A gravatar is a globally recognized avatar, an image that follows you from site to site and appears beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Your face might be the first thing that catches a reader’s attention. So why not use it?
Create your own gravatar in a couple minutes here.
Every time you enter your e-mail address into a comment form, your gravatar will appear beside your name. This makes you recognizable to other commentors while branding you online and shows that you are a legitimate poster, not a spammer.
“Your Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog.”
Ideally, your gravatar will be an image that you use across multiple platforms, such as your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. By using the same image everywhere that people will see you, people will begin to recognize you no matter where they see you.
So, what image should you use for your gravatar? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure it will look good at any size, from small to large (different sites display gravatars in different sizes)
- Text is usually a bad idea – when the gravatar is displayed in a small size, text can be impossible to read
- Use a high-quality image
- Use an image of yourself where it makes sense to do so – the goal is to keep things personal to help build relationships and establish credibility. If possible, use the same image that you use on other social media platforms (branding!).
Setting up your own Globally Recognized Avatar is easy. Go to gravatar.com, create an account, and upload your photo. If you want, you can add a profile. That’s it!
If you don’t have a gravatar, take 2 minutes now to create one and start branding yourself across the internet.
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