[Note: I am revising this previously posted post – this is still very valid and relevant – it is good advice to follow!]
One of the biggest mistakes that I see that Website Owners make is hurting their online credibility. Correcting this issue is easy enough and can be done quickly. Why do people make this mistake? I think it is just because they are not aware that it is a problem!
You might be asking yourself, “What is he talking about?” I am talking about having a Gravatar.
What is a Gravatar?
Every blogger needs to have an Avatar! An avatar is an image that gets placed whenever you leave a comment on someone else’s website and is also visible when you reply back to a comment left on your website. Simply put, it is your picture that gets plastered all over the web when you interact with others.
Why is this important? You want to be visible. If nothing else, you want to create a brand for yourself. You want people to start to identify with who you are whenever they see your picture. Your avatar should be an important part of your online presence.
As an example, when I left a comment over on Ellen Brit’s Marketing Qi site, my comment appears like this:
You can see my smiling face appear when I comment. When someone leaves a comment and does NOT have an avatar set up, a default one is assigned:
Sorry, Alexandra, I don’t mean to pick on you for not having an avatar! To make it up to you, I will be happy to get you set up with one – I’ll do the work for you!
So back to the question, “what is a gravatar?” That little image that magically appears… THAT is a gravatar!
To have your avatar get displayed when you comment all you have you do is create a free account over at Gravatar.com. Here is the Big Secret to remember… When you add your email account, that is the email that you will have to use when you comment on someone’s blog. When you make a comment on someone’s blog, you need to include your Name, your Email Address, and your Website. Make sure the Email Address you enter is the one that is associated with your Gravatar account.
The next time you are at a party, ask the person you are next to if they have a gravatar! When they ask you, “What is a gravatar?” you can now answer!
If you have a Gravatar already, please leave a comment so we can see your wonderful picture! If you don’t have one yet, leave a comment letting us know when you will be getting one (or, why you think you should not have one!)
Great post Paul!
It’s just like all the ‘eggs’ you see on twitter, and logos on facebook posts – always much nicer to see the person behind the comment / tweet / post.
cheers!
Tanya
Absolutely, Tanya! It is easier to connect when you see the face along with the name! Thanks!
i love gravatar 🙂
as you see, paul, i have already an account with the guys. and it is easy.
unfortunately not all blogs use the links to gravatar.com
@tanya second your thoughts.
even if somebody likes an avatar that does not show his/her real face, but you will soon get the connection to the person.
I agree, Helen. However, a personal picture of oneself (like you have for you!) is always a better image than a sunrise or someone’s cat.
you are right paul.
being germany based i hear a lot of people expressing a little shyness which can also be called paranoia when it comes to internet.
the internet won.t forget and the biggest enemy by the moment seems to be facebook.
people haven.t completely understood the concept of social media.
so what do they do?
they try to be as anonymous as possible.
and for those who know they can.t be completely anonymous, yes the mask behind neighbor.s cat!
actually they wouldn.t attend the suermarket with a cat mask coz that.s regarded to be inappropriate!
This was something that only recently learned of. Thanks for sharing!
And your gravatar looks great, Jenny!
well, mine is tad old, but still, I think it’s great shot of me!
oops – had a question too . . . so, the gravitars are email specific . . . so, if I register a different email with different pictures, then i can choose which picture I want to show . . . correct?
Yes! When you create a free account over at gravatar.com you can add multiple email addresses and assign a different picture for each one.
When you comment on a blog, just make sure that you use the email address for the image that you want folks to see.
Most of the time, I use my current avatar (even for multiple email addresses). However, I have a different picture for an email that I use for other purposes (check out the email/avatar that I use on your site.)
Hope that helps!
It is… I am just wondering who is on your back! 🙂
Ahhhh….I think mine is my dog.
Yup! Mine is my late dog. Guess I have to get in that, though I much rather seeing her pretty little face.
Well… you know, Jacqueline, it is always a personal preference. What type of image are you wanting to convey??
I should go with one of my writer pictures, the UBC is the first time I’ve been really branching out and posting lots of comments, so I hadn’t been paying much attention. Thanks for the constant great tips!
Jacqueline the puppy? Hmmm. It is all about your brand! I have an friend who is a marketer and he has branded his dog! He refers to him all the time, “Buddy the Internet Dog.” In that case, it would be ok to have that as your image.
Just wanted to add that having a face attached to a comment also adds creditability and trust to that comment. It just makes you seem “warmer.”
Excellent point, Benson! Thanks.
I’ve had my avator for a looking time!
Don’t you just love Auto Correct? “looking” should have been “long”.
Paul,
I think I started a Gravatar account about a year ago but I never check into it and I don’t think I use it. I think my photo comes up, however. I’ll have to check into it.
Thanks for the great reminder!
Amy
You have one here, Amy! Just remember to use an email account that is hooked up with the avatar!
I absolutely agree. Everyone in the blogging community should have an avatar. In real life you want to look at someone when talking. Its a bit the same with commenting on blogging sites: see the person that goes with the comment.
Who knows… maybe one day there will be ‘Skype’ avatar where you can actually leave a recorded message and see the person!
Comments left without a Gravatar, on my blog, go straight to moderation. Comments by people who have one, provided they’ve made one previously approved comment, do not.
