Why you need a unique Gravatar

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Today’s letter in the A-Z Challenge   is G.

G= Gravatar

Gravatar stands for Globally Recognized Avatar.

An Avatar is a graphical representation of you or your business. It can be a picture or icon .


 

In the early years of my blog, I used a generated random icon as my Gravatar. Until, I realized it said nothing about me or my website. 

So I created a Gravatar using my photo. It’s about time to upgrade the pic, but hopefully, I will still look like me. I hate having my picture taken. Oh well, time marches on.

A Gravatar represents you, your writing and your blog. With the right Gravatar, you become recognizable at a glance.

I confess some of the weird, or spider looking Gravatar spooked me. It’s like connecting with a masked person. I don’t care for them.

Although usually associated with WordPress, the Gravatar are now widely used and accepted across many platforms. 

Seven things I’ve learned about the Gravatar

  1. Everyone needs one.
  2. A Gravatar is your calling card or business card. It introduces you to the world.
  3. Pick one that relates to your genre, website or you. If your blog is about dogs, a dog photo might work. Of course, some readers may think it’s about a blogging dog.
  4. It should be easily recognizable. Remember this is a tiny picture or icon, choose wisely.
  5. Make sure your Gravatar has active links. Where will a reader land if they click on your image?
  6. A Gravatar helps create your branding platform. 
  7. WordPress has built-in support for Gravatar that will automatically pulls in yours and attach to your comments.

Want to set up or change your Gravatar? Easy, just go to Gravatar.com and follow the steps.

Want to read more about creating your Gravatar? Read the links below.

Do you use a computer generated Gravatar? 

What about a custom Gravatar?

Does it reflect the message you wish others to hear?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

 

1 Key to Help People Find Your Blog
Create a Gravatar
How to Create a Gravatar
Generate your own, unique Gravatar
What is Gravatar and Why You Should Start Using it Right Away

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35 thoughts on “Why you need a unique Gravatar”

  2. Pingback: Friday Roundup – 30th December | Stevie Turner, Indie Author.
  4. Pingback: Why you need a unique Gravatar – jean's writing

  5. Chris, the story reading ape, may have the only gravitar that isn’t based on his photo that I think works. I realized a while back that writers should really build their gravitar from their image, even if they play with it like I did. Something about seeing bats and Bart Simpson disassociates the reader from the writer in a way that doesn’t occur with online game play. Readers expect writers to bring a real world connection to their work, even fantasy writers. Writers should try to keep that connection wherever possible.

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  6. I do have a Gravatar, but don’t use it… or do I? A photo of me comes up on various blogs, I wonder where that comes from? *confused* Not sure it would be easy to sum up my blog in a Gravatar, though. I have been frustrated when someone ONLY has a Gravatar and then no links on the Gravatar to find their blog or contact them… ~Liz http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com

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  9. Good advice! I used a picture of my swimming cat for my initial gravatar – then an old photo, and finally had some new pictures taken. Now you can see my mug everywhere!

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  11. *see gravatar for information if I have a gravatar 😛
    I took a photo in London’s aquarium and decided this photo of an underwater construction (imitating one of the big stone heads from the Easter Islands) should be my gravatar.Because it was rather unique in colour. And even as a thumbnail (when I just like a post) it is pretty recognisable. Not too detailed, too many details make the small version just a mess of colour. As I do not use my blog professionally, there was no need for my photo.

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      1. That’s right, but since I write mainly in German, I do not expect much traffic from commenting in English language blogs, anyway. I comment because some themes interest me and I have an opinion – and either want to agree with something or even want to, respectfully, disagree.

        All bloggers write, all live (well, all that still blog, that is). Not all of us bloggers write for a living.

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          1. You are very trusting if you think a translation button can indeed translate a blogpost. You might get lucky with a recipe, while most opinion pieces will not translate well. Too many puns, too many allusions, too many double meanings.
            For example:
            Today we had a discussion about the Word “Schmalz” in the headline of a Guardian article. For me it has two meanings. The English readers who consulted an online-dictionary only came back with “lard” – and that was not the meaning that was meant … Schmalz is also something extremely cheesy, some overstressed sentimentality.
            The other way round the limitation of translation works, too: I like to read Terry Pratchett in English. When he writes in “Thump” about the crowning ceremony of the King of Dwarves he alludes to something in the English ceremony. Since I am too young (strange to be too young for once) to remember the last English crowning I did not identify that until I read about it much later and the penny dropped.
            Translation can only get you so far – and translation done by software even less far!
            That does not keep me from using it, either – but it can only give you a very rough idea. There is a reason why I read Pratchett in English. It is not a lack of translations. I would just hate to miss out on all the puns (they would have to be replaced by German puns which work differently and sometimes not at all). Not that I get all of his puns 😦 No translation software can help me. So be very, very wary when using a translation button.

            Liked by 2 people

  13. I’m glad you wrote this piece and agree completely. As I refine my presence and my activities on WP, I find a gravatar with the person’s blog link is an invaluable tool in helping me find, reciprocate and potentially follow them.

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