Facebook is for fun
We love Facebook. It’s fantastic. It’s a fun environment for many people, and for some, it is a closely protected social sphere that is small and guarded.
Depending on your age bracket, you either have a professional headshot as your profile picture (which may be a little too stuffy for Facebook culture depending on your geography) or a picture of you last week at a bar completely wasted (which may be fine if your eyes were open in the shot).
Anything goes, but…
Anything goes on Facebook, but do you see that little “Facebook Connect” button under this article and in the sidebar? When you log in here or on other websites and they use Gravatars (the little profile pictures next to article comments) in conjunction with Facebook Connect, your Facebook profile picture will show up as your headshot in comments.
If your Facebook profile picture is silly, despite suiting the Facebook culture, it may diminish your comment when railing against something on a digital news site or elsewhere.
Bonus tip: if your Facebook profile picture isn’t square, it will be slightly altered to fit into a Gravatar box when you comment and it distorts a bit.
Jason
March 25, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I like the perspective you offer here. Understanding how Facebook connects with other social media platforms which may not be as “fun” but more “professional” is essential for success on the site. Your Facebook fan page profile picture is indicative of your brand and should reflect the type of image you want for your audience. “Being wasted” is probably not an image us mortgage professionals want when seeking professional interactions on Facebook or the sites it links to.
Thanks for your insight,
Jason
Ken Brand
March 25, 2011 at 2:00 pm
I wonder what I look like. Let’s see.
Lani Rosales
March 25, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Fine from here! 🙂
Jim McDonald
March 28, 2011 at 10:34 am
Hmm… Connect using FB button doesn’t seem to know who I am, even though I’ve allowed AG…
Jim McDonald
March 28, 2011 at 10:37 am
Nevermind. 🙂
Jim McDonald
March 28, 2011 at 11:20 am
Whoa. The profile image stretching makes me look fatter…
Eric Sachs
December 19, 2011 at 8:53 am
Thanks for sharing! I knew it was getting a little weird when I had an agent I didn't know tell me he thought my wife was pretty when I called him to ask a question about a transaction we were starting. I guess my FB profile pic with my wife displayed on his phone when I called him…. caught me a little off guard. Great food for thought.