Thursday, May 29, 2008

RIP, Old Headshot!


Last year, when I first started this blog thing, I tumbled through a few different photographs of myself. I was trying to find a picture that could sit quietly in the upper-right-hand corner of the page, black and white and gray like the letters on the pale blue background, and be pretty unobtrusive. One stuck. Today it is unstuck.

I guess when you're 21, you look significantly older than you did when you were 20? Like, maybe 5% older? Definitely a statistically significant amount, at least. Anyway, I heard from three separate people over the past month or so that my old profile photograph (which I used everywhere) looked a little young. So, naturally, I set out to rectify the situation.

BUT. Do you know how discombobulating it is to wake up and think, "Today I will overturn my online identity in an extremely minor way?" During the accidental photo session that begat the first photograph, I had no idea what was going on; the process wasn't loaded with the dubious weight of an impending online identity shift .

Except then, I settled on one of the photographs, and used it almost exclusively whenever I needed to attach a photograph to my name online. For an entire year. I even sent a copy of the picture out to all of ROFLCon's guests before they arrived, so that they'd be able to recognize me IRL. It was disconcerting how many of them came up to me to sincerely thank me for this gesture. "It was so easy to recognize you!," they said. "That was really smart to send your picture out!" As I basically wrote in the email that accompanied the photograph: the real world's not text based, yo. Weird, right?

So. Today I enlisted some help to create a bank of replacement candidates. Sadly, I think my short haircut did little to bolster the illusion that I am 5% older. However, I hope the critics will be sated nevertheless.

I've settled on a temporary replacement (visible to your right), but I'm not stuck on it yet. Since this is so extremely important (not), I'd love your thoughts! I've got a couple hundred more to choose from, which is just overkill, so, you know. You've got choices.

I will crowdsource the determination of my online visual identity? It will be revolutionary! In a microscopic sort of way.

2 comments:

David Fisher said...

Maybe I'm biased, but I think you're beautiful there.

Another good photo of you, that you might want to consider:
http://flickr.com/photos/davefishernc/2520549952/

I need to myself update my online photos as mine are from PodCamp Boston in October and from a party in November.

Senseless Babble said...

I wont say that you look older in your new photo, but I will say that you look more "knowing". -- Your older folder makes you look, and I hate to use this word but it's the first thing that came to mind, but the older photo makes you look "innocent". -- The difference between the two photos is that in the time between the too, it seems that you have since learned some bit of information, or learned a life lesson that has wizened you, matured you. And now that you "know what you now know", it also appears that there is a playfulness about you in regards to this newly gained intelligence. Like you want to use this knowledge, or want to share it, but you're not quite sure how yet, and so all you can do is hold it in and enjoy it for what it is. -- Does that make any sense? Sorry, my imagination gets away from me sometimes. I see photos and i make up my own back stories. Please forgive my senseless babble (and typos).