Photo by warrantedarrest

Social Media & Job Search Series — #4

Maybe you have wondered about the little photos you see by blog post comments or other online postings. Some people have the same photo that you see on Twitter or LinkedIn and others have some little symbol or a cartoon perhaps.

I used to wonder about that too until Jason Alba explained it in one of his blog posts:

Gravatar: How To Get Your Picture With Your Comment In This Blog.

Of course you need a photo. My photos are taken by Scott Savage, Savage Photography. You should update your photo regularly. But once you have a photo, you can get it up using Gravatar.

Photo by Hamed Saber

You just have to go to http://en.gravatar.com/ and follow the directions. I learned recently that you can have more than one e-mail linked to Gravatar so that if you decided to change your e-mail or have more than one, you can still be consistent with the same image.

I have strong feelings that you should use a photo and not a cartoon. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to establish a consistent brand and that means letting people see who you are.

Does it have to be a professional photo? No, if you can get a good photo that you feel represents you well from a friend with a digital camera, that’s great. The important thing is having that presence.

I use professionals because I know that they can shoot off multiples quickly, they understand lighting and other factors that contribute to a good photo but you can decide what is best for you.

In case you wondered about whether bloggers want comments on the blog, I can assure you they do. So if the picture has been holding you back from commenting, solve that one today and we’ll see you in my comments!