Wednesday 1 February 2012

Personal Branding: Is Your Avatar Hurting Your Image?

I recently read that resumes are becoming less necessary as employers are becoming more interested in reviewing you as employee potential based on your online reputation. 

As we all know we tend to make a decision on people within the first few seconds of meeting them. We then look for signals to reinforce our initial opinion. 

I also recently wrote that your email address was important as "spunky1949" on hotmail dot com was just not going to help you get a job interview. 

Bearing in mind what I have said above, if you look at the avatars chosen at random from players of Empire Avenue what emotional responses do they evoke?

I 'know' most of the people represented below and they all seem pretty good people. The point of the exercise is to decide based on the pictures below which one's appeal to you and which one's leave you less than impressed or even stone cold!


The exercise is about technique, cartoons versus real pictures, generic images versus personal portraits, logos versus pets, half naked long shots versus head and shoulders in suit and tie etc.

So if you could comment on one or two using such adjectives as "friendly", "trustworthy", "secretive", "arrogant", "nice", "obscure" or even "a bit dumb looking" it would help my research greatly.

Now this is an important topic for you and I as it effects how we present ourselves online. A company recently used Empire Avenue to research an avatar/logo for a product launch to see which of their proposals had the best impact. From my point of view they were smart to do that. As we are our own best product shouldn't we also think about and take seriously the issue's mentioned as they relate to our reputation and the impression we make online?

36 comments:

  1. The avatars that leave me with a trustworthy or a really good impression are the ones that are taken up close and are very clear so that you have no trouble seeing the person's face and they also have to be facing straight ahead. For examples - #4 #6 #7 #9 #10 #21 #24 #26 #32 #35 #37 and #46.

    The following look unprofessional -unless it is an avatar strictly for a business that has already established a trustworthy reputation - then I don't think you should logos. You also should not use humor or casual pics for an avatar - examples - #3 #11 #12 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #22 #23 #25 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #34 #36 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #47 #48

    The following were just not taken properly - not facing forward and/or unclear - #1 #2 #5 #8 #13 #33

    y opinions - I hope this helps with your research.
    Thanks Jaydean Krupski / @starlingpoet

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your insights they are very valuable indeed. Ric

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    2. I actually don't have a problem with 34 and really like it. It is friendly and professional, but natural with a touch of "artsy." I would hire him.

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  2. I think you're right that avatar images are indeed important to your personal branding. I don't think most folks spend enough effort considering what their image says about them. I also know that your avvy image is only One of the things that give people an impression of who you are and what you do.

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  3. I like to see faces, real pictures, smiles.

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  4. I don't like unfriendly animal and an object which is not a personal photo. For the latter case, it's acceptable only if that's your business logo.

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  5. in my case, my new avatar(the same, in all networks, helped me to grow my fans, subscribers, etc, and to better interract.

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  6. no 47 says nothing to me.
    no 39 cat ? Why ? no good!

    I want to se a face. Not a cat or a drawing of a face.
    Just a real photo .

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  7. I don't think it's wise to adjust people on their choise of Avatar. I agree with you that if you are looking for a 'professional' or 'friendly' looking person that a personal photo will help a lot to be picked out. In this EA game however, with many different personalities together, I don't see any harm to use the Avatar of personal choise.

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    1. Thanks for your comment and to some extent I agree with you however the reality is that we all do subconsciously. Its is therefore very important that the avatar we pick is what we really how we need to present ourselves as we will typecast us (one way or another) by those that view it. So we best get the best one we can!

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  8. I think that the way we respond to avatars is the same as the visual response we have in real life - most of us would rather be looking at a real person who is close up and smiling and (obviously) in focus - 10, 32, 35, 46. I personally dislike the badge things I see on a lot of avatars - they obscure, but they don't communicate anything to me.

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  9. Most of them look good to me. But 28,31,38,44 are unclear and I wouldn't use sunglasses on my avatar. And certainly not pets, unless you are owner of a pet store. But seeing kittens, dogs, sheep, gorillas makes me feel they don't take them selves serious.

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  10. Richard, the dogs of the world have ask me to express their disappointment that their species is not represented in your line up From a dog lover such as you, they wonder if this is a case of reverse bias? I agree with Paulo, I like to see faces,real pictures and smiles that reflect their personality.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Tom there is a furry friend if you look closely :-) ..and what is he/she catching? Aha :-)

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  11. Here is my opinion Ric, first I don't trust anyone with some cartoon or graphic avatar, that make me think that they hide something, (sorry guys, but I'm trying to be honest).
    I believe that if you want to make positive impact on other people , than it has to be your photo,doesn't meter how you look like. It's important that your eyes are visible, and of course...smile.
    So, numbers 2,4,6,10,26,32,21,24,32,35,37,46 on my first sight are friendly, thrust worthy ,serious people.
    22,36,45 - can't see their eyes.
    Of course, this is first look opinion, I believe that, after that you have to take a look on their resumes, but first impression will stay always.

