Personalize your comments with Gravatar
You’ve been moving around the internet world reading and commenting on blogs. Over time you notice that when you comment a bizarre creature, called an Identicon, appears as an icon representing you, but others have a personalized image. What are those images and how can you get one for your very own you wonder.
The images you see by the names of these comments are created by a having an account with Gravatar a shortened name for Globally Recognized Avatar. What is a Gravatar you ask? The question is answered with a quick visit to their site where you see their description:
“A Globally Recognized Avatar
Your Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums, so why not on any site?”
Setting up your account with Gravatar is easy, all you need is an email account and off you go! Once you have the basics completed you then link your Gravatar account with any existing blog or business site, upload your image file, give a short description of yourself if you wish, link to your other social sites if desired and that is it. Now when you comment anywhere on the web using same Gravatar email your selected image appears immediately.
Well, you think, that is really handy, but what other advantages are there to having a Gravatar account?
Once you have your Gravatar account set up you will not only be able to have a nifty image when you comment but others can quickly see more about you, your blog or your business by hovering over the image placed by your comment(s). They can also click the image and be redirected back to the link(s) you have set up within the Gravatar account. Now can you see how this might be important to you, your blog or your business! You are no longer a nameless and faceless commenter in the crowd, you not only have an image but a voice detailing who you really are.
Can I have more than one Gravatar Account?
If you are like me you have many different things going on all at once and you can have a many Gravatars, one for each email address you maintain. Now if you want to comment on Aunt Bessie’s blog and have a cute image of your new kitty that links to a photo gallery showing her off you can. You can also have an account set up for your business that allows you to move around the web leaving more professional comments with your icon linked to your business website. The type and purpose of Gravatar account is as endless as the amount of email accounts you keep and maintain, the choice is yours.
Would you like to see a short video to learn more about Gravatar, here it is for you:
The Gravatar is great and allows people to easily connect with you.
Gravatar is a wonderful tool, not only is it great for commenting but many bloggers require their guest posters to have a Gravatar account.
Having a gravatar is a great way to brand your website or blog. The more that you get your image/logo out there, the more people will start associating that image with your site.
I’m glad found out about gravatar when I first started my blog online.
I completely agree, I began truly blogging in April of 2011, one of the first things I was advised to do is get my Gravatar. Now I have a specific Gravatar for each email address and can comment based on the blog and how I want to represent myself.
I noticed that a lot of people don’t realize that they need to add all of their email addresses to their Gravatar accounts so it will show up when they leave comments. I even did a video practically begging people to get their Gravatar in order 🙂
I agree Ileane, Gravatars are more than a pretty picture, they are a tool to tell people who you are and discover all you have to offer.
I’ve actually required this for about two years now on my blog and I got the idea from Famous Bloggers heshaman is so awesome for tips on guest blogging. I 100% recommend it!
I have read Famous Blogger a lot myself and I agree, fantastic resource, I believe I found him on BlogEngage. There is so much information to learn at blogengage, I really have expand my knowledge base exploring your site. Thank you for putting together a wonderful group of bloggers who are more than willing to share their wealth of knowledge.
I think nearly everyone knows me from my Gravatar, I’ve used the same one for some years now and it’s probably the first thing that is recognised 😉
Yes Karen I do know you only by your avatar, if I saw you in public I wouldn’t know who you were but you would know me for sure. If you ever see me I hope you say hello.. 🙂
Hey Karen;
I especially like the fact that I can have multiple email addresses with Gravatar all under the same account! It makes it easy for me to keep up my split-personality motif going online. LOL!
Great post!
Dr. Rus
That is the best part about Gravatar, you can post on your cousin Sue’s cookie blog as yourself then post on SecondLife blogs as your alter personality all seemlessly.
I think everybody should have a Gravatar and it should be compulsory for commentators to have one, may be someone could write a plugin to only allow comments with one 😉
Your human owner Karen is the guru of the blogging world, I think you should talk to her about that. If anyone can get that project done it would be her..