In my spare time/quasi-professional life, I am something of a search dork. I speak of Google with reverential tones normally reserved for religious figures, Sphinn drama almost always makes me laugh, and I have been known to spend entire weekends investigating Google's site link algorithm in tandem with Google's one line site links.

Certain things are expected of search dorks. Search dorks generally love statistics and linguistics. We read disgusting amounts of information. We 'understand' (and have felt the pains of) Google Voodoo (I think we should start calling it 'goovoodoo'). And we read Matt Cutts' blog with more than passing interest.

Today, I was lucky enough to read a post Cutts' wrote called "Letter to a Young Journalist". The title immediately appealed to me because in my personal life, I help publish an award winning street magazine. However, by the time I finished the fifth paragraph, I knew that the "Letter to a Young Journalist" was way too important not to share.  This article was born shortly thereafter.

Matt Cutts peppered that article with splashes of wisdom worthy of (cue "The Imperial March") The Block Quote. Try these two nuggets on for size:

So the first thing I’d recommend is to grab a domain name and work on burnishing your personal reputation online. It’s definitely not the case that everyone needs a blog, but having one place that acts as a face to the world can really help. There’s room for a resume/CV, but also for some writing samples that show off your abilities.

or

So making the switch to a mental model where you are more like a consultant for any company that you work for, but you look for ways to improve your reputation and learn new skills as you go--that’s a good way to make sure that you’re protected if you unexpectedly end up as a free-agent.

These are sage like words of advice that every single person can benefit from, regardless of their job title/status, or plans for the future. With Web 3.0 (whatever that is) on the horizon, personal branding will become extraordinarily important over the next five to ten years.

Finally, this last point is specifically for Matt Cutts - sorry for quoting pillaging your words. Let me know if you would like me to remove this post!