looking Forward
But will, I enjoy doing these spaces with you. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it, guys. And, yeah, I think my key takeaway, stay authentic, stay connected, consistent, and just keep showing up. Aaron, I need to hit you up next time. I'm not that serious. Irl. Let's find ourselves for a beer for everyone listening. Thanks so much for everyone who's going to be rewinding so much nuggets from tonight want to thank you again. That'll be all. We'll see you in about two weeks time.
Final Goodbye
Bye for all. Bye, guys. Thanks for having us.
