Yesterday I introduced a few easy methods that can be applied to protect your professional online brand. Today I will discuss some simple actions you can take to protect who you are and what you, as a person, represent online – in other words, your personal brand. After all, this is probably the most important brand that requires the most protection.

Your Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr profiles all work together and make what I would call your online brand. It is this online brand that others use to judge your character in both the virtual and real world, particularly employers. Many companies will access your Facebook, MySpace and Twitter profiles to evaluate how you may fit into their organization. Many of today’s youth do not understand the permanency of what is posted online – something that may come back to haunt them in the future.

Here are a few tips to help protect your brand online:

Respect. Just like the post from yesterday, mutual respect can go a long way. If you wouldn’t want someone posting a suggestive image of you then don’t post one of them. If a friend asks you to remove an image or “wall-post” involving them, oblige.

Associations. Social networking tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace allow you to showcase your support and involvement with various organizations and groups. Be careful in your selection and think about what a possible employer, coworker or family friend may think about your association with a particular group.

Linking. I have profiles on dozens of social media and networking sites, but I make a conscious effort to only link where appropriate. There is no need to link my Digg and Reddit accounts to LinkedIn, but it does make sense to link rural TECHNOCRAT to Twitter and LinkedIn.

Again, these are just some simple precautions you can use while building your personal online presence. Online media is accessible anywhere and by nearly anyone so use your head when publishing on the Web.