Peace. Times two.
I changed my avatar this morning and I realized that I don’t do it very often – in fact, I probably change it up once (maybe) every six months or so.
This is specifically related to my Twitter account – I almost have never changed my Gravatar icon!
There are some people that have suggested that keeping the same avatar is part of their branding strategy and there are others that have suggested (just as passionately) that changing it often is more “social” and should be a part of your marketing strategy.
I have no idea what either camp does to justify those claims and I honestly could care less – my chief motivation is because I simply want to change it! There’s no strategy in that!
In fact, here’s a typical scenario of how this occurs:
- Wake up.
- Get some coffee.
- Meander towards my Macbook Air.
- Eventually boot up Twitter.
- Stare at the screen for a little bit.
- *Blink* *Blink*
- Look at my avatar.
- Realize how ghastly it is.
- Quickly find another picture.
- Upload and replace.
- Go grab a shower.
If you call that strategy then go for it…!
What about you? What’s your avatar strategy? Do you have one? How often do you change it up?
I usually only change it when my wife posts a picture of me that is tolerable. I’m not in the habit of uploading pictures of myself.
my wife rarely takes pictures of me that are worth sharing.
it’s me, not her.
It has been about 3.5 years since I have changed my avatar. Should probably do that some day.
hah! that’s a long time!
As a photographer, I’m very rarely in photos.. But every now and then someone snaps one of me, OR I set up the studio gear specifically for promo shots of myself.. That’s when I change my avatar.. There’s no rhyme or reason as to when it happens just if someone snap a good or funny pic of me.. Then I’ll change it up
agreed. this is true of me too.
Only set it once per website change. So three times total.
i like yours. a lot.
I change it up as much as my look changes. So, maybe once a year. Mostly because I got used to retaking headshots once or twice a year in the acting world and since I get such good photos it’s silly not to use them across the board. Actually I just scheduled my next shoot in 2 weeks! Chyeayuh!
oh… wow! pics! share them!
Strategy? The closest I’ve come to one of those is to make all my social network, blog page and gravatar the same picture.
so you’d change them all out if you ever changed one up?
I haven’t changed my gravatar in a while, but I think that’s okay. Maybe consistency isn’t what im going for with my strategy.
you mean it “is”…
I have only been using gravatar for a short time, but… I rarely update my facebook photo! I think I have only done it twice… in the past 3 years!!
-Jean
… wow! perhaps you don’t change much….?
That could be it John! Or it could also be that I just don’t find any better photos then I currently have.
-Jean
you’re just so photogenic….
Hmmm…I’ve changed it a few times, but I dig the current pic so no plans of changing it yet
you don’t have eyes…!
Every 6 months or so, I think about changing it. Then I go back to the original. It’s 2 years old, but it’s pretty rare that I get a picture of me that I actually like!
i know that can be tough…! it’s hard to find the right one!
I usually think about changing my avatar when @moretom changes his but then I’m afraid of making a big mistake like him and I don’t do it.
Does he ever read this awesomeness?
Seriously, I love the idea of keeping avatars the same. With only milliseconds for someone to recognize me in a twitter stream or Facebook wall so I want to make sure it is familiar.
i’m going to make sure that he does….
I change my facebook & twitter avatar pretty regularly. Sometimes as often as once a week. My blog avatar doesn’t change that often because I’m on my blog far less than I am on varying social media sites. Sometimes my avatar is the same on facebook and twitter, but often not.
My strategy is this: “It’s like a new pair of shoes. If you buy a pair that fits, wear them for as long as they’re comfortable.”
In short; if you take a good photo of yourself and want to share it, yhe best chance you have of someone seeing it, it to make it your avatar/ primary photo.
It can generate a lot of conversation. And, that’s the ticket; creating conversation, right? If you want to continue the conversation, find me on Twitter, with my rapidly changing avatar.
@Schnik
i like that shoe metaphor…! i wear mine out though… way beyond it’s usefulness…!