With the advent of the Web 2.0 movement, many sites began to provide a better experience. Finally, web developers had some decent tricks up their sleeve to make sites more usable. Coupled with our fast Internet connections, web usage shot through the roof and upended traditional media habits.

But an even bigger shift is happening. A growing number of websites and software tools now allow non-developers (99.9% of the population) to express themselves online, quickly, cheaply and non-technically. Now, there are more ways for the average person to tell the entire world, or a select group of friends, who they are and what they are doing, 24 hours a day.

And with all the economic uncertainty going on, now is a great time for people to think about how they present themselves online, personally and professionally. In many respects, WebYOU.0 is about building and enhancing your personal brand on the web.

It’s not enough anymore to have a paper or PDF resume; prospective employers are also likely to Google your name to get a sense of who your are. Do you have a personal website? Are you on any social networking sites? If so, what kinds of information are you posting (which is a reflection of your personality and judgement)?

Finally, if you’re looking for a job and aren’t actively using some of the tools available, you could be selling yourself short and missing out on opportunities to connect with people who can help you.

If you already have a job, then substitute “prospective customers” instead of employers, and the same principles apply. Are you missing out on attracting potential new business?

With all the above in mind, here are some of the ways you can use WebYOU.0 to reach out to others, both from a personal and a professional standpoint.

www.[YourNameHere].com

Registering a domain is nothing new. But in WebYOU.0 terms, it’s now becoming more common for individuals to register their personal name. It’s cheap and relatively easy to register a domain, using a service like GoDaddy.com, Network Solutions or PairNIC. Even so, I’m still surprised how few people think to do this. In terms of your personal brand, it’s imperative to own your name as a URL. If you have kids, by all means get their domain names, too, as early as you can. The longer a period of time you register the names, the better the pricing is.

After securing your personal domain name, it’s important to use the registrar’s service to redirect the domain to your personal resume, blog or website. Make this a priority, so your page isn’t parked with one of those useless “coming soon” pages.

In the same vein, be sure you to use a personalized email address, preferably yourname@yourdomainname.com, or as close to your real name as possible. Ditch your goofy nickname, and do yourself and prospective employers or clients a favor by using a responsible, grown-up email address! At the very least, get an address with your full name at Google, Yahoo or another respectable provider.

Blogs

Blogging is clearly one of the most powerful techniques available for anyone to share their ideas and opinions. According to Technorati, there are more than 175,000 new blogs created every day.

No wonder. There are a lot of free, easy-to-use sites that can have you blogging in minutes. Try WordPress (my top pick), Blogger or Tumblr, to name a few.

And remember, you don’t necessarily have to blog (verb) to have a blog (noun). Some people creatively use blogs as digital resumes. If you go this route, simple turn off any pages that suggest it’s a true blog, otherwise it’ll look stale if you’re not regularly posting updates. Other tools like Google Sites will let you build a simple site without the blogging part.

Microblogs

For an even faster, less demanding way to share information, consider one of the “microblogging” sites. These typically allow you to send text updates of roughly 140 characters or less, from your computer or cell phone. You can also send hyperlinks to websites and photos. Twitter is perhaps the best known of these services, along with others such as Pownce and Plurk.

As with your domain name and email address, use your real name and not a pseudonym or nickname. You’ll come across as more professional and make it easier for others to find and connect with you.

Rather than putting all your virtual eggs in one basket, sign up and create basic profiles (including a good photo of yourself) at several of these sites. Then, use an all-in-one site like Ping.fm or Hellotxt.com to update your status everywhere with a single message. This includes updates on the larger social networking sites (see below).

Online Resume

In addition to using a blog as a resume, your might consider a site like VisualCV or Carbonmade. These make it super easy to create a page with your relevant expertise and experience.

I’ll grant some older professionals (40+) some slack if you don’t have a blog or an online resume yet. But for younger people in general, and especially college students and recent grads, you have no excuse. Sadly, many colleges and universities still don’t help students do this. As an employer myself (now with my second company), I’ll tell you straight up: if I have a job or internship opening and you don’t have a decent digital resume, forget it. Every other person who does has a starting advantage over you.

Social Bookmarking Sites

Sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit and Stumbleupon are ideal for saving and sharing websites you like. To be a good WebYOU.0 participant, you need to help others discover useful information, just as they’ll help you do the same. Plus, saving your bookmarks to the web, in various places, lets you access them anywhere.

Social Networking Sites

There are now dozens of quality sites that exist to help people connect with their “friends” or business colleagues. Some of the better ones include Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo.

Set up accounts with your real name, a quality photo and a profile. Often, these services will assist you in determining if any of your existing contacts are already a member; if not, you can invite friends, family and professional colleagues to link to your account. After settling into these services, take time to search for and join any groups related to your career or personal hobbies. If you don’t find one, it’s easy to start your own!

Keeping tabs on what your friends are up to is one of the primary benefits of these social networks. To make this process easier, consider signing up for Friendfeed or SocialThing. They will let you to see all of your friends’ updates and shared online activities at a glance.

Business Networking Sites

Business networking sites are essentially social networking sites for working folks. They are crucial for building a professional profile, finding jobs or employees and even inexpensive research. Check out Linkedin, Plaxo, and XING.

Wikipedia has a good, comprehensive list of social networking and business networking sites.

How Are You Using WebYOU.0?

What are some of your favorite tools and techniques for building your personal or professional presence online? Where do you see WebYOU.0 heading?

I think the implications are staggering, from a personal and professional standpoint. There is a growing gap between people who are using the web to share portions of their lives online, and those who aren’t. It’s the Digerati vs. the Digilliterates. And WebYOU.0 is changing the rules of communication for companies big and small, as people band together to vet their frustrations and opinions about products and services, in real time. That’s another benefit of using many of these services; if you have a gripe, chances are good that a company might be listening and will respond directly to you.

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Photo credit: Pam Cantu