I set a rule for myself today that all my profile pictures across any platform I'm on — Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Spotify, SoundCloud, even flipping iCloud — should be the same.
This is partly because I'm psychotic and crave visual consistency in literally anything I do.
But I also did this because it's representative of my view on what a person's digital presence should be. It never makes sense to me when I see someone post drunken mid-bender selfies on Instagram and then switch apps to exuberantly thank their company recruiter in the Queen's English on LinkedIn. It all feels very multiple-personality. It's a personal philosophy of mine that someone shouldn't have a "professional self" different than their "personal self" or their "self with friends." Everyone should just have a "self."
Using one profile picture across all these sites means almost nothing of substance, but it's a small nod toward this philosophy. Whether I'm sharing work news on LinkedIn or song covers on Instagram or toilet thoughts on Twitter, this is me. It's the same person. There's a visual consistency, but also a personality and tone consistency. And the psychotic side of me appreciates that.
We'll see how long this experiment lasts.
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