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    Replies
    1. Very insightful Leo,

      Thank you and Lucas has added further explanation to your points also... it is so important it astounds me that so many don't think abut it more. A bad avatar is like turning up to work with last nights soup on your tie! Thank again for your valuable contribution Ric

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  12. Smiling faces up close open and accepting... e.g. 10, 37 , 35.
    Photos like 18, 25, 39 etc do nothing!

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  13. Avatars, like faces, give us something to judge someone by. rightly or wrongly a book is judged by its cover.

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  14. Well dear Ric,
    i prefer to look into one person eyes.... not avatar or something else.... i love animals, i have a wonderful dog, 7 cats but i do not like their pics on a person avatar...
    that' is my simple opinion...

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  15. Very interesting. It seems people are only interested or trusting of actual photos of the user. However, many people have an on-line presence and are not able to either disclose their identity for safety reasons or because they may be working for a company they do not want to be implicated on their personal accounts. Also in terms of non profit business pages etc a logo or image is transferable to whoever is running that account, not necessarily the business owner. It would be nice to think the person employed for either money or as a volunteer would stay in the position but unreasonable to think this actually may be the case. I am one of those faceless avatars actually for both reasons stated above. In my anonymity I avoid the inevitable hassle from people who think they know me or have seen me in town and suddenly want to be my friend, and am able to get on with the job at hand knowing I do not compromise the Business that I work for. However, having used Empire Avenue I feel that if your Business is self promotion, then of course you need a good picture of yourself as Richard has. If you are in fact the brand then it would be amiss not to include your own picture as the avatar and to be consistent across all sites.

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    1. I guess the difference is that you are using this as a representative of a business. I'm not into self-promotion or personal branding but when I'm on social networks, I'm on as myself, a person, not a company.

      I can see using your company logo if you are communicating for the company. But I have only had positive experiences when someone has recognized me from my online avatar. They just want to say "I know you!", not be your best friend or stalk you. I find it flattering, personally, and have met some great people because I use the same avatar across all social media platforms.

      But I realize that you and others might feel differently.

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  16. I'll just pick a couple. I like #13, 26 & 35. Avatars where I can see the person's face but that don't look too posed & phony.

    I think that people get too anxious about their appearance and having the right expression. You don't have to be beautiful and smile. Just look sincere, relaxed (but not TOO relaxed, no beach shots), and yourself. You don't have to be a young model. Just be a real person!

    My personal "thing" about avatar photos is that I dislike when people have a super close up (I mean, REALLY close up) of just their face. Sometimes even their hair is cropped out. I've found that people who are sensitive about weight issues do this and I often don't recognize the person when I meet them in person. Just showing your shoulders and neck is enough to get a sense of how a person looks.

    It's not an issue about weight, it's about being comfortable in your own skin and not worrying about other people's superficial judgment. Unless you are auditioning for a reality show, the people that matter will care more about your confidence than whether you are a specific body type.

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  17. joyce jgoden on twitter2 February 2012 at 07:37

    IMHO #10 would be my favorite - looks like a honest smile (not a studio setup), I feel if I met this person he would look like that --I find #16 annoying and offensive---Joyce

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  18. Really creative post, tribemate :-)

    So, non-faces are automatically disqualified. If I dont see your face, I am not interested. #AutoFail

    Few other folks get disqualified cuz I know them and love them. So I'd be biased. Like Janet Calaway.

    Overly professional looking images -esp for dudes, for some reason- are an auto fail for me. It shows they are "aware" of the fact they are being "watched", so you're not getting "them", you're getting a buzinessy, idealized, version of them. Which cant be trusted.

    I like #26, #10, #13, #34.

    Wow...I never realized how critical I am of this stuff :-)

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  19. Hi Dino, I am actually number 4, same face with a small logo and ad. I guess that brings up another point, it is important to use the same avatar across all platforms. Ric

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    1. Yes, I agree with all the above comments.
      Very good comments too, and your replies too Ric!

      About your point about Avatar, I was going to point out that Blogger is integrating with Google+, so that you will have a consistent avatar across both platforms!

      So, when I clicked on the gear on the right hand top of the screen at Blogger.com, I find pleasantly that I have an option to connect with Google+ so that I can share my Google+ profile with Blogger... Eekkkk Shock horror

      Now because of your excellent, timely post, I have -some- LOADS of curation work to do, considering I have built Blogs that I don't want the world to see, never mind attached to my Google+ profile!

      My nickname on Blogger was NoAvatar, which was a joke back in the day..

