It includes some of the earliest photos I ever took and posted online via mobile phone. Looking at the quality, it’s interesting to see how far we’ve come. It’s also obvious why photo filters became so popular.
![1diz9 02/07/2009 UCLA is spanking Notre Dame on an early rainy morning basketball game.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1diz9.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![4p0tp 05/07/2009 Beverly Hills Hotel](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4p0tp.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![4tp5g 05/09/2009](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4tp5g-e1478117858680.jpg?w=251&h=188&ssl=1)
![5c147 05/17/2009 A gray sunset in Laguna Beach](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5c147.jpg?w=141&h=188&ssl=1)
![yxcxt 01/20/2010 Breakfast with a Hopkins Student at One World Cafe](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/yxcxt.jpg?w=126&h=188&ssl=1)
![tp61i 12/16/2009 Veggie Cafe with Rama Kunapuli](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/tp61i.jpg?w=126&h=188&ssl=1)
![t4h6a 12/12/2009 A visit out to Jason Calacanis' office](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/t4h6a.jpg?w=208&h=310&ssl=1)
![qyn1v 11/26/2009 Visit to In-N-Out Glendale](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/qyn1v.jpg?w=207&h=310&ssl=1)
![5pj5s 05/22/2009 Excellent breakfast at Athenaeum & tour of interesting microscopy lab at Caltech; only photo I got was this??](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5pj5s.jpg?w=233&h=310&ssl=1)
![4p1j 07/19/2008 Back down to the first floor @WholeFoods](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4p1j.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![4d6n 07/17/2008 Dinner at Hugo's](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4d6n.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![4oxb 07/19/2008 Meat! (at Whole Foods Market Pasadena)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4oxb-e1478117875270.jpg?w=326&h=245&ssl=1)
![4ozy 07/19/2008 The 2nd floor of @WholeFoods in Pasadena is bigger than most average grocery stores. Is that a restaurant over there?](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4ozy-e1478117890147.jpg?w=326&h=245&ssl=1)
![5bq98 05/16/2009 Hello Laguna Beach...](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5bq98-e1478117906607.jpg?w=656&h=224&ssl=1)
![8fjlt 06/26/2009 Massive media zoo at UCLA for passing of Michael Jackson! 32 SAT trucks. LAPD army camped out.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/8fjlt-1-e1478117932233.jpg?w=253&h=190&ssl=1)
![pc4x9 11/13/2009 (The house on Dartmouth Drive that I bought.)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/pc4x9.jpg?w=142&h=190&ssl=1)
![cfti 09/20/2008 UCLA vs Arizona at the Rose Bowl](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cfti-e1478117243111.jpg?w=253&h=190&ssl=1)
![beot 09/13/2008 Steven Chan session at #drupalcampla](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/beot.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![5726a 05/15/2009 (Art gallery in downtown LA)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/5726a.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![840qar 01/06/2012](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/840qar.jpg?w=418&h=313&ssl=1)
![69g71 05/30/2009 Jason's pre-wedding jitters finally tamed with a project: Papier Mache!](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/69g71.jpg?w=234&h=313&ssl=1)
![69axv 05/30/2009 Breakfast with @viperwriter on the day of his wedding.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/69axv.jpg?w=216&h=288&ssl=1)
![35hwa8 11/10/2010 (Mike Miller's UCLA math class)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/35hwa8.jpg?w=216&h=140&ssl=1)
![18ez0f 03/13/2010 (A Johns Hopkins University Event in Los Angeles)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/18ez0f.jpg?w=216&h=144&ssl=1)
![9rc1e 07/09/2009 In keeping with the zeitgeist, I'm enjoying birthday cupcakes for dessert!](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/9rc1e.jpg?w=216&h=288&ssl=1)
![8modi 06/28/2009 Nice chat with Bradley Whitford. Gave me autograph for Sonia:"Santos 2012?! - BW" Such a good guy.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/8modi.jpg?w=172&h=229&ssl=1)
![8g6vy 06/26/2009 Michael Jackson media circus dying down. Only 9 satellite trucks at 12:42am PST outside UCLA Med](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/8g6vy-e1478117307874.jpg?w=305&h=229&ssl=1)
![8fxpw 06/26/2009 Hanging out with Nobel Prizewinner Martin Chalfe in front of my poster on GFP.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/8fxpw.jpg?w=171&h=229&ssl=1)
![8fjlt 06/26/2009 Massive media zoo at UCLA for passing of Michael Jackson! 32 SAT trucks. LAPD army camped out.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/8fjlt-e1478117322311.jpg?w=417&h=313&ssl=1)
![6rwho 06/06/2009 Afternoon snack with John Astin](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6rwho.jpg?w=235&h=313&ssl=1)
![6qqyi 06/06/2009 Breakfast at One World Cafe](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6qqyi.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![6ohpa 06/05/2009 Having lunch with PM Forni at Gertrudes.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6ohpa.jpg?w=326&h=435&ssl=1)
![6d97 08/03/2008 Out for an evening constitutional in the cooling San Marino Breeze](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6d97.jpg?w=412&h=549&ssl=1)
![6br3b 05/31/2009 The first sunrise on the beginning of Jason & Molly's marriage. Good luck kids!](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6br3b-e1478117341857.jpg?w=240&h=181&ssl=1)
![6bqzi 05/31/2009 Rosy-fingered dawn touches the sky over Delaware at 5:30am.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/6bqzi-e1478117277791.jpg?w=240&h=180&ssl=1)
![4ci29 05/01/2009 Can you tell how I know this BMW is driven by an IT professional? Taken on 110 S into downtown Los Angeles this morning.](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4ci29.jpg?w=240&h=180&ssl=1)
![2v0w8e 10/06/2010 (A peek into the social media class at UCLA)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2v0w8e.jpg?w=303&h=466&ssl=1)
![2qgwt 04/02/2009 Absorbing genius from Dr. Sol Golomb (as he teaches combinatorics)](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2qgwt.jpg?w=349&h=466&ssl=1)
![1psaf 02/27/2009 Hanging out with Communications Gods Andrew Viterbi, Sol Golomb, and Robert Gray](https://i0.wp.com/boffosocko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1psaf-e1478117261557.jpg?w=656&h=492&ssl=1)
It includes some of the earliest photos I ever took and posted online via mobile phone. Looking at the quality, it’s interesting to see how far we’ve come. It’s also obvious why photo filters became so popular.
but…
Invariably the blog’s author has a generic avatar (blech!) instead of a nice, warm and humanizing photo of their lovely face.
