Picking an Avatar is a very important decision to make when creating your userprofile. The Avatar will be an image that will define who you are in a quick glance, so it is rather important to make sure you pick an appropriate image that you want to represent yourself.
How to pick a good avatar[]
Pick an image that you want to represent yourself. However, that is much easier said than done. Just what kind of image do you want to represent yourself?
Images of yourself[]
Some people prefer to use an actual image of themselves as their avatar. There is both advantages and disadvantages to this approach. An advantage is that using an image of yourself can help you appear more professional in the work, if the image is taken in a professional way (as in not you asleep with friends drawing on your face). However, using an image of yourself can ruin the anonymity of the Internet by placing a personally identifiable image of yourself, which could be used to identify just who you are.
An image of your favorite thing[]
Some people prefer to use an image from their favorite things as their avatar. This also has its advantages and disadvantages. An advantage would be that it quickly and easily identifies some of your interests. It can help others know if you like a certain show, and know they can ask you about some information about that show if they are curious about it. That makes it a great conversation starter!
A disadvantage would be that someone may not like your avatar due to the fact that it isn't appealing to them. It also opens the door to criticism from those who do not share the same belief as you.