What Your Avatar Says About You

[acaisha]

LOL read this today and thought it was fun... What Your Avatar Says About You

Humor

As social networking sites increase in popularity, so do the number of avatars that people use to represent themselves.  Y'know, the little picture that appears next to someone's post or message.  I've noticed that there are only a finite set of avatar styles.  Using my imaginary Ph.D in Internet Psychology I have analyzed what the various avatar styles mean.

Update [02/22/2008]: Thanks to @monkchips, I must add one more: The Chin Hold (a.k.a. Chin Posin').  Coming soon, the group photo, aka, "Which one are you?" 

What Your Avatar Says About You

Avatar Style	Examples	Description	Meaning
The Portrait		Close up of the whole face, focused and nicely centered.	You are confident in your appearance and don't mind stalkers knowing what you look like.  I originally called this the "Normal" but you really don't see it as much as you would think.
The Off-Center		Similar to the the Portrait, but with the subject to the left or right.	You find the Portrait to be a little too square for your tastes (no pun intended).  You may be a geek, but you're not a nerd!
The Half-Face		Only show the left or right side of your face.  Sometimes just the top.	You consider the Portrait to be boring and you want to be edgy and cool.  You might be a little insecure, but you still want people to know it's you.
The Too-Close		Taking the Half-Face to the next level, you go for the extreme close up!  It's almost always on the eye.	Like the Half-Face, only edgier.  Only people who already know you can tell that it's you.  Why the eye?  Because it's still personal.  Also, there are less zits on your eyes.
The Distorted		Could be blurry, over-exposed or processed.	You are not only edgy and cool, but also a little disturbed or tormented!  You also know how to use photo editing software.  Or you might just be a really bad photographer.
The Obscured		You face is hidden behind some object.   Bonus for creating the Half-Face.	You are introverted, or perhaps in an Austin Powers movie.  You like to be behind the scenes and don't crave the lime light, mainly because you fear limes.
The Reflection		a.k.a. The Camera.  Taking a picture of yourself in a mirror, complete with the camera.  Sometimes a special subclass of the Obscured.	You are a photographer and want people to know it.  Apparently, you also don't know how to use a tripod or ask a friend to take your picture.  Maybe you don't have any friends.
The Far-Away		Hello!  I'm the pixel just left of center.  Bonus points if it's also blurry.	You are shy and this maintains your anonymity.  You like to keep things at a distance until you feel more comfortable.  Much like a feral cat.
The Pose		A picture taken just for your avatar.  Sometimes taken with a web cam.	You are a control freak and want everything "just so."  You probably change your avatar three times a day.
The Look-Away		Direct eye contact?  Not here.	You are aloof and care free and perhaps subservient.  Don't pick me...Please, don't pick me!!
The Mac-Book		A subclass of the Pose.  Using the Mac's built-in camera and image filters.	You just bought a Mac Book Pro.  Congratulations!
The Action Shot		A picture of yourself doing something exciting.	You want to show everyone that you're not as boring as your tweets, blogs and Facebook updates would indicate.
The Perspective		Taking a picture of yourself from a weird angle.  Usually taken with a cell phone.	You're just lazy.  You can't even be bothered to lift your hands to take the picture.
The Chin Hold (new!)		Similar to The Look-Away, but you are holding your chin.  See @chinposin	You are authoritative, smart, thoughtful, or a copycat.  Perhaps you just have a big zit on your chin.
The Companion		Yourself with your child(ren), pet, toy or perhaps security blanket.  Almost never includes the spouse.	It's your way of saying, "I'm ugly, so look at my beautiful cat."
The Kid		Just your child, or yourself as a child.	You used to be cute, but no more.  So look at me from the past, or look at my progeny.
The Cartoon		A cartoon version of yourself as the Simpsons, South Park, Second Life, Mii, WoW or the caricature artist from the mall.	You let others be creative for you and then take the credit.
The Celebrity		A picture of someone else, basically.	There is nothing interesting about me so I'll just take someone else's persona, even if they are fictional.
The Abstract		A non-human image: either a graphic or some trinket.	You don't want anyone to know anything about you.  Not that there is anything worth knowing.
The Logo		Part, or all, of a tech site's logo.	You are a high level blogger.  Please read my site and feed my ego and drive up my ad revenue.
The Default		The default avatar.	Welcome to the Internets, n00b.

[Supervane]

Mine is the Companion, except my spouse is in it.

[isra1986]

I guess mine is off center, used to be the portrait. I just took this pic because I did my hijab without a mirror and I wanted to see what it looked like, lol!!!

[MzSeXyC]

thats interesting! :)

i guess mine would be the portrait, or off center...im not sure. lol. 

[blsdbyangel07]

Uhm that I loved Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland!  :P  Lmao my page will also say that about me..

[Laura4807]

Mine is:

It's your way of saying, "I'm ugly, so look at my beautiful cat."

Oh whatever. lol

[Zoeysmom09]

I am not interesting.

[two4one]

It's your way of saying, "I'm ugly, so look at my beautiful cat."

 

LOL!!!

[Julielle]

Look at my progeny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[beadingmom17]

I guess mine's the companion?  Mostly my avatar says "My husband and I are big dorks, but we have fun together!"

[i.heart.rachel]

Mine is the kid, for advertising purposes only LOL so this isn't accurate for me. :)