An avatar?  A gravatar?  A buddy icon?  Perhaps you’ve heard these terms before?   I could quote Wikipedia about 2d representations of online personality yada yada but I have a word for you – panache!  Your avatar/gravatar/buddy icon says something about you and the effort you make to converse with others on this wide web of ours.

Take Gmail as an example:  Did you know you can change your buddy icon on Google to show up whenever someone puts their mouse on your name?  Do you know how many people still have that silly asexual silhouette?  Your picture is like a firm but not overbearing handshake – it matters.

Want more examples?

• Your username for chat clients like AOL instant messenger, MSN, Skype, and ICQ has a buddy icon.
• Your profile on comments on blogs like wordpress or blogger probably has an avatar.
• Your resume on LinkedIn, Doostang, or even Monster.com can have a picture too!

Why include a picture?  Well why not!?!  What could be bad about having the confidence to include a good portrait of yourself on your resume?  Or to confidently declare something about your commenting persona on a blog?  These things make people remember you and frankly, there is too much information out there – you need to play all the hands you have.  Not having a picture probably says more about your presence (or lack thereof) than having one.

You may even decide to standardize your pictures across several services…  For example, my work picture is same everywhere.  However, for my personal sites, I often put something a bit more … me.  I think part of the fun is choosing who is going to see what side of your personality.

That said, you don’t want to be caught with your trousers down – keep the pictures appropriate to the audience and if you have any doubt, just don’t do it.  Your mother is going to see your Gmail picture.  Your colleagues might need to contact you on Skype, so that buddy icon from Vegas is … in poor taste.  Choose wisely and don’t switch compulsively – that can be almost as annoying as the silhouette.

Here are some guides to setting your images for Gmail/Google, Skype, AOL Instant Messenger, MSN, Facebook.  It’s an easy google search for other services.  Don’t forget that it could be called an avatar, a gravatar, a buddy icon or something lame like a “picture”.

Express yourselves my friends.  This is your open forum.

~ab

PS Yes this was just an excuse to post my MadMenYourself.com picture…