What's Up With Your Avatar?

People do get used to recognizing others by their avatars, but I don't know if it means less reads. I changed mine from a Penn State image to a real photo for the new year.

I like your avatar Marianne. I've been afraid to change mine because no one would recognize me. i suspect I'm getting reduced readership as it is and am unsure if a new avatar would decrease the amount of readers I have more.

I like to read articles by my connections first and recognize them at first by the names and when they keep changing part of the names I probably miss reading some I would like to read.

Avatar; an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user (as in a computer game)

Sorry, I had to look it up. But now those who didn't know the word too.

i'm trying to recapture my youth, sadly gravity is holding me back

Well, mine is a random picture of me and my cat. I lost him just a few months ago and I don't have the heart to take it down and change it. Seeing our picture just brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

I started on Gather with an actual photo, but as the holidays got closer, I wanted to get something different. I found the avatar that I used through the holiday, and it didn't seem to affect my readership or relations with the people I was getting to know. People did make comments on it, but they were positive. After Christmas, I again felt the need for a change, and as you can see to your left, this is what I decided on. It represents my love of horses , beauty, grace and strength. I think you should use something that is meaningful to you. Everybody will adjust! LOL.

I change my avatar with my mood. I have had a picture of the evening storm sky, my glamour shots pic, a baby picture, and now my 2nd grade school picture. I am thinking of changing it again...not sure what it will be next...

I just found a silly picture on Google images. I think it looks funny next to the Gather bubble the comments appear in...

I have never put an actual picture of me on the Internet. I am not big on having my picture taken anyway but putting it on the Internet just seems so exposed. Despite my mouth and my opinions, I am a very retiring person.

This isn't the first site where I have had the option of an Avatar but this is the only place I have used this picture. I love parrots and I took this picture at the Zoo last year.

I know that people notice my avatar for a couple of reasons. I have been attacked as a parrot when people don't like my comments but since parrots are beautiful intelligent, I don't consider that an insult just an indication that the person knows nothing about birds. The other reason is that they comment on the avatar and remember my by it. I don't want to change it because I think people recognize me because of the Avatar. I know that when I run across people with similar names, I use the avatar to sort them out.

Of course, Mary makes fun of other people and doesn't think THAT is her problem, either.

Why I Wear Granny As My Icon

"Those that have something other than photo portraits of yourself, what do they mean? How did you choose it? Do you have objections about posting a real picture of yourself?"

There's usually not much significance to my avatar other than it's a nice photo that I took fairly recenty that I like. The one before this one (The winter scene with the shadowed child) had some significance as it was my son in the window.

On large sites like this one, yes, I do have objections about posting photos of myself and my family. My connections will find there's a scant few photos that fit this description, and they are almost always limited to friends or family only. It's really a matter of safety why I choose to do this.

I use a photo of myself instead of an avatar because although I may not be photogenic, I am someone. I am a human being. I don't hide behind masks, I make myself vulnerable in order to gain strength. Eye to eye, both friendships and enemies are made. I've had my share of both and because I am a living and breathing individual and intend to be so for awhile longer, I'll continue to make acquaintances of both varieties, eye to eye.

Nice to see photos of people on gather. I agree with Walter.

I'm only on Gather intermittently but my avatar is always the same: it's a shot of a river we canoed this spring. It was a highlight of the year- very peaceful & tranquil part of the time, and, at times, the navigating was rough enough to make it really interesting.

I had a picture of myself up, but when my son sent me the one I'm using now I had to use it. I feel in love with the feeling it gave me. I'll probably switch back to a picture of myself, but for now I like the one I have.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976777859

"10 reasons that I chose this icon to represent me"

(originally written August 19, 06)

Mine is a photo of a welding tank that I took in a garage. I'm a big fan of 'junk'. I shoot abandoned houses, junk yards, broken bicycles chucked into the pond, whatever. As for the tank, I thought it looked like a face, so I decided to use it as an avatar.

nice attempt vicky........ its not the avatar that only matters but i prefer real pics first thn other things, but i nvr put real pic for myself , i keep changing thm as i like........i like ur avatar also

My avatar is me, taken last spring. I like it when someone keeps the same avatar because they are easier to identify, especially if they have a name that is common. I debated long and hard about using my full name and picture on this site. In my line of work, last names are never used for safety purposes. My badge simply says, Ina RN. I'd never tell anyone where I lived. My signature on charts is an illegible scribble, unlike the one I use for everything else, in case someone goes to medical records after discharge, gets a copy of their chart and decides to look me up. That happened and was terribly frightening. Using my picture, entire name and location was very freeing for me. This is the real me. Not the one who has to hide her identity at work.

Thank you - it took quite a few steps, but it's here and clear.
I ended up sending an avatar postcard to myself, then pasting it into paint, then saving it as the right type of file, then uploading. Whew!
I love the avatar, so am glad to be able to see it here.
Prefer it to my own image, sorry to say.

While changing icons may add some variety and fun to the Gather experience, I have appreciated the fact that some members don't change their icons often. Typically, in any discussion thread (comments), a member's icon is much easier to identify than their display name. In fact, some members are probably only recognized by their icon, as names are often harder to remember.

Consequently, when scanning the 'Comments' listings, or comments section within an article, it makes it easier to identify specific members that I may be interested in.

I haven't changed my icon since I joined specifically for this reason. However, I have recently begun making slight changes to my clothing (via photoshop), to provide variety and allow more opportunity to express myself.

________________________________________________________
Need help using images on Gather? - Then picture THIS.

My avatar says I'm a metrosexual snob, and kind of snarky about something.

My avatar says, "This is my left foot! Behold its beauty"

I have a photo of our puppy because he's so adored at our home. Typically there aren't very many pictures of me because I'm usually the one snapping the picture. My scrapbooks are full of pictures of the family but rarely is there one of me...and usually if there IS a picture, I don't like it.

Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou, Vicky! I'll be 52 this month. You really know how to make a gal's day.

I changed my icon because I prefer people to comment on my articles for it content rather than on what I look like. At first I had my photo then I changed it to a mascot of my son's university he attend and just last night I chaged it to what it is now because most of my writings are angelica or something to uplift the spirits of others.

I've yet to put up a pic. Hmm...an avatar or a real pic? That's a hard one. Don't know what I'm in the mood for yet. But, it doesn't really matter whether I have a real pic or not. People that know me already won't have a problem finding me, and new ones will find me sooner or later. Either way that shouldn't create less reads of my work. At least that's the way it should be...We'll see what happens...

Here we go again... I recently wrote an article about avatars. Check it out in my content.

Mine is art by a particular glass artist that I love-Dale Chihuly. I'm afraid to change it now because I know people recognize me by the picture. So...I guess it will stay.

Vicky there is more to your Icon than meets the eye.


Also, in fact it is an icon.

LOL

Aren't those nesting dolls; in that there are progressively smaller ones inside, inside of each other?