Brand Identity

 Analyze the confluence of personal and professional identities in interactive and social online media by applying communication theory and best
practices
Prompt
This will be a research-based paper about the dialectic (tension) between personal and professional online presences. You will introduce this relational dialectic
and explain why it exists. This will be followed by the analysis of high-profile examples of the relationship between personal (private) and professional becoming
visible in online media. You will then make recommendations, directed toward today’s online media professionals, for dealing with this dialectic on a daily basis.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Online Presence – In this section of the paper, you will introduce the dialectic between personal and professional online presences. You will support
your overview of this relationship with relevant research. You will also state your views/opinion on the dialectic, which will set up the remainder of your
paper.
A. Introduce the dialectic between personal and professional online presences.
B. Explain why this dialectic exists. Support your explanation with research from academic resources.
II. Personal and Professional Identity – In this section, you will analyze the confluence of personal and professional identities in interactive and social
online media. To do this, you will research communication theory and best practices regarding online identities and apply that research to actual
situations.
A. Identify best practices in personal branding. Support your identification with research from academic resources. Consider how you wish to
develop yourself as a communication professional in online social media.
B. Select high-profile examples where personal and professional identities and brands have come into conflict in online media.
1. For each example, discuss the concept of an “authentic self” online and its relationship to professional identities. Support your
discussion with research-based principles.
2. Discuss the ethical implications of what happened in each example.
3. Explain whether or not you believe professional standards were adhered to in each situation.
C. Based on best practices, recommend improvements for how the individual(s) involved in each situation could have handled the conflict
between their personal and professional identities more effectively.
III. Conclusions – The purpose of this section is for you to develop recommendations to professionals for how they should address the dialectic between
personal and professional brands in online media. Your recommendations will be based on the examples you researched and best practices you have
identified.
A. Explain what considerations a professional should make when developing his or her own personal brand online. Support your explanation with
examples from your research.
B. Explain what considerations a professional should make when developing his or her professional brand online. Support your explanation with
examples from your research.
C. Develop a set of principles for online professionals on how to develop a personal brand online that effectively markets oneself while maintaining
professional standards. Support your recommendations with examples from the high-profile cases you addressed above.

Final Project I Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your brand identity paper should be 8–12 pages, double-spaced, have one-inch margins, and use 12-point Times New Roman font
and the most current version of APA format.