I have said several times that an About Page is important for every blog. Your About Page gives new readers an easy way to check what your blog is supposed to be about, who the blogger(s) is/are behind the blog, and figure out the blog’s trustworthiness. In short, the About Page is your introduction; your chance to make a good impression.
When deciding on the contents of an About Page I’m pretty sure that almost all bloggers put much effort on the text portion – the information to be shared, the wording, the tone, and the length. However, when it comes to the photo what most people do is either simply use the current profile photo or just forgo posting a profile pic. The question now is: Should you post your photo or not?
As in all things this depends on the type of blog you maintain as well as you personality. There are three cases when I recommend NOT posting a profile pic:
Privacy issues – Some people do not post their photos because of privacy issues. In that case I wouldn’t push anyone to post anything they are not comfortable with, however, remember that the presence of a photo helps readers identify more with the blogger thus contributing to a sense of trust. Another legitimate privacy issue would be “anonymous” bloggers that have blog posts that could compromise them, whether at work or their personal lives, if anyone finds out their true identity. Obviously anonymous bloggers should not post their pictures in their About Page!
Corporate blog – Corporate blogs where the blog serves more as a venue for press releases and where the poster can be anyone from a team need not post the photo of each and every “blogger”. This is especially important if your company’s blog is very formal. Instead use the company logo for a profile picture so as to help in brand recognition. Note that this is different from en employee having a blog centered on the company, in which case I would caution the employee on editing EVERYTHING he posts.
Originally posted on February 8, 2010 @ 7:31 am
