Even on WordPress/Gravatar I worry about my profile pic. I started out as a duck. That’s not exactly true. I have always been a human. But I started out with a profile pic of a duck, thinking that my blog will be anonymous. The anonymity lasted about a week, but the duck stayed longer.
Here was, and still is, my dilemma. Have people associated me with a duck? If I post and change my photo will readers still know who I am or will they drop me like a hotduck? I mean a hotcake?
At some point, I decided to be a human on my blog. I couldn’t quite bring myself to be really me, so I used a cool filter that I’ve already forgotten where I found, so you see a version of me with what at the time was a new haircut/style.
It’s only a couple of years old, but already doesn’t look like me. Even without the filter.
What do you do? I see a lot of people with old photos, or cartoon photos, or flowers. How and why did you pick those? Do you feel it’s too arrogant to post a pic of yourself as your profile photo? Do you not like how you look?
Let’s face it. No one says “Wow here’s an idea. I’ll find my worst picture ever and make that my profile pic.” Which, now that I think of it, would be kind of fun. But only if someone else did it. I’m way too insecure for that.
How often do you change your photo? And why? These aren’t rhetorical questions, I really want to know.
On social media, it’s completely different for me. I change my profile and cover photos on Facebook all the time. Sometimes they are me, sometimes they are of a place I’ve visited, sometimes they are a saying. Like GO ARMY BEAT NAVY.
On Google at work, I made my profile pic a crazy photo of me at my baptism.
My cousin calls this Baby Count Dracula.
I think this is hysterical and wonder why my parents ever chose the one where I’m thinking WHAAAAAAA? But for my non-English speaking students, it’s easy to find my page. If they spell Knowles wrong (the kn combination tends to throw non-English speakers for a loop), they can still find me. A unique baby picture is not the one most teachers choose as their profile pic on Google.
Sidenote: One thing I hate about getting older is driver license photos. The photo I thought was horrid eight years ago looks great to me now.
To change or not change one’s profile pic…..that is the question.
saneteachers 
Great post! Since you asked- on my social media channels I use a current photo of myself thatbInchange several times a year. For the blog I use a bitmoji avatar. I feel like the blog is more about my brand and books- so I like the smiling old lady saying hello
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That’s a good idea. Sometimes I use the Game of Thrones avatar for Facebook, but using it for the blog is a great idea. Thanks! I’m about to change my Facebook profile pic again because of my own post..to one with my husband in which I think I look better, lol.
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Peresonally I think that profile pics are a waste of time. Especially on Facebook. Chances are, most of the people on FB know you so putting a profile pic isn’t necessary. I do have to admit that I stared at the baby picture for a little bit. I felt myself being drawn into, well I don’t know…I was just scared. Oh yeah, I loved the beginning of this post, it quacked me up! BTW, my drivers license picture is from 1990….I still have dark hair (sigh).
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lol I’ve always thought that I was saying GOD WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME WITH THESE PEOPLE. And it turns out that my cousin (with whom I am very close) ended up with the baptism picture of me where I look cute and cuddly. How did that happen?
I’ve gone from being happy about my drivers license photo to saying every single time I have to show it “that was when I was still coloring my hair.”
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Though I do have a blog, part of me is still very very attached to my privacy. A friend chose this picture (a painting of the sea done by her mother … I think) and I never bothered to change it.
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I’ve always thought you are pink. haha
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Very funny 🙂
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Well…. you look beautiful in pink.
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Interesting question. I don’t do Facebook, and I try to keep my blog details generic enough to protect my privacy. From what, I have no idea! I do use my personal photo on Linked-in. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
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That’s interesting. I don’t do Linked-in, but I can see where a real picture would be useful.
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I like the picture of you as a baby. It summarizes perfectly a baby’s outlook on life…….WHOA.. WHAT’S HAPPENING?
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Hahaha yes! I wish I could remember that early moment. It probably could say a lot about the adult me.
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Love your baby picture! 🙂 Before I turned 50 I was trying to keep my picture updated as much as possible. After 50, I put the most recent photo available that has probably been air-brushed and looks mostly like me on a good day. I think you should put whatever you are comfortable with even if it was you 10 years ago. As far as privacy, I’ve almost given up. Seems impossible these days.
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I don’t strive for privacy at all on social media. I just started out that way here because I had intended my blog to be just about teaching. I thought that might be better done under the radar, but I never put anything on here that I wouldn’t want the world to read anyway. Where are you world? I’m waiting for you! My only blog issue is that I want people to recognize my blog. Many people (me included) go by the picture before they look at the title. Thanks for this comment!
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I totally understand what you are saying. I’ve struggled with the same issues. Please read my blog and possibly like my writing but don’t judge my writing by my profile picture. 🙂
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Ha! And don’t forget about me because I change my pic.
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It’s easy for me since I use the same one across all platforms. Apparently authors are supposed to do that. We’re probably supposed to do a lot of other things, too, that I don’t know about. Always a laggard, I am. 😁
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lol. It occurs to me that I ought to get a “for real” authors facebook page. Should I be a duck again?
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Quack quack. 🦆🦆🦆
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In the year that I’ve been blogging, I’ve changed my profile picture on my blog once. In the year that I’ve been on Facebook I’ve changed my Facebook profile pic many times. It’s always a picture of me.
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That’s exactly what I have done. Changed it once on the blog and many times on Facebook. Except it isn’t always a picture of me. So I guess it isn’t exactly what you have done, lol. I just don’t change my blog photo often although some people do. Thank you for reading this 🙂
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I’m trying to standardize on the profile picture I have now, and resist the urge to change it just for fun. Consistency is important when you are trying to keep an audience. “Branding” and all that…
That said, I’ve sometimes thought of switching to a baby picture for a day as a “throwback”, much like a football team will wear a historic uniform for one game. But I probably won’t.
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Oh that’s a good idea!
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Lol! Use whatever you are comfortable in😊
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And I envision you as actually being Garfield, lol.
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Lol ha ha….I like that!😉
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I’m one of those who hates having photos of me circulating. I do have a photo of me on my blog under “About the blog” but it’s fairly anonymous. As for my Facebook page, I started out with a photo of my dog that I thought was cute. The dog has since died, and I can’t make myself take her photo down….so that’s going to be my photo for a long time I guess!
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Awwwww…..I love the idea of keeping your dog. I still want to change my WordPress photo but again, I don’t want people to not recognize the blog. But then again, my blog and I are aging at the same rate lol.
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I think you could change the photo and people would still recognize the blog. Just keep the name the same.
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Of course I would keep the name the same! Otherwise I’d have to say insaneteachers and I don’t want to do that lol.
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