On Wednesdays all over the blogosphere some post an image with no words to explain it. I never really understood this, probably because I prefer to express myself with words. But then I often agonize over the right image for a post, the photos I post on Facebook or which ones to share on Twitter.
Photos shock, surprise, make us smile, bring back a memory or make us think. Some images enrage us, others drive us to a common goal, choosing an image is never completely innocent, we communicate a whole range of emotions through these.
But online where first impressions are linked to a tiny photo next to our name, what does it all mean?
Who you are
My friend Mark Harai asked if your Avatar showed us our best side, his main grief was with Marcus Sheridan’s Avatar, the lion. Why put a wild animal as a profile photo? Marcus makes an excellent point, he gets noticed and isn’t just another face in the crowd. There aren’t many lions blogging.
Books have been written about Avatars, what to do and what not do. In the end what really matters is how do you want to be remembered, as a lion or someone who shoots them.
Our memories
Marcus mastered the Avatar photo because he brings an emotional side to it
He isn’t just another smiling face online, he is the king of the jungle and this brings back memories. For Ingrid Aboud he is Mufasa (the Lion King.) Of course in order for it to be a good memory you need to have the blogging skills of Marcus. Otherwise you just another online scam, an impostor.
Image makers
If you lack Marcus’s blogging skills and have no idea which animal you want to be, then you can turn to image makers, yes you know them, public relations consultants.
There is a misconception among the public that if you want to have a great image online, all you need to do is contact a PR agency. If you need to someone can even create an entirely fake online persona.
Unfortunately it just doesn’t work this way online. Dear CEO is an insightful E-book which brings together 32 letters from business leaders, who are experts in marketing, vision, public relations and online media. One letter is from Lisa Gerber who brings the message home very simply when she says,
“if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to hide. Share your knowledge. We’ll do the talking for you”
If you want someone to change your image, get a facial. Online, as in life who you are is much more than a simple photo.
Beyond the smiling photo you put online, who you are is mostly what you do and how you interact with others. You can choose to be the saleslion who helps everyone in his online tribe and acts like the king of the jungle, and this goes a lot further than just uploading an image.
How do you choose your images online?
What do you think about before you publish an image?
Hi I'm a coach who believes life is an adventure, and entrepreneurs need to cultivate an adventure mindset to succeed.
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
I have such a problem with image. I change my avatar all the time. Either no one notices or no one cares. (both options suck BTW)
I photograph poorly. I am often told I look much prettier in real life. My problem is I can’t seem to match up my personality to a photograph. I get very nervous in front of cameras.
My boyfriend took pictures of me in a track suit holding a Louisville Slugger (ask @2718339063b4a11fff853cf3151c3a00:disqus about that if you don’t know the story. I posted those on Facebook much to everyone”s delight.
Yet, that would not be a good picture for my Twitter profile or my “about” page on my blog. Or maybe it would…
I have to see those pics on FB of you with the slugger. Why wouldn’t it be?
Some people change theirs all the time, I’m too lazy. But I feel we should put whatever we are comfortable with, who cares if they like it or not. It’s how we see ourselves which matters right?
So, after I’d been on Twitter for about a year, I had professional photos taken. They’re gorgeous photos that make me look a bit older than I am (when you’re pretty and tiny, you need to look older in some circles). I wanted to share the amazing work the photographer had done so I changed my avatar.
O. M. G.
You’d have thought I asked for volunteers to walk off the top of the Sears Tower. It lasted maybe 30 minutes before I changed it back. And it stayed the same until January of this year.
When I changed it, I had to be 100 percent certain it represented the perception people had of me from two years of my building it – happy, smiling, and fun.
The best part? Even when I’m grouchy, you can’t tell!
Stop laughing at me Gini! I can tell when.
Chelsea, yes our gravatars introduce us and your smile is a great introduction.
Hey John!
This is an incredibly timely post for me! I recently wrote a post on taking advantage of the trained eye. Images are an easy way to captivate us and what better way to do this than with a gravatar and photos included in our blogs and other social networks.
Social media is all about sharing and connecting with others. Our gravatars are a representation of who we are and hopefully we all chose a picture that reflects a glipse of our personalities. The photos we choose in our blogs are probably a brief introduction to what we want to express through our written content.
This is awesome and right on time for me!
Thanks.
John,
Choosing the right image to use on social media isn’t something I have actually done strategically. I choose my images based upon the content I am writing or the emotion I am trying to portray. I do think that a visual is attention grabbing and is a way to break up big blocks of text that might be a stand off for a first time visitor.
