If you’re following me on twitter then you’ll notice something different, I’ve changed my avatar. To some changing your twitter avatar is not a big deal but for me it is. You see, I’ve been on twitter since 2006 (#twitterOT) and from day one I’ve always used my caricature as my avatar. My caricature was created 2005 and I’ve used it as my logo, on business cards and is part of my personal branding. It separates me from everyone else and as one of the few African-Americans on twitter in the earlier days my caricature really stood out from others. Read here to find out how created my caricature.
What sparked this recent discussion of changing my twitter avatar? Well, I submitted my caricature to have on my badge for SXSW and it was rejected. Then I posted a tweet about it and decided to run a twtpoll and ask my twitter friends “Should I ditch my cartoon avatar for a real live picture?” , the results 148 yes to 108 no.
Plus one of my twitter Raleigh friends @DiMambro has been trying to get me to change it for a while , saying it’s time for something new but I’ve been disagreeing with him for about a year now. So today March 9, 2009 is officially #noiconday, and I’ve have a few friends joining me as well, changing their twitter profile icons to real life photos. Check out these twitter pictures while they last because tomorrow we’re all going back to our icons.
I wonder does @Chrispirillo gets asked to change his twitter icon?
Either way at #SXSW on my badge you’ll see the same photo I’m using today and tomorrow I’m going back to my caricature on twitter. To justify my reasoning for keeping the caricature take a look at my new portal site: http://wayne-sutton.com and read these comments from the twtpoll.
@davidjagger: You are your brand, not something that might look like you. Do people do biz with your avatar or you? Your answer, is answer to question.
@therab: my wife was just saying the cartoon avatar looks just like you. i say have fun w/ ur brand. social media should = fun. people see u in video
@mclgreenville: keep it. I looks exactly like you. Goes perfectly w. your personality. I wish I had one. š
I do want to say thanks for all the positive feedback from everyone on twitter about the picture .
