We do not communicate well with our younger generations #TheProfileProject #10
@FakeThom tells the story behind his Twitter profile picture: “My profile picture is a cartoon graphic representation of me to primarily accompany my YouTube channel, matching the channel’s artwork and house style. It was created by a friend William Leeks and kindly donated to my channel to help get it off the ground. The image depicts me in a white coat with a yellow stethoscope and blue hair, representing my real-life job as a children’s doctor in Scotland. Although I do not wear a white coat day-to-day, it helps add to the identity in the cartoon version of myself. “As a children’s doctor, I’m concerned we do not communicate well with our younger generations, who are light years ahead of us with how they access and consume information online. My vlog channel aims to deliver health education to the YouTube generation in an entertaining and informative way, with teenagers being the target audience. Currently my videos look mainly at mental health, but also include topics such as sleep. Future videos will expand into sex education and other health-related content that commonly affects adolescents. “A side project of the channel also uses Minecraft to deliver information to a younger audience. My profile picture will sometimes change to a blocky Minecraft version to promote this side of my output. The cartoon version of me you see in the profile picture will occasionally have changes in hair colour if I have recently dyed my hair, or will have a background colour change to hold interest. The bold and outlined nature of the Saved By The Bell-style drawing is eye-catching at thumbnail size so works well...
Me, myself, I #TheProfileProject #9
Anne Cooper tells the story behind her Twitter profile: “Even when I first started my Twitter journey my profile picture was one of me….. me, myself, I. (I just love this song by Joan Armatrading and the words are fab.) “I believe that on social media presenting oneself as a real person works best. I get such a tremendous response to those blogs and posts that are about more than my ‘professional self’; I think people identify more with the whole view of me. So decided that it was a real me they should see. “However, I do chose the best ones. Not photographs I hate but those that I think are flattering too. Ha! You caught me – I am vain too. Perhaps a slightly varnished presentation of me! “When it was the year of my 50th birthday I did do a little experiment – I aged myself via my profile picture. I started with the picture of me at my youngest and aged myself gradually over the year, ending with one of me at 50. I loved doing it and it did create some interesting conversations but I think some people found it confusing – shape shifting. I realised that a clear picture that was identifiable might be important so I have changed less frequently and have tried to maintain a real and realistic (if flattering) picture since then. I want to be identifiable and real to people I talk to. “Me, myself, I – that’s it for me.” You can find out more about #TheProfileProject here and connect on Twitter...
My small act of Facebook solidarity #TheProfileProject #8
Alaric tells the story behind his most recent Facebook profile picture: “I have changed my profile picture many times since I came late to Facebook – a curios skeptic determined not to take it too seriously. I generally use self portraits, and when Facebook urges users to add rainbows or French flag filters to their profiles, I either ignored or signaled my approval of the cause in more personal ways. The most recent such occasion was the Bataclan shootings in Paris. “My response to this event was partly intellectual, mostly personal. I spent a lot of time in Paris in the 1980s, I still have good friends there and I am a Francophile. More than that, I see Paris as one of the great achievements of post enlightenment Western culture. For all its many faults like the ring of deprived suburbs, the civilized urbanity of Parisienne life is rightly held to be a template of how life can be lived well. That the IS terrorists chose to attack a concert hall and restaurants just made my feeling more visceral; I have worked in many Paris venues as a sound engineer, I have eaten in Paris restaurants and promenaded along her streets in the evenings. “I understand the west’s culpability in fermenting the crisis in the middle east; from France and Britain drawing lines on maps at Versailles, partitioning liberated Arab lands for their own gain, via the shambles of the British Palestine protectorate, French colonization of Syria, the fawning in front of Saudi oil wealth to the illegal invasion of Iraq… and much more. After the attack the Internet...
“My profile works as a sort of filter” #TheProfileProject #7
@gopaldass AKA Abhay Adhikari tells the story behind his choice of Twitter profile pictures: “At the moment, my Twitter profile picture is of me cycling into the horizon, without a care in the world! My account is a personal and professional space and my profile picture reflects this. It also serves as a personal reminder that I shouldn’t take myself too seriously and that I should take time to reflect on what others say. So much of social media is reactionary. “My picture changes quite often. Say, every couple of weeks. Every now and then I upload a profile picture that may indicate what I do for a living and where I live. For the most part, my profile picture is a reflection of how I am feeling and whether I want to actively connect with people at that point in time. By not giving it all away, I think my profile works as a sort of filter – engaging people who are curious, open minded and open to a chat. So far this approach as worked as I have met a lot of interesting people (in real life) via social media and this has allowed me to launch Digital Identity projects from Stockholm to Delhi!” You can find out more about #TheProfileProject here and connect on Twitter...
*I was reluctant to expose my visible Muslim-ness* #TheProfileProject #6
This is my first anonymous story for #TheProfileProject – sharing a very personal and salient narrative about a Twitter profile picture. I’ve chosen the image of a carnation to draw on the idea that we wear something distinctive when we meet a stranger for the first time. I hope to meet this person ‘in real life’ soon: “There are probably only a handful of active tweeps in my timeline who do not use their face photo as their profile image; and I am one of them. My primary reason is the attempt to remain as anonymous as I possibly can, and to protect my personal privacy as far as possible. This may appear to be a paradox, because I have a public profile (description). However, my full name is a very common one (I personally know four people with the exact full name) and if someone did not know my career path, they would not know it is me! “I also do not want to waste time changing profile pictures every few months; I have a purpose of being on Twitter which is to engage with practitioners in my field, experts and colleagues; and for that purpose I do not see why a “real image” of me is relevant or important. However, I must admit, that when I first started using Twitter, I was hesitant to place a real face photo of myself. This is because I wear a headscarf and I am a very visible Muslim. I am proud to be Muslim; and I know that the vast majority of my followers are not anti-Muslim. But I also have first-hand experience of the...about.me
Victoria Betton
victoria betton
director mHabitat | NHS | social media & mental health doctorate | interested in digital inclusion | parma violets fiend | http://codesigndigitalhealth.co.uk
