Online dating has become extremely popular in recent years: today it is not uncommon for strangers to meet over the internet and get involved in long term relationships. A technology that goes hand in hand with online dating is digital photography, because it allows people to easily take photos and post them online. Obviously, photos posted online are an important factor in online dating, and thus almost all social networking sites offer the opportunity for pics posting.
When looking at photos post online at various online social networking sites, it becomes clear that pics posting can reveal a large amount about one's personality. On most social network sites there is the ability for picture rating, and some sites even make this activity the basis for their business: sites like hotornot.com allow the bold amongst us to post photos of themselves online solely for the purposes of picture rating - a macabre practice to say the least.
With a social networking site, of course, picture rating is far from the site's sole purpose - it's more something that enhances the usability of the site. When picture rating your own photos and trying to select which one to use on your profile, it's important to think of the image that you would like to project. A survey of social networking sites reveals that many people want to project a fun or carefree image in their photos, and many more still will go for humor.
The most important thing when considering the picture rating that others will give your profile photos is that you want your picture to reflect you. Often users are trying to project an image of themselves that is slightly disingenuous when creating photos for their personal profiles. In many cases, however, it can be of more benefit to select a photo that truly reflects one's personality. When pouring over personal ads on social networking sites one comes across the same type of photos time and time again: people trying to be silly or otherwise caught in the act of "having fun."
While there is nothing wrong, of course, with having fun per se, there is a forced nature to many of these photos. When picture rating and average social networking site, many of the photos begin to look the same and one begins to question the personality differences between a vast array of people. A far better option is to chose a photo that is different, but not openly so. A user that can distinguish themselves in an honest will vastly help his or her picture rating process.
Picture rating is the key to success of most online social networks, and almost everyone who uses them will spend large amount of time browsing the available pictures attached to user's profiles. When thinking about the photo you would like to post with your profile, the user would be well advised to keep in mind what they like and dislike about other photos that they come across. If the user keeps this rule in mind they should have little trouble selecting an appropriate picture to go along with a social networking site profile - one that not only pleases them, but others as well.