Or, perhaps, as a user, you’ve always wondered how some people qualified to have their photo included with their comment while you were left as an anonymous looking “mystery person” or a randomized identicon, monster, or even an 8-bit pixelated blob? The secret the others know will be revealed momentarily.
Somehow, knowing how to replace that dreadful randomized block with an actual photo is too hard or too complicated. Why? In part, it’s because WordPress separated out this functionality as a decentralized service called Gravatar, which stands for Globally Recognized Avatar. In some sense this is an awesome idea because then people everywhere (and not just on WordPress) can use the Gravatar service to change their photo across thousands of websites at once. Unfortunately it’s not always clear that one needs to add their name, email address, and photo to Gravatar in order for the avatars to be populated properly on WordPress related sites.
(Suggestion for WordPress: Maybe the UI within the user account section could include a line about Gravatars?)
So instead of trying to write out the details for the third time this week, I thought I’d write it once here with a bit more detail and then point people to it for the future.
Can you guess which user is the blog’s author in the screencapture?
The correct answer is Anand Sarwate, the second commenter in the list. While Anand’s avatar seems almost custom made for a blog on randomness and information theory, it would be more inviting if he used a photo instead.
Your Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums, so why not on any site?
Need some additional motivation? Watch this short video:
[wpvideo HNyK67JS]
If you’ve already got a WordPress.com account, this step is easy. Because the same corporate parent built both WordPress and Gravatar, if you have an account on one, you automattically have an account on the other which uses the same login information. You just need to log into Gravatar.com with your WordPress username and password.
If you don’t have a WordPress.com account or even a blog, but just want your photo to show up when you comment on WordPress and other Gravatar enabled blogs, then just sign up for an account at Gravatar.com. When you comment on a blog, it’ll ask for your email address and it will use that to pull in the photo to which it’s linked.
Log into your Gravatar account. Choose an email address you want to modify: you’ll have at least the default you signed up with or you can add additional email addresses.
Upload as many photos as you’d like into the account. Then for each of the email addresses you’ve got, associate each one with at least one of your photos.
Example: In the commenters’ avatars shown above, Anand was almost there. He already had a Gravatar account, he just hadn’t added any photos.
Optionally you can additional social details like a short bio, your other social media presences, and even one or more websites or blogs that you own.
You can add as many emails and photos as you’d like. By linking different photos to different email addresses, you’ll be able to change your photo identity based on the email “key” you plug into sites later.
If you get tired of one photo, just upload another and make it the default photo for the email addresses you want it to change for. All sites using Gravatar will update your avatar for use in the future.
Now, go back to the user profile section on your blog, which is usually located at http://www.YOURSITE.com/wp-admin/users.php.
In the field for the email, input (one of) the email(s) you used in Gravatar that’s linked to a photo.
Don’t worry, the system won’t show your email and it will remain private–WordPress and Gravatar simply use it as a common “key” to serve up the right photo and metadata from Gravatar to the WordPress site.
Once you’ve clicked save, your new avatar should show up in the list of users. More importantly it’ll now show up in all of the WordPress elements (like most author bio blocks and in comments) that appear on your site.
WordPress themes need to be Gravatar enabled to be able to use this functionality, but in practice, most of them do, particularly for comments sections. If yours isn’t, then you can usually add it with some simple code.
In the WordPress admin interface one can go to Settings>>Discussion
and enable View people's profiles when you mouse over their Gravatars
under the heading “Gravatar Hovercards” to enable people to see more information about you and the commenters on your blog (presuming the comment section of your theme is Gravatar enabled.)
Some WordPress users often have several user accounts that they use to administer their site. One might have a secure administrator account they only use for updates and upgrades, another personal account (author/editor admin level account which uses their name) for authoring posts, and another (author/editor admin level) account for making admin notice posts or commenting as a generic moderator. In these cases, you need to make sure that each of these accounts has an email address with an an associated Gravatar account with the same email and the desired photo linked to it. (One Gravatar account with multiple emails/photos will usually suffice, though they could be different.)
Example: In Nate’s case above, we showed that his photo didn’t show in the author bio box, and it doesn’t show up in some comments, but it does show up in other comments on his blog. This is because he uses at least two different user accounts: one for authoring posts and another for commenting. The user account he uses for some commenting has a linked Gravatar account with email and photo and the other does not.
Want more information on how you can better own and manage your online identity? Visit IndieWeb.org: “A people-focused alternative to the ‘corporate web’.
”
To help beautify your web presence a bit, if you notice that your photo doesn’t show up in the author block or comments in your theme, you can (create and) use your WordPress.com username/password in an account on their sister site Gravatar.com. Uploading your preferred photo on Gravatar and linking it to an email will help to automatically populate your photo in both your site and other WordPress sites (in comments) across the web. To make it work on your site, just go to your user profile in your WordPress install and use the same email address in your user profile as your Gravatar account and the decentralized system will port your picture across automatically. If necessary, you can use multiple photos and multiple linked email addresses in your Gravatar account to vary your photos.