A Writer's Public Profile

I've been mulling for a while now on the direction I want to take my blog, and I've decided after much hard thinking that it's time to make some changes.  Nothing too serious, but hopefully another small step in the right direction.

So, I'm proud to present "Rach Writes..." with my new blog address at http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com/.  A big step for me, but one I did feel it would be worthwhile to take sooner rather than later.

That's got me thinking though, just how important is your public persona as a writer within the industry, on the internet, and generally around the traps???

How much effort do you put into building up your name recognition?  Are you taking the time now to promote yourself within the blogosphere, or will you wait until you are published?  If you are already published, do you still think about these issues, or did you sort them out at/before the time of your book launch?

I'd love to hear your thoughts...