Avatar – Your Rep on the Internet

Even small "instant results" give you a reason to continue working. Thanks for the compliment.
Those photos or graphics are called "Avatars". They are a graphical representative of a user while the user interacts with others in the online community. The image is associated with your email address so when you sign into a site that supports avatars, your avatar automatically shows up. You can register a photo or graphic sketch as your own Avatar for free at http://www.gravatar.com
Here are the steps to setup your own "Gravatar"
1. choose a small photo or graphic that shouts out, "I am Becky from Brooklyn". Remember, it will appear small on the monitor so use a clearly defined image. Save it in your "My Pictures" folder
2. go to: http://www.gravatar.com
3. click on the "Get your Gravatar Today" button.
4. enter the email address you most commonly use when visiting Internet sites.
5. check your email for a confirmation message.
6. click on the confirmation link which will take you back to gravatar.com which will ask you to enter a user name and password (keep this info in case you ever want to change your email or avatar)
7. you will now be asked to choose an image to associate with your email address
8. browse your "My Pictures" folder and select the photo
9. the photo will be shown in two different sizes, you can crop the photo or approve it as is
10. the last page asks for a final confirmation
That's it!
You may want something different from your actual photo as an avatar. You can create a cartoon character, symbol, logo or stick figure if you like. There are many free sites to help you if you don't have your own graphics software. Enter "create free avatar" into the Google search box for a list.
Good Luck,
Rick