      And the whole system of Blogger has been overhauled totally.

      Google are really serious this time!
      If you don't have a profile and avatar that you want to be public, available on the net... Well, you can choose to be invisible! Delete and whatever...

      But I don't want to be invisible at all, so once I am happy with my profile on Google+, which I now realise is in really severe need of an update, after viewing my G+ profile in Blogger... SHOCK (O.o)

      So to sum it all up, if you are like me, and have made loads of blogs on subjects that have nothing whatsoever to do with what you are doing professionally, check them out at Blogger.com

      (He said, busily deleting and curating whilst having an epiphany)

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  20. soapbox
    Like the ones with people showing full faces like 02, 04, 26, etc.
    If this is a company I would prefer no lettering it's distracting use a prop i.e. a crochet hook only for 29
    Pictures with a couple, nice for the family but if I know you I don't want to see people i don't know too I want to see you
    Artsy shots, 34, 41 17, 30, some people really don't like or want their photo here (although posting photos of themselves in FB or Flickr boggles the mind) then make a point to make it your brand and don't' change it this includes cartoons or caricatures
    /soapbox

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  21. Hi Ric, Great post! My opinion an avatar should say something about you and who you are or what you do! However, I also believe it should if you are using a photo of yourself it should be recent. I see so many individual photo's where the picture is 5+years old and when you meat the person F2F you don't recognize them!

    In your examples, I really like the avatars where the person is looking at you and smiling like #2, #9, #10 for example. I'm not a fan of the avatars where peoples faces are half cut off, turned away from view, looking down or sideways. I think a cartoon or a logo can be fun (short term) to express a passion or story. For instance, I have changed my FB avatar to represent the Patriots this week to show my support for my team and will do the same with my twitter avatar for the weekend.

    In closing, Social Media is about connecting and networking therefore our avatars should paint a true picture of how we want to be perceived.

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  22. Each of the images tell me something about the person. Only in the context where I were a prospective employer or business looking at these, "how would I feel about them as candidates or as someone with whom I'd do business?" would my judgement have a big impact.

    Any of them might be my friends. I get an image of the kind of person or what they are about from each of the icons but I assume many of those folks aren't looking for a job in a 9-to-5 business so I don't judge them that way.
    Furthermore, some people are not concerned about their brand and how their avatars and icons may affect it. They are not dependent on a brand, they're not in social media for business, they're in it socially. In fact, I think a lot of Social Media "experts" fail to recognize that it is still FIRST and FOREMOST a "social" media not a place where you put up a brand and sell to people. Yes, you can augment your business using social media, but I doubt that social media alone can make or break your business, at least not yet.

    Your point is well made and the article is nice but I'm also in the publishing business and you made several punctuation errors when you wrote "one's", "logo's", and the like. That stuff sticks out to me more than your picture. I'm not supposed to care what you look like, I'm supposed to care that you don't make those kinds of typos when you write for my publication. More often than not I agree somewhat sadly that "an ounce of image is worth a pound of performance" and the icons and email addresses, social media presence and all are the 21st-century equivalent of an image. That said, for some of us, it's still the content (and arrangement) of their written (typewritten or otherwise) characters which allows me to make a more careful conclusion.

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    1. Thank's "Clout" for pointing out my typo's. I find it extremely difficult to proof read my own stuff. I also get upset by grammatical errors and you are right, if not fixed they destroy the credibility and clout (or Klout) of the post. Luckily not for everyone though. Thank you again! Ric

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  23. Thanks a lot to post this interesting article. Am really can't stop myself to take this opportunity to as a question.

    Am not social media professional so have no idea . My question is why there are lot of peoples in Social media doesn't want't put their easy identifiable image on the profile. What could be the reason behind this; may expect any reply on this regards! Thanks !!

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    1. Well I guess we all have different reasons to want to hide our identity and be someone different on the web. That is why second life is so successful I guess. For me thought the web is part of my reality so I like to put my real self up there!

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  24. When it comes to resume, I'd consider these profiles as the best: 4, 24, 32, 34, and 46; and these as the worst: 3, 25, 27, 36, 38, 43, 44 plus all animals, cartoons, objects, signs, letters - didn't plan to offend anyone but just answered the question theoretically.

    cineman from Zurker. :)

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  25. My .02
    For a resume I want to see a full head shot of a real head. A genuine smile is definitively a plus for me.
    #32 Professional, Humble, Approchable
    #05 Sexy, Smart
    #13 Movie Star
    #24 Rigid

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  26. Excellent read with impact. The friendly face shots are preferred. #s 10 & 26 seem the most trustworthy.

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  27. Regarding social media and hidden identities, managing "personas" is a technique to promote a product or business. That is, creating a sort of groupie. I think that is one reason people hide their actual identity.

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