How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

Posted by Barbara Swafford on Friday, March 14th 2008   
Filed in: Archives, Blogging Lessons, Comments, Plugins and Widgets    Tags: , , , ,

267Cassandria_100x100_med.gif More and more as I travel through cyberspace, I see the use of gravatars (globally recognized avatars) on comments or in social networks such as StumbleUpon.

This is the one I use used.

Today’s Lesson

With avatars, you can do one of two things.

1) You can make your own avatar by using a favorite photo. Crop or resize it to 80 px by 80 px. Save it. It’s now ready to use.

2) Find one online for free. Just search for “free avatars”. You’ll find thousands (maybe millions) of choices. Search through the sites, find one you like, and download it.

I found mine at www.allavatars.com . Photo credit goes to “Aerythes”. And, as a reminder, read the avatar user policy.

Here are a few samples of other avatars I found online:

61tribute_thumb.jpg6819mutltley_thumb.gif2037349Vivianna thumb med How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments6Leska_CGriffin_thumb.jpg

After you have saved your avatar, go to “Gravatar.com” where you can register your avatar for free (linking it to your email address(s)). Once registered, your avatar will follow you throughout cyberspace.

I also activated Avatars in my comment section. Being technologically challenged, I opted for a plugin. The one I am using is named “Easy Gravatars” and was created by Dougal Campbell. Thank you Dougal!

This plugin is download as all others. Once activated, I changed the “Default Image URL”, (under options – Easy Avatar). My image URL now matches the default avatar. The default avatar will display in the event you have not registered an avatar with Gravatar.com.

Remember….your avatar becomes your “brand”, so choose wisely.

An added note: According to Web Tools Collection, avatars will be included (preloaded) in WordPress version 2.5 (which is currently being tested).

Today’s Assignment

What are your thoughts on avatars?

Are you using them in your social networks? Comments?

If not, do you have questions?

Comments

JEMi @ InMyHeelsNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

I’ve been meaning to do this for so long, perhaps this is my cue!

*grin*

I think avatars are very useful. If you stick with your pic, and you circulate the blogosphere, sure enough, you become ‘recognizable’

For instance – I always know ‘Natural’s been here’ when I’m hanging out on the blogosphere. :) It’s pretty cool. Might make me even take a longer look

JEMi @ InMyHeels’s last blog post..Overcoming Self Sabotage

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Hi JEMi

I like your avatar…you’re a beautiful girl with a beautiful smile.

I agree, using the same avatar where ever you go in blogosphere is bound to get you noticed.

I’ll be checking your blog again soon to see if you’ve activated avatars in you comments. The plugin I used sure made it easy for me.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

Hunter NuttallNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Barbara, that’s the same plugin I started using a few days ago. I wasn’t sure what plugin to use, or whether gravatar was better than mybloglog, but I liked how you don’t have to make any changes to the template.

The default behavior is to link the image to the commenter’s blog, but if they don’t have an avatar, I wish the default image would link to gravatar.com. Otherwise, I don’t know how new people would find out about gravatar.com.

Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Make The Impossible Possible

[Reply]

JodithNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

I’ve been thinking about activating avatars on my blog, but there’s so many other priorities that are ahead of that one. I have a regular avatar I made years ago that I use on most of the forums I visit under one of my alteregos, but I want a new one to go with this blog. I’ll have to do some searching to find just the right one.

Maybe a typewriter! Fits in with my being an administrative assistant with some kudos to my age.

Jodith’s last blog post..For Beginners: Receptionist Tips Part Deaux

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Hi Hunter,

I tried a different plugin before I decided to use this one, but I would have had to add a bunch of code that I didn’t understand.

I also like Gravatar.com. They make it so easy, plus they list options for plugins for other blogging platforms too.

Hi Jodith,

I know what you mean about other priorities when a blog is new. And….all of that takes time.