On another note I have noticed that I didn’t get a lot attention when my avatar put forth a perception that was not generally accepted. I won’t go into all the details but let’s just say simple is better when it comes to photos.
Frank, interesting note you make about your Avatar not getting attention, how did you measure that?
Well most of my traffic when I first started was from the comments that I left on other sites. For a while I would go and leave great comments and would not get any response from the writer nor from any of the readers. Then Jk and I had a discussion about branding and we both made some updates to our gravatar and the same people who were ignoring us started responding and contributing to our community. Since then my traffic has greatly increased and my content has remained the mostly the same.
Interesting, very interesting Frank. Did you post about this, its really a great case study.
But didn’t you just change your Avatar recently?
I never posted about it but it was a general observation I made. I used that information to create a public perception that was more widely accepted. Now I am trying something different.
I will let you know if it has the desired effect.
I think many underestimate the lasting indelible power of first impressions. My wife was telling me that at her company the job applicants could be seen approaching the building and everyone in the conference would have reached a conclusion about the applicant before he even entered the building. I always cringe when I see a personal photos devoid of a smile, many pictures look like they were taken from a police lineup.
Riley
Hi Riley, yes it’s quite amazing what you can tell from a photo. Ah, first impressions, I think this is another post in itself. Thanks for stopping by.
Selecting a photo is one of the hardest blogging tasks for me. It is often more work than recording my podcast, which I do for most of my articles. They can say a lot, and they can add to the post. I like the one you chose here … very nice!
Selecting my avatar was easy. It is just a plain old casual picture of me. That was far easier to choose than nearly any of my blog images.
Mark, I hear you. I struggle with pics, often to find out the one I like has all rights reserved.
Yes Avatar are easier when you know who you are and what your message is right?
I am a big fan of Flickr advanced search (just be sure to check the boxes for copyright). I also tend to just grab a camera and start editing.
Ironically your Avatar suffered the same fate as JKs.
I think these photos which are taken at a celebration really show us in our best light. The expression on our faces, the little twinkle in our eyes, it is impossible to repeat.
You are right we base our impressions of people on the photos, you make a great point- we do base our discussions on the mood we see in the photo. For me also Gini is always cracking up!
Great question, how often should we change it? No idea, where are the pros?
John, thanks for bring this up man. I’m happy with the Lion, and what it means (there is a deep, deep meaning behind it that I’ve never shared on my blog before) and I know I’ll always have a Lion avatar. Notwithstanding, as I mentioned above, I don’t think I’d recommend it to most new bloggers, as it’s really only effective once you’ve arrived. With twitter, I say certainly make it ‘you’. Your face. The best twitter users make it a personal medium. That’s why I changed it from the Lion and it has been a good move.
But as everyone else has said, actions speak much loud than avatars…at least in this case
Thanks again bud,
Marcus
Bud I know there is a deep meaning behind this, you didn’t call yourself a Lion for no reason.
Which brings me back to your tagline dilema in your post, for me the Lion says it all.
Hi John,
They say image is everything, yet actions speak louder than words.
I supposed the point is your image and your actions must support one another. They are not mutually exclusive and they should be congruent, if not you shoot yourself in the foot. Personally, I prefer not to over thing either aspect too much. I want to be aware, but not contrived. If we are operating out of authenticity and honest, I think the “right” image always prevails.
As an aside:
Mark – your skinny comment was hilarious
Jk – your missing avatar what beyond comic irony – way to make a point!
Marlee, when it comes to image I think you are the Queen. Your video post give you a super strong personal brand online.
Yes we need to be authentic and it does mean something different to everyone. I remember the debate about saying the F word online on Spinsucks and there is an online behavior isn’t there?
Probably because everything is written down as opposed to spoken.
Which brings me back to your videos, they bring the spoken word into social media and this makes you all the more authentic.
Cheers Marlee
John, great post. This is something that I think people carelessly make a decision about. Individuals and companies are spending millions of dollars on branding and re-branding but somehow that never makes it over to the digital world. You see this with low resolution photos and avatars that are so outside their brand guidelines that it is laughable. But that is not the only thing that seems to be forgotten… Many people are wondering why their blogs and twitter account(s) are not getting followed, read or commented on, but yet when you read them they are nothing but self-proclamation of how wonderful they are. Lisa’s quote is so true, if you will give good information, be yourself and also be open to what your community needs they will all grow. To me this all goes back to the image. From the avatar, to design, to content, take a step back and look at what “picture” you have created for yourself. Is it worth looking at? Or are you trapped in the “Clutter of the Ordinary?”
I’m always amazed by low resolution photos on websites. In this day and age.
“Clutter of the Ordinary” that is a great expression, I’m taking it.
