One thing I have noticed out here in the La-La-Land of Social Networking is the large number of people who DO Not take their online presences serious. I have written on this issue before, but now it seems more people are starting to see the benefits of posting a nice photo of themselves.  Still, there are lot of people who just are not understanding how they are coming across to the world when they do not post a headshot.

Looking at this issue from either the fun-seekers’ or business person’s point of view proves the importance of a serious online presence. How someone is seen online can make the difference on if they are going to be accepted into someone’s social network or in their community of contacts.

So why do so many people on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn not post a decent avatar on their profile and stay with it?

You can Google this question and see there are a very large number of people around the world who are looking dimly at Avatar-less people who populate social networks or who frequently Changing Their Avatars. 

Why are people changing their avatars so frequently?

“I want to be different… “ “I want to express how I feel..”  “I get bored easily…”  “I am a photographer, changing the photo allows me to show people what I do..” “I don’t want anyone to see who I really am..”  “I have been stalked before, so I will never ever post my photo.”  “Hey, I am out here for myself, not to impress others. If they like the photo, cool.  If not f*#k-em.”

How these people are being seen.

“I am so tired of Spam, if someone don’t post a headshot I don’t allow them in my community..period.”  “I now only want to be surrounded by real secure people and those people who change their photos come across as insecure people.” “I am not interested in seeing a person’s newborn baby, pet dog,or company logo in the place of info profile avatar.  I want to see who it is that has as me to contact them.” “I use to have a lot of time on my hands to socialize on Facebook with my family friends.  Now, my time is less and I only have time to see what serious people have to say”

Consumers Are More Visual

Confusion and Discomfort is the most reported feeling many people get when they go to their Facebook Page, HootSuite or LinkedIn accounts to see a New Photo (picture or thing) where there should have been a photo of a person they know very well.  In some of the interviews I have made with the more social members of a site it is reported they are quickly disconnecting or blocking those Friends, Followers or Contacts who change their avatars frequently.  Seems the consumer and socialites based economy is getting serious with their social networking.

Why a Serious Photo Important

The reason more and more people are insisting on their contacts and friends posting a Headshot Photo (the more serious the better) in a personal profile avatar is related to social networking sites forcing the viewers to visually index their view of their activity feeds by the avatar instead of the username.  Instead of looking down the list of posts to see the usernames the viewer is looking to the photo to recognize who it is who is making the post.  If the contact’s photo changed from the last time the viewer scanned their feed the eye of the viewer sends a message to their brains reporting there is a stranger in their mist…warning, warning…Spam alert.  With most avatars only 6px square, anything less than a clear headshot may make the avatar look like a “mess”.

What has forced this change from username to avatar indexing?

As the social networking sites start to place more advertising on their pages they start trying to get the same amount of content above the fold as there was before they increased the size of the ads they placed.  This results in the sites reducing the size of the font for the text content.  Case in point..Facebook.   FB has reduced the size of the font on a page.  For Laptops and small screen displays the content is becoming unreadable at a glance.  This places more importance on looking for a person’s photo instead of their name. 

Bottomline

A familiar smiling face catches the eye of a social networker.  As a result the viewer will stop and visit.  A photo of a dog or bookcover, the viewer goes..Click..moving on.  People who are using the internet for either social or professional reasons NEED (will soon have to) post a nice clear headshot photo to keep their friends.  Yes, Social Networking is now being taken seriously..finally.