UNC Senior Hunter Ellis creates blog/portfolio

Senior journalism and mass comm. major Hunter Ellis recently launched a Web site called Creative Riff. It’s a combination blog-portfolio (with both ad design and writing samples). It’s a great example of how to successfully blend your personal and professional interests. Hunter houses his professional work there but isn’t afraid to tell you what he did over the weekend or what he’s watching on TV.

During my presentation on social media and personal branding, I talked about the importance of incorporating a human element into your personal brand, to remind people that you exist offline, too. In a Web 2.0 world, people want to know who you are, so it’s OK to infuse your personality into your communications, LinkedIn profile, blog, etc. The buzz word is “authentic.”

Note: as a general rule, the more creative the professional, the more “authentic” you can be. For example, advertising people have more leeway than investment bankers.

Since Hunter is going into advertising, I think he’s struck a pretty good balance.