A typewriter would be a great avatar for your blog. I like the pictures of the real old ones. Reminds me of when I learned how to type.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

Natural WomanNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

I’ll give it a try Barbara. I saw this plug-in a few days ago and it did cross my mind to do. Thanks for the reminder.

Natural Woman’s last blog post..WordPress and DST

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Hi Natural Woman

I think you’ll like it. Let me know if you have any questions about it.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

JEMi @ InMyHeelsNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

*cheesy grin*
THANK YOU! :)

my newest blogging headache – I moved to a new host because I noticed when traffic was heavier on my old host, it would ’suspend’

except with the old host I knew how to access and unzip pluggins

this ones a whole new animal. I have no clue how to do it..
you’ll see them soon – gotta punch in that 800 number and get some help

JEMi @ InMyHeels’s last blog post..Overcoming Self Sabotage

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Good Luck JEMi

I don’t even want to think about changing hosts. That’s another leaning curve. Hopefully your new host will be able to handle all of your traffic, and you’ll never have to change again.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

CatherineLNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Hi Barbara – help – I think I’ve got this Avatar horribly wrong. I only got one to use on my StumbleUpon account. As you know, I chose one with purple hair as I probably wouldn’t get away with purple hair in real life.

But I just found mine on a free avatar site and downloaded it to my pc then uploaded it to StumbleUpon. The trouble is – I don’t know where I got it. What do I need to do to do what you did. If I get the plugin will it work just the same?

CatherineL’s last blog post..Did This Ever Happen To You?

[Reply]

CatherineLNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

Hang on – I read it wrong. I’ve saved it on my computer so now i can register it and it will work right? I’ll give it a shot – it’s a great idea.

CatherineL’s last blog post..Did This Ever Happen To You?

[Reply]

CatherineLNo Gravatar said on March 14th, 2008     

I hope you don’t mind – I’m just checking to see if it worked. thanks Barbara.

CatherineL’s last blog post..Did This Ever Happen To You?

[Reply]

John HoffNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

Hi Barbara. I use avatars in my community forum as they are pretty much a common thing forums use and many people expect them. I’ve seen them on a few blogs and to be honest I’m not sure what to think.

I’d be worried about offensive pictures and having to take time to deal with them. What are your thoughts?

John Hoff’s last blog post..Tips For Maximizing Your Potential

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

Hi Catherine,

You got it. Great job! I knew you could do it. :)

Hi John,

This plugin has a “rating system” and supposedly offensive avatars won’t be accepted. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if something sneaks through that I’m not happy with.

If that were to happen, I would probably just delete the whole comment.

Right now I have the rating set at “G”.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

CatherineLNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

Thanks Barbara – I’d had a couple of glasses of wine when I was trying to follow the instructions! I’m also going to try the plugin on my blog. It’s a great idea. I would also use the G rating. Some of the pics I saw when looking for this one aren’t the type you’d want on your blog.

CatherineL’s last blog post..Did This Ever Happen To You?

[Reply]

Natural WomanNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

Hey Barbara, I went to sign up for gravatar and was already a member, duh, but i never added an avatar. So I did that yesterday and it still doesn’t show up. Any suggestions?

Natural Woman’s last blog post..I Wish I Had Duck Feet

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

Hi Catherine,

I’ll come over and check out yours

Hi Natural Woman,

Do you use more than one email address online? It assigns the avatar to a specific email address, or you can use the same avatar for more than one email address. Try that and let me know if that works.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

John HoffNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

That’s cool it has a rating system. Maybe in a month or two I’ll ask you how it’s working out and if you have to spend time managing these at all.

John Hoff’s last blog post..Tips For Maximizing Your Potential

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 15th, 2008     

Hi John,

That would be great. You know where to find me.

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

Ian DennyNo Gravatar said on March 16th, 2008     

Not sure I’ve got the branding right, and but I’ll find in a few seconds whether I’ve figured out if it works.

