Personal Branding.

So I made this about.me page today: about.me/kemplyons

We live in a world where it's so easy to push your ideas and image out there.  My thoughts wouldn't be worth the paper they're printed on if this was thirty years ago, but, thanks to the magic of the internet, anyone can read my blather any time of day!

We have Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, LinkedIn, Instagram, Wordpress, and I know I'm missing some.  About.me claims to be able to be a one-stop shop for your online identity.

But why do we need an online identity?  Since when did Personal Branding become a thing?  What happened to buckling down and working hard at doing something - not just marketing yourself until someone hires you?

Sound off in the comments.  I genuinely want to hear some thoughts here.  Personal Branding: necessary evil in an information economy or penultimate egotism that takes away from our ability to create anything outside of our own image?