What are the pros and cons of putting a picture of yourself in your profile ?
70Why One WOULD Put a Photo of themselves on a hub
The reason the I personally, have added my personal photo to be seen by millions that (hopefully) read my hubs is that it give the reader a feeling that I am a real person. In fact do this. Go to the local bookstore and just look around at many how-to books. Looking at the back of the book more often than not you wll find a picture of the author(s). We do this so our readers can make a personal connection, and feel that we are people just like them. I feel that putting my picture out there tells readers that they can trust me.
Why One WOULD NOT Put Their Picture for All to See
I'll be honest, this part was very difficult as I could not see alot of cons to putting your picture out there. Now if you are an extreemly scary looking person then there might be a problem.
I did think of another issue that could affect users that have there real name and possibly some personal information on the web and specifically hubpages. That would be crazy people. There might be someone out there that does not appreciate one of your hubs or personal view and decides to let you know personally. With a little info, and your picture they could find you and bug you. I would think that this would be extreemly rare though, and personally i'm not to concered.
Putting a photo into a hub
Putting a photo into a hub is so simple anyone can do. Imply add a photo capsule to your hub, move it (the capsule) up or down or to the right or left and then add the photo to the capsule. Very simple.
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Comments
If you have ever used usenet in the last few years (since google started to control it) you will most likley have experienced someone "cloning" your google groups username and posting weird or inappropriate things *(basically trolls do this). That is also a strong possibility that someone could post things that you do not support and then post your picutre.
Do you feel you have gotten more traffic since you have posted a picture of yourself? Can you tell a difference yet?
Yes I would say that there has been an increase, however, I have also been marketing my hubs a little so it would be hard for me to say if the picture is the reason.
Hi runsrealfast,
at first, thanks for answering the request. My concern with the picture is that someone I know could recognize me. As blogging (hubbing) is not my primary activity, and I'm not sure I would like me colleagues to know about my online activities.
Not that I feel any shame about what I write, but my writings reflect a part of me which my colleagues and professional relations do not know.
I put a photo on one of my blogs however, because it's more close to professional activities. Some recognized me, but I did not saw any change in stats.
What I was asking was more along the lines of what do you think about using a frontal picture, similar to what you have, that would be perfect for stealing for an ID. Along that point, would you recommend a side picture or a distant picture?
People do not see your picture when using search engines. The only way that I would think having a picture would increase your traffic is via HubPages users.
I think it also might make people (including non-Hubpages users) want to come back if they feel like they identify with you.
I agree that certain photos can be dangerous as they can be stolen for an ID or something similar. Obviously you could never use my picture, as you can barely see my face, but I like to think that a photo of me getting attacked by pigeons makes my readers identify with me just a bit more. :)
I have only just put a picture of myself in my profile. I have to admit I was undecided about whether or not to do it, not only because I hate my picture being taken, but because someone might recognise me. I compromised: I have a picture of me doing something I very much liked doing, but you can't properly see my face. I know it's better to see someone's face, you know the eye of the soul and all of that...I just was not comfortable doing so.
I guess at the end of the day I don't really care if people are surprised that I write on the net and if they recognise me that's nice. I try not to identify employers because they could get upset but otherwise Im prett relaxed about it. Also most othe weirdos don't live in Australia!
If you want to "Brand" yourself and want to do business online, it would be a good idea to have your photo on. Transparency seam to be the buzz word of this century.
Customers want to know who they are doing business with and personally, i have all my info on my sites, address phone number etc. I treat an Online business just as an Offline business and that is just who I am. Good topic will come and post more later. Thank you!
Robertino
Thats a great comment about using your picture to 'Brand' yourself. I haddn't thought of that.
Then there are those of us who are just plain ugly! That's why I use a side-view (more like a side and back) sketch version of myself. I'm real, but I don't want to frighten people away...lol!
I actually thought of mentioning something like that in the hub, but didn't want to offend anyone.
I've actually never put my photo online, because what I do in my own time is my business. I have, however, made friends with and met people who I met online after being on forums and such with them.
Whitney05 says:
2 years ago
There's actually a forum topic that I started about this concern. Some people don't like putting their photo as it's easier for another to steal for an ID of sort, espcially frontal views. What do you think about that?