Do Avatars Matter? The Importance of User Profile Images

First of all, I’m not talking about the movie. Avatars, in the historic sense, are representatives of an individual, empowered to act in their place. Myth holds that gods of ancient times would appoint humans as their avatars to act with their power and in their place, as would kings. In the movie, Avatar, the Na’avi bodies controlled by humans are called Avatars because they are empty shells controlled by and representative of an exterior being.

In modern times, the word “avatar” has come to mean any representation of a person in a virtual setting, such as a game or an online community like HubPages. The little images we place beside our names on social media sites are basically our virtual selves, often following us from one network to another, giving people a visual representation of some part of ourselves.

On HubPages, user avatars show up in a number of places, most notably appearing beside every article in a hub topic feed and in the top right sidebar of the article itself. As mentioned above, your user avatar is a virtual representation of you. Whether you choose a logo, a photograph of yourself, or something else entirely, the image you display by your name says something about you to everyone who sees it -- and by association, something about the things you write. As such, it’s important to consider just what your avatar says about you.

Are you presenting yourself with a professional demeanor, or a casual one? Are people drawn in by your apparent personality, or put off by it, and does it matter to you? If you are representing a business, then it definitely should. Even as an individual, you should consider these questions so as to be aware of how your avatar influences people’s perception of you.

This section, inspired by "Choosing the Perfect Avatar" by fellow-hubber, Drbj, takes a look at the various types of avatars. It is not exhaustive, but looks at the most common broad categories of user profile images and their strengths and weaknesses.

1. No Avatar
You might be skimming this article and thinking the best way to avoid all this bother is to simply skip choosing an avatar at all. Unfortunately, even the lack of a user icon sends a message about you. Spammers and link-droppers will usually skip profile customization in favor of speed, so an empty avatar immediately raises flags against your credibility. More often than not, users with a generic icon are not members of the community interested in contributing in a meaningful way, but are just there to drop a link and run. If you hope to have your thoughts taken seriously, I recommend you not leave your avatar generic.

2. Portrait: Professional or Casual, Real or Imagined
A second common avatar choice is the portrait. Most people have an image of themselves somewhere, whether professional or candid, or can take one easily with a webcam. A professional portrait shows a business-like, serious attitude, and is often appropriate if you are using social media for business. At the same time, a casual or candid shot is easier to relate to, so it can help break down relational barriers almost immediately. Some people choose to use a stock photography image, a picture of someone else taken professionally, to represent them; this can be perceived as “fake” and cause you to appear untrustworthy, so use with caution. Choosing an image of a well-known cartoon character or movie star makes it clear you are not claiming to be someone you are not and may help to alleviate any apparent “phoniness”.

3. Photo of a Family Member
Some people choose to represent themselves using a photo of a family member, usually their child. This shows family devotion, but can also appear unprofessional. If you’re using a social media account primarily for business, I wouldn’t recommend choosing this option unless your niche is very family-oriented. Visitors to your business profile will usually be in interested in learning more about you as a professional.

4. Image of a Pet or Other Animal
Whether a family pet, a favorite animal, or a mythical creature, it is not uncommon to choose an animal as a user avatar. As Native American and numerous other cultures have realized, animals can often give valuable insights into our personalities. Some people will choose to present an image of their beloved pet or some other animal as their user profile image. Again, this is not recommended for business purposes, unless the business has an animal mascot or is in a niche dealing with animals.

5. Surrealistic or Iconic
Finally, you might choose to represent yourself online with an iconic image, such as a brand logo, representative clip art, or image of artistic expression. These images may be humorous, professional, or simply expressive. You can say a lot about yourself by using a representative image instead of the obvious photographic choice. Using a logo online can help to unify your online presence across multiple platforms and spread your brand identity, though to some it appears impersonal and off-putting. You can see we here at FindYourSearch have chosen the branded route.

Ultimately, it comes down to you. What do you want your image to say about you? How you choose to represent yourself online can have far-reaching consequences for your person and profession, so it’s important to consider the implications.

What type of avatar have you chosen, and why? Did you catch any types of avatar I missed? Please, let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to leave a vote for this hub if you found it useful or interesting.