We were lucky enough to grab 15 minutes with Jenifer ‘Black Phoebe‘ Hanen, blogger extraordinaire, web designer/developer and California-based punk rocker at heart.

She’s visiting London again (something she does a few times a year with clients) and as we talked about her travelling back and forth, we decided to expand on the cultural differences between the US and the UK.

First, an interesting point about promotion. One of the big differences for Jen (representing a West Coast point of view), is that if you’re good at something back at home – you tell people. But in the UK, you’re not ’supposed to’ tell people, as it may be perceived as arrogance. “Some people don’t have a lot of time, so it’s thought of as; ‘Why don’t you just tell me how it is?’, much like that idea of an American elevator pitch. You have to tell people what you can do for them in 60 seconds.”

Where this gets interesting in terms of reputation is that your online self is not constrained to the borders of your own culture, so if you want to expand your brand (either personally or as a corporate) – you can’t let yourself be restricted. It’s not uncommon for very successful global brands to have slightly tailored websites to suit different markets.

“People take on an element of the perceived culture of where they’ve moved to. When you say ‘multi-cultural’, it’s a blend. Though many people specifically choose an identity that they identify with, others might not have thought it out as much, but the ideals of where you live is a part of your identity,” she went on to say.

So in the UK, how much is the idea of being reserved is a cultural hangover? Even if a person hasnt grown up here, but just does business here, have they – as Jen says – picked up silent cues that you do better if you respond accordingly?

In a global economy, where you can target people across the world, does who you are in the moment instead of your cultural roots alone become more important? Individuality, and a sense of being flexible is vital for Jen. “Reputation isn’t just reflective of character right now, or past, it’s about consistency over time – which is often the hardest thing for companies to do.”

In order for brands to be successful globally, they must be aware of each culture they are attempting to engage with. After referencing HSBC’s ‘the world’s local bank’ ad campaign, which makes full use of the sentiment above, Jen made one final point about the online space allowing a brand to change.

She referenced LA being a place where you go move to change yourself entirely, and people will take it seriously – the Internet is much the same. You can re-brand, add new facets of your personality to your online ’self’, and people will accept them. There may be some conflict in deciding how the pieces fit together, but as long as you are honest and can ‘back up’ whatever you promise, everyone has the freedom to present themselves or their brand in a way that suits.