profile

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

~ What's in a Profile? ~ Leave a comment

Here’s my thousand words on profile photos. (1000 words is a lot of words. Forgive me when I fail to live up to the adage.)

Profile photos. Our photos are the first and most prominent parts of our profiles. We all know it. I consider how I look, where I am, how I’m dressed, and what I’m doing. I want to project who I am, and in the best possible light. This is where our narratives begin.

The scuba-diver is telling us he’s active and adventurous. The award winner on the podium wants us to know he’s respected for his achievements. He’s a skier…runner…musician…biker (either racing or gang variety).  Boater. Traveler. Trainer. Pet Lover. These types of photos tell us something, presumably something important, about a person. More, they’re telling us what they want us to know, first and foremost. This makes sense to me.

What doesn’t make sense? Blurry photos, dark photos, low res photos. We carry cameras with us at all times (if you don’t, everyone else does); you can come up with ONE decent quality photo! And, do yourself a favor, don’t shoot it into the bathroom mirror.

For those who have succeeded in obtaining a photo, congratulations. But you’re not there yet. Don’t post the photo of you winking and toasting the camera; ick. Clearly naked (even if we’ll never really know for sure)? Ick. Just your dog (or car, or boat, or sunset)? C’mon. A very popular setting that I don’t get…selfie in driver’s seat of car. Why there? Were you bored at a red light?

Next, there are the photos that tell some story, but I’m not sure what that story is, or to whom he hopes to appeal. The face-painted sports fan; frat boy? One in which the guy appears to be wearing his school band uniform (or shooting the cover of Sargent Pepper’s). Huh? One guy is wearing a foot-wide, floppy bow tie, really. One is dressed head to toe in his (I’m guessing) favorite team’s gear. Not odd for my nephews, but I’m looking at profiles of men in their 50’s and up!

You get the point. I may not be your type; you may not be mine. But a little more thought might go a long way.

Speaking of long ways…I didn’t make it to 400 words. Better this way, right?

Warm Hugs

~ What's in a Profile? ~ 1 Comment

This really happened. I don’t remember who started it, but it was an unforgettable exchange.

I responded to a message or a like or a wink with an email. I sign my first name in emails. (For our purposes, my name is Lisa.) In return, I received several paragraphs that began by saying he’d been checking regularly hoping that he’d hear from me. Addressed to Amy. So happy to hear back from you, Amy. I love your profile, Amy. What turns you on or off in a man, Amy?

He shared details of his day going to the gym, doing laundry, and lying on the couch. He punctuated the captivating narrative with “warm hugs” and “smiles.” A real catch; Amy’s one lucky girl! Incidentally, many men describe themselves as “a real catch” in their profiles. Is that appealing to many women? Not to me, but to each his own.

My friend Amy is on the same sites that I’m on. Was she the Amy? Nope. Too bad for him, because for the right man, she will be a real catch.