Ian Denny’s last blog post..Blog Authors – How To Get More Comments Per Visitor

[Reply]

Ian DennyNo Gravatar said on March 16th, 2008     

Sorry Barbara – I’ll try that again – feel free to delete any extra comments if this one doesn’t work!

Ian Denny’s last blog post..Blog Authors – How To Get More Comments Per Visitor

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 16th, 2008     

Hi Ian,

The trick to to get the email address(s) to match that which your avatar is assigned to. If you use more than one email address, assign the avatar to all of them. (Unless you want to use different avatars for different email addresses). Good luck!

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

sterling | bizliftNo Gravatar said on March 16th, 2008     

Hi Barbara. I think gravatars make comments more engaging. It’s easy to scan through a recognize familiar images.

I also like how your comments have comic book voice balloon shape. Fun stuff.

[Reply]

BarbaraNo Gravatar said on March 16th, 2008     

Hi Sterling,

I agree that gravatars/avatars do help to add to the comment section. I’m guessing they also help improve the “stickiness” of your blog. (time spent on site)

Barbara’s last blog post..How To Get and/or Add A Gravatar To Your Post Comments

[Reply]

Akemi - Yes to MeNo Gravatar said on April 14th, 2008     

Thank you Barbara.

Akemi – Yes to Me’s last blog post..I Have A Dream. . .

[Reply]

Barbara SwaffordNo Gravatar said on April 14th, 2008     

Hi Akemi,

I see you got it to work. Now when you comment, I’ll see your smiling face. :)

[Reply]

JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, YouNo Gravatar said on May 19th, 2008     

I came back looking for this post bc I finally learned how to work the plugins

Thank you Barbara.. I KNEW you’d have told me what to do lol :)

JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, Yous last blog post..The Winner of the InMyHeels/Lipton FUJI Bike Giveaway Is…..!

[Reply]

Barbara SwaffordNo Gravatar said on May 19th, 2008     

Hi JEMi,

Glad I could be of help. Let me know if I can help with anything else. Feel free to email me if need be.

[Reply]

NaturalNo Gravatar said on June 16th, 2008     

i’m just doing this now, tried it on my test blog and everything is A – okay. Barbara, you’re the best of the best!

Naturals last blog post..Do You Suffer From Affluenza?

[Reply]

Barbara SwaffordNo Gravatar said on June 16th, 2008     

Hi Natural,

Glad to hear it’s working for you. I thought it was a pretty easy process.

Thank you for your kind words. 8)

[Reply]

RobinNo Gravatar said on July 12th, 2008     

Hi Barbara – I’m wondering if you would mind if I ask you a question – I’m thinking of activating gravatars on my site (WP 2.5.1), but I’m wondering how you get your own gravatar coming up for your own comments, while having a generic one come up for visitors who don’t have a gravatar (e.g, you’ve got the water ripples).

Thanks – Robin

Robins last blog post..Gratitude and Miracles

[Reply]

Barbara SwaffordNo Gravatar said on July 12th, 2008     

Hi Robin,

In the options page for the plugin there is a section which reads “default gravatar or default image url”. In the “box” insert the url to your choice of gravatar, then update.

Let me know if you have any problems.

[Reply]

Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant ServicesNo Gravatar said on July 12th, 2008     

Great explanation!

Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Servicess last blog post..New Site: APOOO Bookclub

[Reply]

Barbara SwaffordNo Gravatar said on July 13th, 2008     

Hi Suzanne,

Welcome to the BWAB community.

I’m happy to know this was helpful. :)

[Reply]

Kevin WynnNo Gravatar said on January 2nd, 2009     

Hi thank you so much for the lesson. I will need to add an avatar to my blog soon. and this is very helpful.
Thank you.

Kevin Wynn´s last blog post..Do Not Forget Who You Are

[Reply]

johnNo Gravatar said on January 24th, 2009     

This is great method to get the gravatar while posting comments. Thanks a lot.

john´s last blog post..NTT DoCoMo unveils PRIME F-03A slider handset

[Reply]

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