Gravatar Icons & Avatars

Gravatars.  Don’t feel stupid if you don’t know what they are; I didn’t recognize gravatars for what they were or how to use a gravatar until a little more than a year ago.  Gravatars have been with us since at least 2004 (or at least, that’s what most web archives show), but they have yet to go mainstream, even though the Gravatar service was acquired by Automattic back in October 2007.

What is a Gravatar?

The idea behind the Gravatar service was to host a globally-recognized avatar that is tied to an email address on one system to be recognized on most websites, blogs, message boards, and forums.   Gravatar is as simple as using the same email address that you used to sign up with Gravatar.com on any site that supports Gravatars.

A gravatar, or globally recognized avatar, is quite simply an avatar image (usually 80 x 80 pixels) that follows you from website, to blog, to forum appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar-enabled sites.  Avatars help identify your posts on these sites.

Great Idea?

If Gravatars are so great, why haven’t they caught on with the mainstream public?  Because so many platforms have their own versions of avatars (sites like Twitter, Facebook, phpBB, .ning) and have their own way of handling them.  Usually, it’s just “upload a profile photo”, which can vary from site to site, depending on the mood of the user at the time they sign up for these services.

Are we better off with each system managing avatars in their own ways?  Will Gravatars go to the wayside while each system manages their own avatars, or will Gravatars take over the way systems manage profiles?  Personally, I don’t think so; I think there needs to be a balance between the two.   I don’t think developers should ax their own avatar management system, but at the very least, make their systems Gravatar-compatible.  I think then, there will be more people willing to use this awesome shortcut when posting to sites.

How to Use Gravatars, and Why You Should

To create and use an avatar, simply go to the Gravatar site.  Pick one of your email addresses, assign it a photo, and whenever you go onto a site that is Gravatar-enabled (like this blog) and use the email you signed up with, your avatar will automatically show up.  It’s as simple as that!

Guess what?  It’s F-R-E-E, and you can have more than one!  I have two Gravatars; one for business use (my Dawn@DawnLambe.com addy) and one for personal (I keep that private).  If you have more than one business, why not create a Gravatar for each business, with a separate photo for each?  However, I would NOT use a trademarked or copyrighted image, like my favorite Star Trek Icon or my favorite beverage; those images are protected, and could also make you look untrustworthy if you’re ‘borrowing’ images.

Using Gravatars can help your business by helping to establish the “Know, Like, & Trust You” in your marketing efforts.  For example, let’s say you’re selling insurance.  You happen to notice an article on a national or your local news website about how many new parents are under-insured.  You read the article and the comments others have made and you post a comment yourself on the article (without making it an advertisement for you!).  On many sites, you will be asked for your email address before posting your comment.  Some sites will also ask you for your website as well.  Once you post your comment with your email address, your photo or avatar that you assigned to that email will show next to your comment, building recognition.  You may even pick up a fair bit of traffic to your site as a result.  You don’t have to comment only on topics related to your business, either; I’ve picked up traffic and clients by posting comments unrelated to my niche (when posting under my business email).

For examples of gravatars, take a look at some of my past posts and comments.  Get out there, experiment a bit, and I’ll see you on the other side.