Justin, it’s pleasure to meet you here and look forward to hear a lot more from you.
I would take b) although a) is often an opportunity in disguise
Thought this was a great comment Justin. I used to use my Lion for twitter and after getting feedback from a lot of people much smarter than me, I changed it, and it has been a good move. Because I now use twitter in the right sense— a conversation, I want people to feel like they’re talking to me, not some animal. But in blog comments, it stands out differently, and goes hand in hand with the brand, if that makes any sense.
Again, great points made .
Marcus
Hi John, believe it or not, I upload pics that make me look skinny – LOL!
I say put your best foot forward with pictures and your actions. Attempt to be excellent and amazing with everything you do online. Be everything you always dreamed of being… go ahead, just be it.
Or as my friend Stuart Mills would say — Simply Be..!
Loved our chat John — you both seem like close family to me. I’m touched by our friendship and I promise to introduce you to another incredible woman soon… my wife Linda. Ameena has so many similar qualities, none greater however, than just the down to earth loving real people that they are.
I appreciate you John and Ameena, thanks for being awesome people : )
Hey Mark, yep a photo means a lot but in the end it’s how you behave online which gets you noticed. Not the avatar!
You my friend are awesome, forget the skinny photos I don’t care about your weight!
Yep let’s get Linda and Ameena connected, and looking forward to Blog World Costa Rica
John – I’m glad you published this post…I was hoping I got a chance to explain myself in this area!
For the images I use for my post – I create them all. For me there’s something about having creative control and the ability to express it. So, I’ve made the choice to do all of my post pictures. Never anything crazy, but always an extension of me. And, since I only post once per week (because of my crazy schedule) – I have the time to do it.
Now, to the good part, the gravatar as a direct extension of our brand. It’s highly important to project the image that we want. Unfortunately, such a small picture can only tell so much of a story…but regardless, people create their own stories of what we project to them.
My current avatar is from the picture I show on my about page. On my about page the word “determined” is present because that’s my current mindset. In the picture I’m ripping at the tie I have on, which is a the “tie” that corporate America has around my neck! I’m tugging away at it because I’m in process of pulling away from my corporate career… I’m determined.
I don’t think many people could pull off the lion gavatar. Marcus is in a unique space, because to anyone else I would advise that it’s not a good move. But in time it’s easy to see that Marcus is a king in the jungle… I see others use a lion gavatar from on Twitter and when I see their’s I always think “now that’s not THE lion…that’s simply “A” lion. Marcus is “THE” lion!
When it’s all said and done, it’s all about making connections and helping folks out (or at least providing value in some way). The gravatar is important, but second to overall content.
Thank you John!
Of all post…I enter my email address incorrectly causing my gravatar not to show. That’s classic!!! What’s wrong with me John! LOL
JK I was wondering what happened!
Actually I thought it was your new Gravatar, LOL!
Great analysis you do of your photo, I get it now and it says a lot about you.
Speaking of corporate any news from Google?
John – yes, I have an update. I had a second meeting with them earlier this week and I think it went well. I should get an update from next week…likely later int he week because I’ll be traveling for business.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks for the kind words JK, I really appreciate that. Honestly, knowing what I know now, I don’t know if I’d recommend it either. Like you said, it’s GREAT once you’ve gotten ‘there’, but if you ain’t ‘there’, you look like a big dork.
You mean personal experience matters in blogging? Naahhh!
Well you’ve arrived my Marcus. Everyone knows the lion and if they don’t, they need to get in with the “in-crowd”!
The second I see the Lion avatar I know who it is, no matter what blog I’m on, without even reading the name. It is definitely original and stands out.
However, I have to agree with you that your online presence is more than a thumbnail. I only recognize that lion because of WHAT and HOW Marcus goes about his blog and business.
Your Avatar does not need to be as original as that to stand out. For instance, I recognized Brankica’s avatar as soon as I saw her comment on this post because I’ve been to her blog numerous times and have seen her commenting around the blogosphere.
Actually, yours too John. Every time I’m on a blog and see white shirt, arms crossed, I know who’s talking.
Your work and networking efforts hold the underlying value of your avatar, not the other way around.
Eugene, funny how we recognize people from these tiny images but we only remember them for what they do
I guess this goes to show social media relationships are a lot deeper than we think right?
Good points Eugene. There is certainly power behind recognition, especially when we are scanning the comments to a blog post. I’ve done the same with Brankica and view John’s much like you mention.
Hey John, this is a great point and a nice example you have here
The photo won’t do much if you are an a$$hole, right!?