I know many sites do not approve comments without Gravatars, period. That ought to be reason enough to get one, right there. I’m not quite that strict, but given what I see in spam, I can see the point. It’s not JUST “credibility” and having a nice face to associate with the name (though that’s a big factor for me), it’s that spambots using throwaway email accounts don’t generally take the time to bother.
Just be careful… how many pictures have you seen of someone that was taken 10 years ago. Is that credible? Now, let’s take it a step further – what if the avatar is not even them?! And you know that people do that all the time! Plus… When I develop a new website for a client, to help them visualize what the site will look like, I include same blog posts that have same comments. I include comments from ‘people’ with avatars as well as some that do not (just so they get the true feel). Those sample commenters are actually email accounts that *I* have with avatars that I created from purchased head shots! They are DESIGNED to be someone else…
What makes you assume that’s my ONLY anti-spam measure? I’m just giving folks a tip that a lot of bloggers automatically trash all comments without a Gravatar, because many spambots just use throwaway free email accounts and can’t figure out or won’t bother to set up one that even LOOKS human (that’s a whole ‘nother level of fraud). I usually at least glance through the trash quickly, but that’s no guarantee I’ll catch everything and fish it out manually.
Sorry if it seemed that I was implying that is your ONLY anti-spam measure! Based on your saviness, I would be VERY surprised if that was all you did! LOL!
Indeed. Unfortunately, my “spam bouncer” is currently being such a hard-*** he’s throwing a whitelisted friend into spam daily. I cannot for the life of me figure out what’s got him so touchy. But so far, none of the hackers (and there are many who try) have logged in, and none of the spam’s gotten published.
I totally agree with you. It’s more like a conversation when you can see someones face with a comment.
Yes it is, Roelfina!
Testing to see if I have one! Thanks for the tip.
Excellent job, Rachael! You have one!
I have a Gravatar profile, but it doesn’t seem to work for blogger sites–any ideas about that?
Looks like it is working here, Anita!
I think I set up my avatar. This will be the official test.
You have SUCCESS, Doree! Well Done!
Having an avatar (picture of your face) is a MUST if you wish to get known in a certain circle.
I’m not talking about a butterfly or a picture of a cartoon — that is not a valid avatar!
Your face is what matters most! So change the cartoons and the pretty images with an actual face photo and you’re on the right track.
How can you communicate across the web without a face to attach to your “branding” messages? The answer is — you can’t. 🙂
I’m always a little suspicious of comments that don’t have an avatar.
That does not make me suspicious, Heidi! You aren’t using one! I usually think that people do not know about it. Thanks for stopping by!
And I used the non-avatar email. Wish I could say I was making a point.
🙂 Point well taken anyway!
Paul, are you saying an Avatar has to be a pic of yourself in order to be considered an Avatar? I did not think an avatar had to be an Image of a person. I thought the idea of an Avatar was just to have an image of any type so as to represent you.
BTW… Just found your blog via the NAMS Workshop Ad and love it.
Robert – your avatar can be of anything that you want! It can be an image, it can be your pet, Text, anything! However, for the majority of folks, having an avatar with their headshot in it – that is going to bring more ‘legitimacy’ and credibility.
Will you be at NAMS this week, Robert?
Looks like you’ve used this a couple of times, and it’s still great info. Question, when I post a comment, like here I often see my picture (I’ll have to wait until after I post to see for sure), does that mean I have one set up or am I the only one seeing it? Appreciated learning that the same email address needs to be used. So much to learn.
Okay, my picture does show up. Question is still, just on my computer or always? Also, I hate that picture, can you do a post explaining how to change it?
It is ‘univseral’ and shows up everywhere! You can change it by logging into Gravatar.com and you can change the picture there!
Yes – you have one set up since we can all see it! And yes – I originally posted this a while ago and keep updating it! I feel it is THAT important!
Good to know that the gravitar avitar is linked through my email address. I thought it was connected separately to facebook and wordpress separately. Now that I have several email addresses, How do I check or change my gravitar account? Like my passport, should I update it every ten years?
You can log in at gravatar.com and you can see which email addresses you are using there as well as the images.
I forgot all about Gravatar until about a week into the UBC when I realised that my peaceful little simple living blog was represented online by… the Imperial logo from Star Wars. Now, I love Star Wars immensely, but that was not a good look. I fixed it, obviously. It still made me laugh though.
🙂
I learn a lot from these posts. Thanks Paul.
and obviously I do not have my own avatar 🙁
Glad to see you have one how!
You are welcome, Karen.
I have had a Gravatar for years but in earlier times you had to be logged in to WordPress dot com for it to be triggered.
For that reason I gave it up.
I refuse to use Discus!
Now Gravatar is stand alone and it’s a better option.
That is correct! So what is stopping you from getting one now?
Awesome post!
Now I’ll get an avatar and everyone will HAVE to see my face… muah haha!
(I know I should have gotten one before I commented on here, DOH!)
There is still time to get one!
It doesn’t even have to be your smiling face (although that’s a great choice). Your logo, an image that depicts your point of view- whatever you think best represents you is what you need to choose. Not choosing means you get depicted as a blah choice the world makes for you instead.
Great point, Roy! Choosing your image vs. your logo or some other image all depends on the type of branding you want to do. When people see your gravatar, do you want them to recognize you or your company? It is all about consistency and either answer is a good one.
I just checked on a previous comment on a blogger and my face is there! My face and I are ready for the challenge to begin!
This is one of the lessons I learned from the last challenge. Thanks for the reminder, Paul.