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Let Me See Your Face … Again!

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Loni Townsend

Two years ago, I posted about Gravatar. Seeing that the great A to Z challenge is starting this Friday (even though I’m not participating), I thought it would be a good time to revive this old post and share again. It might help with growing blogging relationships.

Do you know someone who is bad with names but good with faces? Or maybe you’re one of those people?

If the answer is “No” on both accounts, well, let me introduce myself. My name is Loni. I remember faces, not names.

Google is amazing. They have connected so many different services, your profile (and its picture) is available through several venues without any effort on your part. The result is you have a nice little picture when you comment on a Blogger blog.

But what if you’re not commenting on a Blogger blog? What if it’s WordPress? Or Typepad? Depending on the platform and settings, your avatar may vary. It might be a fractal design, or it might be something else.

faceless-graphic There is a service called Gravatar that is designed to help out. The Globally Recognized Avatar identifies your email address and populates the generic avatar with your image of choice. Now people like me, who recognize faces and not names, can have that extra little helper to build relationships and connections online. And isn’t that what we all want? To connect?

I hope I see your face around here more often!

Are you a person who remembers names well? Do you remember people better when you have a picture to pair with them? Have you heard of Gravatar before?

28 thoughts on “Let Me See Your Face … Again!”

  1. Elizabeth Seckman says:
    March 30, 2016 at 8:53 AM

    I think I use the same profile pic everywhere. I read that when I started that it was a good idea to keep them uniform. I like to see what someone looks like, though the pictures people choose to represent themselves says a lot too.

    Reply
  2. Southpaw HR Sinclair says:
    March 30, 2016 at 9:57 AM

    AGREED! I’ve posted on this once ‘er twice too. So many people are reluctant to do it though. It’s free! It’s easy! It’s trusted and run by WordPress.com.

    Reply
  3. M.J. Fifield says:
    March 30, 2016 at 9:57 AM

    My significant other is someone who remembers faces, but not names. I tend to be the other way around.

    I haven’t heard of Gravatar before. I’ll have to go check it out.

    Reply
  4. Nicola says:
    March 30, 2016 at 9:58 AM

    I’ll have to check that out Loni. I’m usually a green pattern on WordPress and my face on eblogger. Have a great week!

    Reply
  5. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    March 30, 2016 at 10:42 AM

    I need to do that so I’m nut just another colorful square.
    And I struggle to remember names.

    Reply
  6. J.H. Moncrieff says:
    March 30, 2016 at 12:00 PM

    I haven’t heard of Gravatar, but I must have set it up somewhere along the line. As a journalist, I’m pretty good with names, but it’s always nice to see the face as well. Makes the interaction more personal.

    Reply
  7. Pat Hatt says:
    March 30, 2016 at 12:44 PM

    Faces I recognize way more than names too. That’s why the cat gives many nicknames, as then he remembers those.

    Reply
  8. CD Gallant-King says:
    March 30, 2016 at 12:59 PM

    I don’t remember names OR faces. Just yesterday someone asked me to email them a file and after he walked away I realized I forgot his name and didn’t know who to send it to. Too embarrassed to go ask him, I guessed and moments later realized I had sent it to the wrong person.

    Also, I’m writing this at work and Gravatar pictures don’t show up, so I don’t remember if I have one or not. :-/

    Reply
  9. Arlee Bird says:
    March 30, 2016 at 1:30 PM

    I’m bad with both faces and names. Until I’ve seen a person a few times and heard their names I don’t make good associations. I like it when I’m somewhere and people are wearing name tags. We should all have name tags whenever we’re out in public πŸ™‚

    I’m pretty sure I have my Gravatar on my comments. I don’t pay that much attention.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

    Reply
  10. J.C. Jackson says:
    March 30, 2016 at 1:54 PM

    I remember faces before names. I have to hope I see them again soon or they message me to remind me if I hadn’t written their name down.

    I should do that, but I don’t have any recent pictures. I try to be the one holding the camera. x.x

    Reply
    1. Loni Townsend says:
      March 30, 2016 at 1:56 PM

      You can hold the camera still… just point it towards you! πŸ˜€

      Reply
  11. Misha says:
    March 30, 2016 at 2:30 PM

    I recently updated my gravatar picture, but I’m not sure if it works yet. πŸ˜€

    Reply
  12. Misha says:
    March 30, 2016 at 2:31 PM

    Oh look! It worked!

