Stop Watching Fucking Lost: Branding in Web 2.0 is a Gold Rush

I've been working on this one for a while. Gary operates a wine vlog, is a personal branding maven; and because we share the same industry, is one of my professional role models.

It's easy to feel gullible when you get motivated by a keynote speaker, but Gary Vaynerchuk is no buffoon. After taking over his family's New Jersey liquor store, Gary worked to rebrand the business as Wine Library, also a web store. He was able to grow the business from $4 million to $45 million within 5 years. He has since appeared in, on and with Conan O’Brien, Ellen Degeneres, NPR, Nightline, Mad Money with Jim Cramer, The Big Idea with Danny Deutsch, Slate Magazine, the Washington Post and Men’s Health Magazine, all without the help of PR. Read Gary's full bio here.

To help grow the brand, Gary pioneered the video blog format for wine, with his blog Wine Library TV. He left behind his CO position at the company after the aformentioned period of growth to start the blog. For 17 months, Gary watched the company's profits dip as he performed the show 5 days a week, exposing new, different and very affordable wines for the everyday consumer, which he ultimately hoped would grow his business even more.

Gary spoke of his experience with the Javits Center crowd at the Web 2.0 conference in NYC, held the last week in September. Gary points out what it takes to be successful in this revolutionary medium; most of his advice you've heard from your granddad a thousand times. The two Ps: Patience and Passion; not to mention, working hard to get what you want. (Gary exemplifies his patience and passion by talking about his experience starting Wine Library TV.) The reason this simple strategy works in Web 2.0, is because it is still wide open, as Gary zealously emphasises. "Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what you want to do every day for the rest of your life...I promise, you can monetize that shit." But this advice is not without warning, "If you for a second...don't believe what in what you're doing...you need to get out now!"

From a PR standpoint, he refers to Wine Library TV as "becoming part of the community," emphasizing communication with your userbase, which is an integral part of the Web. Communication with the creators of media is like never before. With Web 2.0, direct, almost instantaneous communication with content creators is the norm, instead of distant admiration with more traditional media. One of Gary's goals is to meet every person on earth.

Gary has turned down 40 television deals, because he is "waiting for a bigger opportunity." "The gatekeepers are no longer in control," Gary argues as to why he should publish his own content.

Back on a PR rant, Gary emphasizes brand equity. And the best way to build brand equity, he says, is "to do what you love." One downside to new technology is that our lives are completely transparent.

There is currently a gold rush of branding in the new Web arena. In the old days, brands needed alot of traditional media. Now, one only needs to be the first to carve out a niche. "Niches can go crazy."

So what's an entrepreneur to do? "Position yourself to succeed....work your 9-5 (gotta have cash flow); then 7-2 is enough time to "kill it." "Stop watching fucking lost. If you want bling bling, if you want to buy the jets, if you want to do shit...work."