What does your profile picture say about you? Do you have different pictures for different social media platforms? Some people like to look very professional. Some try to show they are fun. Others like to show an aspect of their personality or their interests.
I find it fun to look at a profile picture and wonder what the person looks like or how they act in real life (IRL). When I met Brian Solis, I wondered if he would really have the monocle or if it was just a prop. (It was just a prop and a borrowed one.) Also, I often wonder why some people use their children as their profile pictures, because it doesn’t give me any reference as to what they look like or insight into their personality. Some people using a cartoon drawing or Avatar for their profiles can make me wonder if the drawing is better than real life or if they are using one because they think it’s more fun or humorous
Recently a few women have mentioned they do not use their own picture because of security reasons. Raegan Weber, a PR consultant, mentioned, “I had people using my picture for their own blogs or online news stories. So, I chose a picture of my beautiful German shepherd instead of my own headshot.” 
Other people like to show support for a cause, school or sports team with Twibbons. They are small icons you can put on your picture. When it’s October, I feel compelled to add a pink ribbon to my profile picture and I still have to have my college mascot Twibbon. Sports fans tend to include their favorite team in their pictures. My BurrellesLuce colleague Denise Giacin makes a point of wearing her favorite baseball team’s hat in her picture.
For me, I just want a nice picture. When I lived in Hawaii, I had a fabulous driver’s license picture. I was skinny, tan and my hair was bleached from the sun. I was so sad when I had to give it up. I know a lot of people who will do anything to keep a good driver’s license picture for as long as humanly possible. I might be that way about my current profile picture. A few years ago, several BurrellesLuce colleagues and I had our head shots taken. Fellow bloggers Johna Burke and Tressa Robbins kept me laughing and smiling, so the picture turned-out great. I use it for all my social media profile pictures, presentations. Well, pretty much anywhere I can use it, I will. Over dinner with friends recently, my husband said I will probably use it for my obituary. Yes, I’ll probably have one of those obituaries where it says I died at 95, but I don’t look a day over 30 in the picture!
What are some of your favorite profile pictures? What does your picture say about you? Do you use the same picture for all mediums or do you have different one based on the platform?
As interns head into the office for the first time this fall, eager to make a good impression and begin a successful career, wouldn’t it be nice to be given a reading list…a list of books that hold the secrets and lessons to give you that extra advantage? I decided to ask a few leaders in the PR industry, “Is there a book you’d consider ‘required reading’? Something you wish every new hire read prior to their first day on the job?” Here are their responses:
