Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#1

Post by boggles » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 10:38 PM UTC

I'm wondering what to put on the About page of my app. I'm debating whether to put up a friendly looking smiling photo of myself. As much as I'm a private person, I feel that my app requires that I indentify myself personally with it. Any tips for how to do this?

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#2

Post by edw519 » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 10:53 PM UTC

In case you want to maintain your privacy, do what I did...

           \/\/\/\/
         /         \
        /           \
       /             \
   /\_/     0    0    \_/\
  |                       |
   \/ \      |_|      / \/
       \             /
        \  \-----/  /
         \         /
          \_______/
            |   |

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#3

Post by hopeless » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 11:07 PM UTC

Nope, it's everything except my face. Cameras are great for hiding behind ;-)

http://www.shutterscouts.com/about.html

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#4

Post by joeythibault » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 11:14 PM UTC

Nothing wrong with adding personality to your site. I don't think it will detract or add anything to it, unless you're either a supermodel or the fly.

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#5

Post by fjabre » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 11:24 PM UTC

There are some people who won't like it. I guess it depends on the type of marketing you're doing.. but I'd have a hard time buying an iPhone is I saw Jobs' face on the back.

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#6

Post by tptacek » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 11:27 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #2

In case you want to maintain your privacy, do what I did... \/\/\/\/ / \ / \ / \ /\_/ 0 0 \_/\ | | \/ \ |_| / \/ \ / \ \-----/ / \ / \_______/ | |

Get a haircut!

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#7

Post by Travis » Wed, Oct 14, 2009, 11:54 PM UTC

There is some research to show that a "real world feel" is a critical component of a website (from the "What makes a website credible" study from a few years back. Having a picture of you will go some ways towards doing that. I put my pic on my website.

If you do this, please make sure to put a good pic up -- no self-taken camera phone bluriness, please. Remember, you want to personalize the experience but still seem professional.

Re: Ask HN: Do you put a smiley photo of yourself on your app's About page?

#8

Post by unalone » Thu, Oct 15, 2009, 12:22 AM UTC

This is why you teach yourself to have a distinct writing style. It gives you the personality and the privacy.

When I launched a site in February with a friend, we got a lot of email feedback complimenting us directly for our About page, which had snippets like "Rory is pretty much certainly a douche" strewn about it. We also asked for feedback haiku, and received so much we couldn't post all of it online. All that without a single personal tidbit about either of us.