What does your avatar say about you?
I've mentioned before my use of Xobni, a plug-in for Outlook that enhances search and organization features. I've also mentioned that my favorite part about Xobni is that it pulls together information from social media profiles (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) to display a mini-profile of an email sender when I click on a message, including a photo of the individual who sent it. I love this because it helps me develop face recognition from my own desk. When I can "see" the person who sent me the email, I'm more likely to recognize him or her in person when our paths cross later at an industry event!
On that note, I earlier received an email from an industry professional, and I noticed Xobni pulled in a photo from her Facebook profile, rather than her LinkedIn profile. Don't worry, nothing naughty... it was just a photo of her dog, rather than a photo of her. :) Obviously, many industry professionals maintain Facebook accounts for more "personal" use and LinkedIn accounts for professional activities. Xobni doesn't seem to know the difference; it just pulls in profile information associated with a particular email address.
This little observation just served to bring up the question: what does your avatar say about you? Personally, I don't mind seeing people's dogs or children or whomever else they wish to include in their photos; I guess you could say I take a "free spirit" approach to how others express themselves through these avenues. Today's incident made me wonder, though: what if I served in a hiring capacity and saw this? For me, I decided, it would not be an issue. I like to see who people really are, and positions within our company tend to attract those funky creative types anyway. :)
Oddly, perhaps, I do find myself a bit annoyed when people insert corporate logos in social media profiles, instead of their own photos (whatever those photos might contain). I'll take the goofy faces or snapshots of pets over sterile corporate imagery any day. All that said, I realize company culture has a lot to do with how some might view differences of opinion regarding how one should portray oneself through an online avatar.
So... swing away! What do you think about others' choices of profile photos? Better yet, why did you choose whatever photo YOU use for your profile?
On that note, I earlier received an email from an industry professional, and I noticed Xobni pulled in a photo from her Facebook profile, rather than her LinkedIn profile. Don't worry, nothing naughty... it was just a photo of her dog, rather than a photo of her. :) Obviously, many industry professionals maintain Facebook accounts for more "personal" use and LinkedIn accounts for professional activities. Xobni doesn't seem to know the difference; it just pulls in profile information associated with a particular email address.
This little observation just served to bring up the question: what does your avatar say about you? Personally, I don't mind seeing people's dogs or children or whomever else they wish to include in their photos; I guess you could say I take a "free spirit" approach to how others express themselves through these avenues. Today's incident made me wonder, though: what if I served in a hiring capacity and saw this? For me, I decided, it would not be an issue. I like to see who people really are, and positions within our company tend to attract those funky creative types anyway. :)
Oddly, perhaps, I do find myself a bit annoyed when people insert corporate logos in social media profiles, instead of their own photos (whatever those photos might contain). I'll take the goofy faces or snapshots of pets over sterile corporate imagery any day. All that said, I realize company culture has a lot to do with how some might view differences of opinion regarding how one should portray oneself through an online avatar.
So... swing away! What do you think about others' choices of profile photos? Better yet, why did you choose whatever photo YOU use for your profile?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jeremiah Fellows on -
The use of a corporate logo as an avatar for a company account is necessary to provide a consistent brand experience regardless of the employee managing the account. If the face on the company twitter account changes, does the loyalty of the followers and continuity of the brand experience disappear? This doesn't mean you can't be creative or fun with your avatar if that is how you present your company to your customers. At eMeetingsOnline I use a corporate logo but try to emphasize the individual aspect of our communications by adding personal notes and stories as well as official corporate posts as well as changing the logo for various holidays.
A basic rule is to never mix business with personal social media accounts. Use a professional email address for business communications and associate that email address with your professional social media accounts. Use a personal email address with your personal social media accounts.
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Permalink Reply by Serenity J. Knutson on -
Hi, Jeremiah,
Thanks so much for offering your insight! I hadn't thought of employee turnover as one of the potential pitfalls of presenting a "person" vs. a "company." You definitely gave me a better perspective on the matter, and I appreciate the lesson! :)
I agree that "strictly business" and "strictly personal" social media use should occur separately from one another. In my own experience, most of my social media use is geared toward business/networking purposes, and Facebook is the only platform with which I've really needed to address the "personal" side of things.
There are various methods for controlling who can see what on Facebook, using lists and privacy settings, but I just play it safe and maintain two completely separate profiles: one for colleagues and industry contacts, and one for family and friends. This way, my two "separate worlds" do not overlap, and I don't need to worry about remembering to select the right visibility settings for each update... or one of my personal friends coming along to post something embarrassing on my wall for all my professional contacts to see! :)
I have heard about some pretty creative other strategies for balancing business and personal interests online. Any unique suggestions? :)
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