Branded.me* isn’t just a website builder anymore — it’s adding tools allowing users to connect with other users and publish their own content.
CEO Nick Macario said the site’s goal is to be “the creative platform for professionals” — in other words, it’s where professionals can take full control of how they present themselves to the online world. And with the new features, Macario said it’s becoming “a fun, fresh alternative to LinkedIn.”
The big question is whether most people even want their own homepages anymore. Don’t our Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn etc. profiles serve the same function? Macario said that with Branded.me’s customization, you can both focus on what’s important to you and do more to differentiate yourself (see, for example, Macario’s own page), which could be increasingly important in a job landscape where “people are changing jobs more frequently and there’s a bigger shift towards freelancing.”
And the new features could help you do even more in that vein — Macario said the updated Branded.me is about “reading and writing,” allowing users to start blogging on their pages.
Of course, there are countless other blogging platforms out there, including the one I’m using to publish this post. But in the same way that Branded.me is built for people who “never even thought about creating a web page about themselves,” Macario is hoping the new blogging tool will “get other people writing who may have been intimidated or they’ve never even thought about writing.”

Part of the way Branded.me tries to accomplish that is by making the editor simple and easy to use. In addition, it helps you avoid the terror of starting out with a blank page with an “ideas” feature, where you can quickly and easily jot down ideas for posts, wherever you area.
In addition to blogging, Branded.me is introducing other social features, like the ability to follow and direct message other users. The service is available in both free and paid versions.
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* Yeah, I’m not crazy about the name, since I hate the whole idea of building a “personal brand.” But at this point, I accept that the battle is lost.
