According to a study by online reputation management company Reputation 24/7, it takes people 5.5 minutes to decide if they like someone online. In comparison, it takes people 9.5 minutes to decide that face-to-face.
Online impressions are made primarily by what views are expressed as well as what photos are used in online profiles, whether that be in forums, here on Kotaku, or on social networking sites like Facebook or even Twitter.
In Reputation 24/7′s study, profile photos that apparently create a negative impression include pictures of cars, bikini shots, pictures in which you are drunk or are holding an alcoholic beverage, photos of you embracing your partner, or even photos of animated characters.
Photos that create good impressions online supposedly include wedding pictures, photos of you with “sensible looking friends” or photographs of you with children. While the report doesn’t explicitly state this, I’d imagine photos of you feeding animals and doing volunteer work would also make a good online impression.
This is nice and all. But try waltzing into a game forum with nothing but your “sensible friends”, small children or a wedding picture and see what that gets you.
Don’t post bikini pictures [Mail Online]
McGarnical
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 7:47 AMAnimated character right here.
lambomann007
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:31 AMI was wondering why I don’t like you…
:P
PuppyLicks
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:53 AM10/10 for the name/avatar sync up.
Cephalxn
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:27 AM….. And?
AerintheADEQUATE
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:28 AMWhat about a screengrab of Max Payne realizing he’s in a computer game and that, while funny as hell, it was the worst thing he could possibly imagine?
(Though I guess I left that pic back on Kotaku US back before the redesign and before I knew of Kotaku AU… so I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore. Not going back there :-P)
… how about the generic placeholder ones for those of us who don’t have unique icons?
M
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:35 AMNot even ‘nice’ animated characters?
tom
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:37 AMi got a lion
Cornish
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:54 AMI have no shortage of opinions, I cary plenty of them with me. No need to be concerned about those that others carry with them. Not at all if they’re based of a bunch of pixels displaying one thing or another (talk about shallow).
PuppyLicks
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:54 AMMy avatar is a Space Marine with a monocle and a moustache, if you don’t like it then you are obviously a heretic, or a Xenos.
PuppyLicks
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 8:55 AMWhat about a sensible looking animated character with sensible looking animated character friends… at a wedding.
Ben White
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 9:07 AMEvery single other dp of me on the internet (except here, facebook and twitter) are various anime characters :)
James Mac
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 9:18 AMSo… by this measure, pedophiles are some of the most liked people on the internet?
thxultra
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 10:33 AMMichael Jackson
NegativeZero
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 9:29 AMOh :(
Nick
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 9:34 AMI hate people who have cars as fb profile pictures. I know exactly what this report is saying
Trex
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 9:41 AMHi
thxultra
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 10:35 AMnext you’ll be telling me facebook is an CIA social engineering project
Joshy206
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:24 AMWait wait wait… people JUDGE US?
Sam
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 11:43 AMYeah man, it’s a rule in the bible, ‘judge not lest ye be judged’……. wait a minute…..
Ponton
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 12:24 PMwhat about people who have no profile picture/avatar?
i judge them, more than people who set these ‘bad’ pictures.
Ty
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 2:18 PM“Photos that create good impressions online supposedly include wedding pictures, photos of you with “sensible looking friends” or photographs of you with children. While the report doesn’t explicitly state this, I’d imagine photos of you feeding animals and doing volunteer work would also make a good online impression.”
Take any of those things and now imagine them taking place between the bars of a filthy cage. Let me know how those results pan out.
Arata
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 2:44 PMWhat about an avatar of an animated character at a wedding, feeding children to animals? Too awesome?
Richard James
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 4:45 PMWhat about an anime character wearing a bikini while drunk draped over the hood of a car?
Hayden
Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 5:33 PMOnly if the character is embracing a partner.
Phoenix
Friday, November 11, 2011 at 5:59 PMWho is also wearing a bikini.