Self-branding arose from corporate branding models applied to individual workers

Evidence

This concept was a response to several social changes: the success of huge corporate brands, the rise of project-based work cultures and entrepreneurial labor models, and the gradual popularization of the internet. As Peters explained, the web made it possible for anyone to have a website, and brands distinguished mediocrity from quality. He advised readers to identify their distinguishing characteristics and write a fifteen-word statement differentiating themselves from their peers. He told workers to think of their skills using the “feature-benefit” model of major corporate brands: every feature generates a corresponding benefit for the customer, the employer. Peters instructed readers to ask themselves: “What do I want to be famous for? That’s right—famous!” — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 416

Categorization

• DEFINE: Concretely defines the conceptual transfer: feature-benefit product marketing becomes the model for the self.
• XREF: The ‘everyone must be famous’ imperative connects to Andy Warhol’s fifteen-minutes fame and to the micro-celebrity attention economy. — connects to: Self-branding philosophy originated in the dot-com boom era — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 143; Branding yourself is promoted as an essential Web 2.0 career strategy. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 413; Self-branding treats the self as a salable commodity marketed to employers — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 418 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• The Web enabled individuals to apply corporate branding strategies to themselves #expands (0.90) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 466
• Corporate brand logic imposes a forced timeless consistency on personal identity #expands (0.85) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 552