This may be the most trivial of the entire set of 30 posts (and that's saying a lot). Anyone who has any respect for me as a writer should probably stop reading now. But with 15 more to go, I'm having to plumb the depths of ephemera.
For those of you who follow me on Twitter of Facebook, you have noticed a change this week. After about five years of online participation, I finally changed my profile picture.
From the beginning I used a picture of my hands typing on an eee netbook PC illuminated by candlelight. I took this picture soon after I received my netbook, while I was completely convinced that this light, relatively cheap PC would be the disruptive device that would transform the classroom. So I felt this profile picture served as a suitable homage with the added byproduct of not showing my face. As my was taking my first steps into social media I didn't know how public I wanted to be. I always used my name, as I felt (I think rightly) that owning my comments would help guide me in limits of what I should and should not say, but I was uncertain about my picture…at least of my face.
Year pass, and I watch my friends and colleagues use a variety of profile pictures, often showing their face, and my picture of the the typing hands seemed more and more dated. I also moved away from the picture philosophically, as I no longer believed that the netbook had any significant role in the future of classroom technology. As good as the device was, I failed to see the economic forces that would cause manufacturers to de-emphasize the low-margin machine.
So what to use in its place? The obvious answer seemed to be a picture of my hands working on an iPad, since this might be the best self characterization. I took several pictures, but the truth is that I thought my hands looked so old in each, and I didn't want my online contacts whom I have never met to have that immediate concept of me (as true as it may be). I really can't believe that I just wrote this paragraph…
Finally, in a manic desire to get this done, I changed my profile picture to the one I use for programs and biographies. As you can see, it's businesslike and does about as much as can be hoped with my limited appearance. Since this picture now represents my public presence, it seemed the best for my online presence as well. I also no longer feel any compunction about posting my picture…as long as I get to pick the picture!
As always I welcome your comments.
Image credit: Well, you know
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