(Above picture from the Gravatars home page)
There is something psychological about about seeing the person’s face. Emotions are triggered, memories are recalled, you might even get a sense for the person even if you have never met. Many of us use or have used avatar’s in software applications for some time. However, being able to actually see what they look like, even when it’s an old photograph always makes it more personal.
Perhaps it has something to do with being identifiable.
The concept seems to be extend to using abstract avatars, whether popular Simpson’s styled character’s or movie characters.
More and more, I notice friends and colleagues updating their smart phones with the person’s actual mug.
We originally became aware of this as a side effect, while working on SlateCRM. We found that we enjoyed using the application more when there were actual pictures rather than the generic placeholder.
Adding a friendly face doesn’t just make for a better feature, but a better way of interacting with the app you use daily. Isn’t that what the social revoluation is about?!
So go ahead, add pictures to your existing applications such as Facebook, SlateCRM, or even the contacts on your phone. You’ll be happier for it.
-Eddy
