Gravatars Revisited
This Blog feature deserves another look!
Last year we launched a feature that enables personalized gravatars on EzineArticles Blog Comments. A gravatar, or globally recognized avatar, is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things. In essence, its a portable avatar.*
Since then, many Expert Authors have used this feature to connect their name with a recognizable face.
If you take a look back at some of the recent Blog posts, you will notice the gravatars that have been activated. Over time, you might be able to recognize members that have made comments on previous posts. We thought that now would be a good time to provide a refresher on how to get your own gravatar.
How do I set up a gravatar?
- Signing up for a gravatar.com account is FREE and FAST.
- The only requirement is to provide an email address.
- Once you’ve signed up you can upload your avatar image immediately.
- Soon after you’ll start seeing it on gravatar-enabled sites – like EzineArticles.com.
- Simply go to http://en.gravatar.com/site/signup/ to sign up!
What are the benefits of a gravatar over an avatar?
- Ease – You only have to create your gravatar once to have it appear on any gravatar-enabled site.
- Convenience – Updating your gravatar image updates your gravatar on every blog and forum using it.
- Consistency – Your image appears the same across all gravatar-enabled sites.
- Credibility – You have one unified “brand” representing your online presence.
Gravatars fall in to that wonderful little “No-Brainer” category reserved for things that are FREE, EASY, FAST and packed with benefits. Take a few minutes now to create yours, then leave a comment so we can all see your creation!
* Official Definition: A gravatar is an icon, or representation, of a user in a shared virtual reality, such as a forum, chat, website, or any other form of online community in which the user(s) wish to have something to distinguish themselves from other users.
Caroline-
Are you asking about the Author Spotlight on our home page or the Expert Author Case Studies in our blog?
In order to be displayed on the Author Spotlight section of EA’s homepage you:
– Must not be suspended
– Must have an Author Photo Uploaded
– Must have your BIO completed
– Must have at least one live article
… Other than that, the selections are purely random.
Those being featured as Case Studies responded to a call for submissions we did several months ago. You can anticipate another open call later this year.
July 19, 2010 at 8:31 AM[Reply]