    Reply
  13. Chrys Fey says:
    March 30, 2016 at 3:21 PM

    I like this because I know on some blogs I get stuck with that silly image. I’m going to do this now!

    Reply
    1. Chrys Fey says:
      March 30, 2016 at 3:21 PM

      Although, your blog shows my face. SCORE! πŸ˜‰

      Reply
      1. Chrys Fey says:
        March 30, 2016 at 3:24 PM

        Looks like I had a Gravatar already and didn’t even know it. HAHA! So funny. πŸ˜› I think my image may not show up sometimes because I’m not logged into WordPress.

        Reply
  14. Sarah says:
    March 30, 2016 at 9:59 PM

    This is awesome. Lady, I just love you a little more every week. (In a totally non-creepy…I mean, you’re posts are…I’m married.) ?

    When someone changes their Twitter avi, I’m all, “Who the heck is THAT? Why am I following him? Is he trying to talk to me?! What the…” I’ve written nice-to-meet-you type replies on my blog to people who have been commenting for months. It’s wicked cool.

    Gravatar makes life so much easier online.

    Reply
  15. Aldrea Alien says:
    March 31, 2016 at 1:40 AM

    I tried it once, and it seemed to work, then it stopped. I really should try it again.

    Reply
  16. Leandra Wallace says:
    March 31, 2016 at 6:20 AM

    Bleh, I can’t remember names to save my life. Even names I should totally know sometimes! Tho I have yet to forget the kid’s name… πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  17. Roland Clarke says:
    March 31, 2016 at 10:52 AM

    Okay with faces but terrible with names… especially if there are too many. As an equestrian journalist, I was known on the circuit so would have riders/owners come up to me and start talking as if I remembered them. I was careful what I said – usual standard comments – until they gave a clue. If they mentioned their horse that always worked.

    As for recognising horses…………

    Reply
  18. Joleene Naylor says:
    March 31, 2016 at 12:19 PM

    Yes, I am the same! I do everything by association, and visual association is always the best – like Tricia has/had an avatar of a blue butterfly on her blog – to this day whenever I see a blue butterfly image I think “Oh! Tricia!” and it really feels like a betrayal when it turns out NOT to be her, LOL!

    Reply
  19. L. Diane Wolfe says:
    March 31, 2016 at 1:37 PM

    I see so many people, I struggle to remember faces. They all become a blur after a while.

    Reply
  20. Michelle Wallace says:
    April 1, 2016 at 3:30 AM

    I’m quite good at remembering names… πŸ™‚
    The hot air balloon is my signature picture…would it automatically be my gravatar too? Or maybe I need to set it as such…

    Reply
  21. Christine Rains says:
    April 1, 2016 at 7:34 AM

    How cool! I remember faces and not names too. It’s awkward when dealing with people. I end up saying dude a lot!

    Reply
  22. Julie Flanders says:
    April 1, 2016 at 1:53 PM

    I’ve heard of gravatar but I’m not sure if I’ve ever set it up correctly. My picture comes up when I post comments on most wordpress blogs but I don’t think it does on yours. I’ll see what happens now LOL.

    Reply
  23. Julie Flanders says:
    April 1, 2016 at 1:53 PM

    Hooray! Now I know it works LOL. πŸ˜€

    Reply
  24. Jeri says:
    April 1, 2016 at 2:22 PM

    It’s always best to put names with faces. I really don’t like it when I’m in online groups (blog comments aside) and the person has a profile pic that’s of their pet or a flower. When I used to teach, I would take a picture of each student on the first day with a nametag they’d made. Otherwise, it would take me a month to learn them names. But after a few review rounds, I would know them in a couple of days.

    Reply
  25. Mason T. Matchak says:
    April 3, 2016 at 7:03 PM

    I’ve seen Gravatar as a posting thing before, but I didn’t realize it was set up to make sure it used the same avatar no matter where it was. I don’t know if I always have the same picture show up on every site that uses it, because I haven’t kept track of which sites do and don’t. >_< And I hate having pictures taken of myself, so I don't know that I'll be showing my face around everywhere anytime soon. Oi.

    Reply

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Welcome to my blog. I post here on Wednesdays most of the time, but you can find me on social media any day of the week. My topics include my stories and writing, life at the Town's End, creating and tinkering with graphics, things I learn and think might be helpful to others, and the occasional amateur photo. Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you around.

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