When it comes to my gravatar, it is the photo I use everywhere, because it is recognizable. I actually hate this one and can’t wait to change it, just haven’t made one that I like. The reason I chose it was because I was thought to take this online stuff as my business from day one, and that means having a “serious” photo as well.
On Twitter, however, I have a photo from one of my competitions, with a gun in my hands and it got a lot of comments from people. I guess it made an impact. Although I love it and it does show me for what I am and even how I run my blog, it is still not something that I would use as a gravatar. Why? Because people are weird.
For example, one time Ingrid mentioned me in her post and called me a sharp shooter. It was days after that American lady politician was shot, few months ago. So this guy made a comment that it is really not OK to mention me as a shooter when that happened.
I do not agree with him. I have to say that not everyone’s world revolves around stuff that happen in USA, and neither Ingrid nor me are Americans, but those shootings happen all the time and I don’t want to be the subject of comments like those.
I do have to add, that another issue, photos we put in posts are also so complicated for bloggers cause it is hard to find something that fits a blogging topic sometimes. Unless it is Ingrid’s post today
Well, enough with me, awesome post and you know – keep rockin’
Hi Brankica, interesting you mention this because I never realized why you changed these two photos (your twitter and comment photos.) I love the one of you shooting because it shows who you are and something you do, in competitions.
I didn’t know you got comments about the shooting, I guess we can’t please everyone. But I don’t think we should try to please everyone and having that photo there is who you are, what you enjoy doing and you are not doing anything illegal or morally wrong.
I just saw Ingrid’s photo today and almost fell off my chair I was laughing so hard
Thanks for stopping by and the kind words.
I can’t believe I missed this post!!!!!!! Grrrr….sorry John – my bad.
First off – thanks for the mention. And yes – Mufasa rocks
! And so do you my dear expat.
As for Brankica’s comment – ha! She does have SHARP memory indeed cause it’s true. I sometimes call her Sharpy or Sharp Shooter (amongst other names) cause it’s what she is. Not only a sharp shooter – something that she loves but she’s sharp in general and it’s easily portrayed through her work on her blog and elsewhere.
You can imagine my surprise when I got a comment about calling her that in my post – obviously I wasn’t aware yet of the shooting that had occurred the day before or so in the US. But regardless – although I answered nicely and diplomatically (of course lol) I don’t believe I had done anything wrong by calling her that. Had she been offended then that would have been an entirely different story and of course I would have apologized to her. But then again – I usually get an okay from someone before I nickname them publicly
. The last thing I want to do is (purposely) offend someone in any way – publicly or privately. Not my style.
I use to use the same image everywhere – but recently I changed my Twitter one. It may not be the best way for brand recognition – but sometimes a change or a small update is ok.
As for Mufasa’s avatar – I remember reading Mark Harai’s post which I really liked – but in in Marcus’s case I have to stay that he’s done a heck of a job with branding himself with a mane. Not an easy thing to pull off but he does so very well and it works for him. Not only does he display attributes of a Lion but I know there is a personal or deep meaning behind it – and that’s fine.
Much like our nicknames – surely Ingrid Abboud is more professional than Griddy but there is a meaning and story behind Griddy – it’s personal, it’s friendly and I don’t think it makes me less professional – it just adds a more humanized touch. Sure – my clients here don’t call me that but when it comes to my blog and my online community – I love that they do and I don’t think it jeopardizes my quality of work – so hey. Heck, even CEO’s have nicknames lol.
The image of myself I chose to use on my blog (actually 2 that people are familiar with) is because it represents me in some sort of way. I believe people sometimes base their impression of you through your image. Sometimes good and sometimes bad. But the one I use is me – I’m smiling – I’m happy – I’m rather confident but I’m also friendly. It’s just me in general. Does it get noticed easily? Sure it does – but then again every personal image does too. That’s the first thing people look at to know who they’re about to engage with. It’s their first impression of you and whether we like it or not – it matters – which of course makes the decision process of choosing the “right” picture online a little more difficult. It’s how you want people you don’t know in person to see you. Once they do – they will judge you on who you are and what they come to know of you as a person/professional.
Anyhow – just my few pennies on this although of course there’s more haha.
Fantastic discussion piece John – as always.
And thanks for the mentions – by you and Sharpy
.
Happy Saturday to you my friend.
A Griddy size comment! Yep today was a beautiful day and now it just turned to awesome.
You are right, you changed your photo on twitter but you still have a different Avatar. You are 100% right people base their impression on first impressions and I don’t follow or interact with logos online. So Mufasa is the exception.
Griddy is absolutely fine and as you say it’s personal and likeable. Have a great weekend Griddy and looking fwd to the Super post.
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