Almost every site you go on has a place for a "profile picture".  Sometimes these are square, sometime they are rectangular, but they almost all have one. Many of the sites also use a thumbnail, or smaller version, of that picture next to items you post or actions you perform.  One thing I try to do is keep my profile picture consistent across multiple sites. This allows people who "know me" from one site to quickly "recognize" me on another site.  Take Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook for example.  If you were my friend on Facebook and clicked one of my links which brought you to Twitter seeing my face next to a comment immediately tells you it's me.  If you Google my name and my company you'll likely get a LinkedIn profile.  Before even reading a word you would see my picture and know you were at the right place.  This really helps to provide consistency between my many Internet presences.

The other thing I try to do is secure the same user name or profile name.  If I can, I try to get the matching URL for the service I am using. Again, not as quickly recognizable as the picture, but it provides people with a way to say, "He uses that name everywhere. It's likely him."  No big surprise I try to get "Marcucci" as a profile name, which is getting harder as more people in Italy get connected. (I can't image trying to get "Clark" or "Smith".)  This is really helpful for places where profile pictures aren't used as often, like instant messaging or user listings.

Still, with everything on the Internet being indexed and search engines providing summaries on almost everything in a search result list how important are these two items?  Are people already getting enough info to be able to find and recognize me? Are there other things individuals are doing when trying to build a personal brand online?  Let's face it, we're not out here blogging, networking, and tweeting to not be found, so why not spend a little time to help others find you.  Please comment with your own thoughts and suggestions.

When I initially saw the iPhone app I grabbed it thinking it was a company from this year's TechCrunch50, however, after looking at the list I am guessing I confused it with "Hark", a different application that I'll likely try out soon.  It was cool to be able to ask a question on the iPhone then get a push notification when someone answered, however, the iPhone isn't great for answering questions.  I'd love to say I have all the answers in my head, but the truth is Google is my friend.  When answering on the iPhone it isn't easy to switch to Google, do some research, then cut and paste it back to the Aardvark app.  So I left the app there for when I have a question to ask rather then answer.

Next I tried out the web site. I could invite people, see how many people were on ready to answer questions for the most popular topics, and tweak my profile. Typical stuff.  The things I thought were missing were a real time feed of questions to answer or a web page to even see questions and a place to "browse" people online and invite them as friends.  Having used the service for a bit now I can see why these features were not a focus.

The last part was the instant message integration.  This is your typical IM bot that responds to commands and such, however, it is very well done.  Typing "help" provides you will all the info you need.  You can ask a question and Aardvark will reply via IM when someone answers or you can answer questions via IM.  You can ask Aardvark for a question or, occasionally, Aardvark will IM you with a question based on your profile.  It's even smart enough to not bother you if you are "busy".

So far I have asked a few questions and received correct replies within minutes.  You can even exchange messages with the person who answers your question for additional clarification, all anonymously, and Aardvark keeps a "log" of it all for future reference.  I think I'll be using Aardvark as my "second" Google from now on.  If I can't find an answer in 10 minutes on Google, then off to Aardvark to get the answer.  I'll do my best not to be lazy and go to Aardvark first.

If you want to check out Aardvark you can use this link to join: http://vark.com/s/7ivF

(Full disclosure: I am getting nothing for this review nor for you using the link above to join. Therefore this review is unbiased. I do occasionally get "perks" for mentioning services and products but I will always disclose that to keeps things honest.)

Now today with sites like facebook, twitter, blogger, etc. the game is a little different.  Imagine your old water cooler, except now everything you say is written down and stuck to the cooler for people to read later.  Also, people may stick notes in reply to what you said for you to read when you return.  In some cases it may be people you don't know and you also don't know who is reading all the notes going back and forth.  Now imagine it's not just that water cooler but 3 or 4 other ones around the office, all with the same (or different) topics being discussed by different people.  It's easy to see how it gets overwhelming.

Now come the rules and tools to help sort it out.  First and foremost, never, NEVER, put something on the Internet you don't want to see on the front page of the NY Times.  This goes for personal email too.  If you are the type of person who talks about people or says particularly nasty things, keep it face to face.  You never know who is going to get a copy of what you write (purposely or not) and since everything is recorded online (even after it's deleted) you need to stand behind what you say (or write).

Second, limit yourself to a few sites and make sure they serve a purpose.  For example, I use my blog, twitter, and facebook (primarily).  They all "do" something different for me.  My blog is for anyone to read and I post more thought out and typically longer content like this article.  Twitter is my quick and dirty public instant message application and my go-to source for what's new in the world.  Facebook is someplace in the middle but for my real life friends only.  Given that they all have a different purpose I also have different rules for each.

My blog is pretty much wide open, I'll write "to" anyone and read comments "from" everyone.  On twitter I "follow" only people who I think may say something I'll want to hear, but this includes people I don't know in real life, and I will (although rare) "block" people I don't want following me.  On facebook I only add people I know in real life and I will (and do) ignore people that I don't know.  I also have locked facebook down more than the "default security" so it remains pretty private.

Third, cross post.  Rather then post something on my blog then cover the same topic in facebook and twitter I cross post the content.  For example, facebook will pick up this blog post as soon as I publish it and post it to my friends.  Then I'll post a link on twitter so others can find it as well.  There are tools to help with this kind of stuff but cut and paste works too.  When I post on twitter I typically make the same post on facebook (using TweetDeck) so I cover more ground with less work.  Using tools to help you integrate your messaging makes sense.  Your time is valuable and why spend time covering the same information twice or three times when you could be using that time covering the next topic.  Social networking can be as time consuming as you allow it to be so every second counts.

The fact is that social networking can't be ignored but it is also something that doesn't need to be feared or become a full time job.  Find a method that works but doesn't feel like work.  Be okay with missing 15% of what's going on if you are able to keep up with 85% because unless you are getting paid to keep up on everything no one can catch 100% all the time.  Whatever you do, get in on the action!  Social networking often leads to professional networking and it keeps you on top of whats going on, whether it be with your friends or with topics you care about.  Once you get the hang of it you'll do it without even thinking and by then they'll be some new technology to learn about.