I found this as I was catching up on my RSS feeds this morning. Dan Shawbel of Mashable! has an awesome post about how "Personal Branding Can Save You From Getting Fired."

I talked about this in my presentation to Regina Cassell's class a
couple weeks ago. By establishing a web presence (that you keep
updated) that promotes yourself as an expert on a given topic, your
marketability (and job security) is enhanced.

Shawbel makes several other points that are worth your time. Really,

I made a presentation to Regina Cassell's Pub Tech class today about building a web portfolio, and the online marketing that goes along with it.

The keys to remember when making an online presence for yourself is to keep it professional, and use it once you've got it.

Why make an online portfolio?

It sounds like a lot of work, but creating an online portfolio to showcase your work is worth it: