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Read it, comment, and share it with your friendsDo you care about knowing what a blogger looks like?
I always remember faces better than names. My fiancée has a story about how I once forgot her name (after knowing her for more than a year). It’s not important though. What is important is that I like to know what people look like, and it’s hard for me to remember a person when all I have is their name.
I should explain, however, why I am talking about this. One of my favorite musical groups ever ever ever, in the whole wide world, happens to be Daft Punk. I won’t go into telling you all about the history of Daft Punk, since this is something that Wikipedia can do a bit better, but I will tell you this: the two guys behind Daft Punk, Guy-Manuel and Thomas, never show their faces. Ever. They don’t do interviews and whenever you see them on screen or in concerts, they are always wearing the same metallic helmets.
They say they do this because they do not want their image to interfere with the perception people have of their music. They want to be outside of the public eye and allow their music to speak for itself.
I recently had a long conversation about this with my fiancée (we have only the most intelligent of conversations). She insisted that she would really prefer to see their faces and that the whole thing is frustrating, while I insisted that I don’t mind the whole thing and I actually respect their decision. But the conversation got me thinking… some bloggers don’t show their faces online, while others do. I happen to be in the latter camp; if you go to my about page, you can see what I look like.
Sometimes, when I read the blogs of people who don’t share their pictures, I get to wondering what they look like. And I feel disappointed, because I can’t find out. I know there are privacy issues, and these tend to be more important for girls, but aside from that, I wonder if some bloggers just don’t wish to make their image a part of their blogging. What I wonder, however, is whether or not it makes a difference. I have a feeling it does. You can be more personal with your readers if they know what you look like. You can be more memorable if they see your face.
Granted, some people might be ugly (not readers of my blog) and might wish to refrain from sharing their picture because they are afraid it will hurt their readership. That’s an understandable argument, but Scoble still puts his picture up… so, scratch that.
So that leaves me with 2 questions: why do people choose not to share their picture on their blog, and what do you think about knowing what a blogger looks like? Option third question: do you think the Daft Punk guys are ugly?
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24 Comments
Responses to my articleZero points for research. Daft Punk performed without masks right up until the mid 90s. They only started wearing the masks after the release of Homework (and sitll not constantly), and there is, in fact, a phot of them in the Homework liner notes. Taken at an event you can see here (I think; I can’t watch Google videos at work, but I think that’s the right one), also with no masks.
There are also loads of “early years” photos.
So there.
And most people don’t give a shit what most bloggers (excluding females, obviously) look like. And most bloggers know that. Thus: no photos.
Oh, and they do do interviews, and don’t always wear the same masks.
Shameful!
Daft Punk used to do interviews. photo shoots and the like, around the time of their Soma releases and Homework. I guess they got old, wrinkly and fat.
Richard, Gaz: So sorry about my lack of research. I never did research in college and I only have a bachelor’s so I don’t have the proper experience in that area.
BUT Daft Punk hasn’t shown their faces very much since Homework and they have kept the masks consistent since that release so I think the clear truth here is that as of RIGHT NOW this is the philosophy they follow.
I know a little more about Daft Punk than you think.
p.s.: Rich, I only see one guy in that Daft Punk video. Where’s the other one?
p.p.s.: Yeah, see, that video only has Thomas. This is Guy-Manuel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Guy-Manuel.gif.
Also, I should mention that the latex masks in Electroma really are distorted caricatures of their faces (even though the actors in Electroma are not Thomas and Guy-Manuel).
I do, you did some research or something? or you just make that up because you don’t like to show your photos?
Pablo, good point on what Richard said. I forgot to comment on that. I think a lot of people care about what bloggers look like. It might not be a really big deal, but every now and then they have “sexiest blogger” awards and things like that… people are a bit more superficial than Richard likes to think.
He’s mostly out of shot to the right.
Note that I said most, not all. Fact is, we’re both wrong. Because it can’t be proven, really. All I know is I read blogs for the words, I don’t care what anyone looks like unless I develop a relationship with them.
And my photos are all over the place. I don’t hide them, they’re just not on my blog.
To get back to your original question, I think it’s either vanity or insecurity or both. Vanity for not posting your pic? Yes, because most people think they look daft on film. So do I, but I’ve gone for the more or less open approach very early on. My friends on Facebook even have my phone number. So yeah, if you’re going out there with your opinions, show us who you are. I think it’s proper.
With most blogs I read, I know what the blogger looks like. But those I haven’t seen, it doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I can tell who a certain blogger is just by the style of their entry or forum post etc.
I hope you forgot your fiances name before you were dating….
I have a photo of myself on my blog. I have had an experience were I kinder wished I had kept my Internet Personal hidden.
I’m often curious about what various bloggers look like, but as Richard mentioned, I’m not usually curious until I’ve either followed their writing for some time (and find it of high quality) or I have built a relationship with them over time. Ironically, no obvious photo of me on my blog … out of sheer laziness because most of the time I’m the one with the camera and photos of me are hard to come by.
Yeah, he forgot my name when we started becoming close friends and then he wanted to date me. Not important? He’s trying to downplay a pivotal moment in his life because if I had been more hurt, I would have not bothered befriending him. Ergo, he would have been lonely and sad today.
In regards to Daft Punk: I had a feeling that the human masks they wear in Electroma were distorted caricatures of their real faces. They are ugly.
I don’t think it would have been such a problem. I’m famous online, so I have lots of people to keep me company if I happen to be lonely and single.
I dont know man, thats kinda pushing it
My readers (if I ever had any, that is) know or at least knew what I look like. I should probably upload a picture of me somewhere, I just dont have any good and recent mugshots of myself
Yeah sorry Christian but I have to agree with your fiance in regards to dating, names are important…
Daft Punk hiding their faces is in fact an old trick in the book in the amusement industry. Slipknott, Buckethead (Guitarfreak), Residents (always play with masks for over 30 years!!). Did you not know these artists all have facial traumas caused when they were in puberty.
When I first started blogging back in 2001, I never added photographs of myself because I wanted my words to speak for themselves without any influence from what my readers thought of me based on my appearance. It wasn’t until a few of them expressed interest in seeing what I looked like that I added a photo on the about page. In retrospect, I think it only added to the experience by letting them see me in visual form, in addition to the textual one.
Thanks J, that’s the kind of story I was hoping to hear!
I’m not ugly (or massively hot and not wanting the attention). I’m not grossly over-weight or scarred beyond all recognition. I’m just a private person and don’t see how adding my picture would benefit anybody.
It’s really just about face recognition, Jem. People remember you better when they know what you look like. That doesn’t mean it’s necessary; you’ve managed to be very successful without it.
I’d rather be recognised by name, than because of the big zit on my forehead in the only picture of me I have :p
Now that is something I have to see XD
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