Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
I've noticed lately an increased number of members without a picture for the avatar. As an active community member, I enjoy having more of a 'connection' with those I converse with, and that is aided by having a picture as the avatar. It creates a disconnect without.
Related to our daily professional lives, we consider a stronger virtual team, dismantling the geographic barriers with some personal information, starting with a picture. We would deem it an anti-pattern in today's expected virtual, collaborative, and social team environments.
One of my pet peeves when coaching teams who are using collaborative tools such as Slack or JIRA is when a team member can't be bothered to change the generic avatar to anything unique. It doesn't have to be their actual headshot - a Bitmoji or any other unique image would do.
Not only does this start to deepen the connections within the team by providing a better sense as to who individuals are, but it also provides the tactical benefit of helping everyone quickly know who is working on what!
Kiron
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1 reply by Drew Craig
Dec 22, 2018 3:20 PM
Drew Craig
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Yep, have experienced the same and completely agree.
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LORI WILSONRETIRED - Technical Project Manager| RETIRED - LifePoint HealthClarkston, Wa, United States
Hi Andrew and Kiron: I agree and feel more connected when I can see the faces of those I work with. Fun to see how personalities can shine through pictures.
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1 reply by Drew Craig
Dec 22, 2018 3:21 PM
Drew Craig
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Yes, absolutely. Thanks, Lori.
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Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Dec 21, 2018 8:53 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Andrew -
Totally agree!
One of my pet peeves when coaching teams who are using collaborative tools such as Slack or JIRA is when a team member can't be bothered to change the generic avatar to anything unique. It doesn't have to be their actual headshot - a Bitmoji or any other unique image would do.
Not only does this start to deepen the connections within the team by providing a better sense as to who individuals are, but it also provides the tactical benefit of helping everyone quickly know who is working on what!
Kiron
Yep, have experienced the same and completely agree. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Dec 21, 2018 1:16 PM
Replying to LORI WILSON
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Hi Andrew and Kiron: I agree and feel more connected when I can see the faces of those I work with. Fun to see how personalities can shine through pictures.
Yes, absolutely. Thanks, Lori. Saving Changes...
Lenka PincotChief of Staff to the CEO| Project Management InstituteParis, France
Absolutely agree. Frankly speaking, I don’t trust much profiles without a picture because it feels like the person is hiding.
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1 reply by Drew Craig
Dec 23, 2018 5:55 PM
Drew Craig
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Yes, kind of my point. Not just that it can cause a trust issue, but that as a community member, you want to feel a sense of community amongst your peers and those you interact with on a daily basis. Though this is solely a professional community, many of us lay it all out there for others to see. This is a global platform, reaching over 500K members.
I've been active on other social platforms; LinkedIn, Slack, Reddit, Imgur, Linux communities, Github, etc. Always the same, add an avatar! Show us some personality and sense of commitment!
The lack of basic details in the member's profile is intriguing. I wonder what are they thinking when they engage with other members (having no details).
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1 reply by Drew Craig
Dec 23, 2018 5:58 PM
Drew Craig
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The thing is this. I completely understand any hesitance. And if an individual needs time to assimilate and feel comfortable and confident, no problem. But once that individual begins posting and networking out with others, time to upload an avatar and put the effort into being an active member.
I agree having a face behind the email/message. I believe it helps bonding and acceleration of creating trust. We live in a "visual" world and not having an avatar certainly seems anti-pattern.
Andrew, that's exactly was my question for tonight (( Do You feel more comfortable to connect with photo profile or without ? but I saw your so I drop it
I agree that profile with photo provide more comfort and sense of security, warranty, and genuine reflection.
40 % can be right of doing personality analysis through photo
Sometime people needs to be more well versed to post their photo, they might be reluctant at start.
Those looking to achieve 100 K plus what is your thought on this?
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1 reply by Drew Craig
Dec 23, 2018 6:03 PM
Drew Craig
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Haha, I beat you to it. I'm obviously lighter on the side of contributions through posting discussions as opposed to contributing to others'. Personally, I feel more comfortable with.
I definitely think avatars of any kind help to personalize communication even if it is not a business glamor shot. I can also see the reluctance to provide too much personal information. On a professional oriented site, people may not want to display more than they would want on a resume. I myself watch for any signs of spam, phishing, etc.
Now that I've had a chance to interact with the people here, I've seen the wealth of knowledge and diversity of viewpoints so it's worth the personal touch.
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1 reply by Drew Craig
Dec 23, 2018 6:03 PM
Drew Craig
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Agreed, and happy to have finally won you over :)
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Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Dec 22, 2018 5:55 PM
Replying to Lenka Pincot
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Absolutely agree. Frankly speaking, I don’t trust much profiles without a picture because it feels like the person is hiding.
Yes, kind of my point. Not just that it can cause a trust issue, but that as a community member, you want to feel a sense of community amongst your peers and those you interact with on a daily basis. Though this is solely a professional community, many of us lay it all out there for others to see. This is a global platform, reaching over 500K members.
I've been active on other social platforms; LinkedIn, Slack, Reddit, Imgur, Linux communities, Github, etc. Always the same, add an avatar! Show us some personality and sense of commitment! Saving Changes...
