Self improvement. Self Awareness. Self Promotion.

I'm sort of on a self improvement kick. Or maybe not.

I am doing things to improve my life like stopping smoking(again), trying to eat properly, drinking very little alcohol, getting plenty of rest and exercise. I am also learning about some new things: Python (a wonderful language), Amazon's EC2, Google Apps Engine, and a few other things that caught my fancy.

But really I am not so much trying to improve myself as define myself to the outside world. I am updating my neglected resume, starting a blog or two, finally figuring out what Twitter and Linked-in are for, beefing up my profile on various networking sites, and starting to attempt to nurture some professional connections. What I am doing resembles self-promotion more than self-improvement. Self promotion is something I have never been good at, but it is arguably just as important as actual ability. After all what does it matter what you can do if nobody knows you can do it?

Self promotion requires that you define yourself to the outside world in a very consistent and clear way. Which means that not only you have to know yourself and your capabilities pretty well, you also have to know how others perceive you. While I do consider that I am pretty self aware (maybe "self involved" would be a better term), I really don't have a good idea of how other people perceive me, or where I might fall in the ecosystem of "technology people". 

A 'general technologist' seems like a cop out, or the even more hideous "jack of all trades" moniker. The truth is I know some about a lot and a lot about some.  More importantly I  have curiosity, I'm reasonably intelligent, and I can read technical manuals, which essentially makes me an expert on everything... given enough time.


Maybe "Expert" would be a good title for me.

"Hi! I'm Chris Perisho and I'm an Expert."

For the time being my resume will say "Technologist" or "Information Technology Manager" or "Information Technology Administrator" depending on the situation or my mood that day and I will continue to inroduce myself as the 'IT guy' at work.  Given the arc of my life so far, I don't think I will ever be a cog in a corporate machine so I probably won't have to be a "Systems Analyst" or a "Database Programmer".  Maybe Entrepreneurial Technologist?

How about: 'Cloud Based Web 3.0 Social Memosphere Solution Provider'?

Nah, I don't think I'd like being a consultant.