From the well-received Dataclysm: Who We Are, by Christian Rudder, co-founder of OkCupid/p. 209:
“While aspiration and the prestige of association may be timeless [branding] concepts, truly new territory has recently opened to the brand people. In 1997, Tom Peters, a motivational speaker and management consultant, published an article called ‘The Brand Called You’ in Fast Company magazine—and the era of personal branding was born.”
(FYI: Mr. Rudder is highly critical of my writing style in the FC article—failing to acknowledge that the piece was edited not by me, but from a phone interview by Fast Company co-founder and former HBR editor Alan Webber; besides, to add a gratuitous remark, Dataclysm, though a fascinating book, scores off-the-charts on lousy writing.) (FYI 2: I want to puke when labeled a “motivational speaker.” My definition of a “motivational speaker”: fly-weight, self-aggrandizing, delusional dickhead.)