No, I could not leave well enough alone when it comes to BlackBerry Messenger. I still love BBM above and beyond any other text platform. It may simply be due to the “uniqueness” factor of BBM. It’s exclusive. It’s BlackBerry. It’s just cool.
In this installment, I have to revert back to the subject of throwing your pin out there for the world to see. While I will admit I did this once, without realizing what the heck I was doing, many of you just keep releasing your pin, over and over again. Why? I’m curious how many BBM friends you actually keep after you weed through the hundreds that initially hit you up. Once was more than enough for me. I am far more selective on who I give my pin to these days.
But for those of you that freely give out your pin, I have a few tips for you when it comes to using a profile picture. For starters, I’m doing this in an effort to help you. Who knows, maybe you’ll keep better contacts… maybe you can escape the “BBM Wall” I’m considering putting together. It’s kind of like the “People of Walmart” site… but it’s based purely on hilarious BBM profile pics. Trust me, for a good laugh sometime, head over to any BlackBerry pin site and view a few posts.
Surprisingly, lots of people choose not to show a photo in their BBM profile. I HATE my picture being taken and never like my photos, so I am constantly changing it. Maybe I should post some random photo of a brunette or blonde chick in her Victoria Secrets… no one would ever know, would they? How often do you people actually meet someone that you BBM anyway? Others have absolutely no qualms displaying photos of themselves in a half-dressed state. More still, are bent on flaunting it. These by far, crack me up to no end.
I’ve put together a list of a few things to watch for when taking that perfect BBM profile shot. If you follow these simple steps, you could just avoid having your face or body in some cases, being plastered on some BBM wall of shame out there in cyberspace.
You’re all familiar with the proverbial bathroom shot. We’ve probably all taken a picture of ourselves here at some point. Some of us actually wise up and delete the photos… a photo in the bathroom? Really?
If you must take your picture in the bathroom, please keep the following in mind:
1. Make sure you have ample lighting. Many bathrooms are equipped with over-head as well as vanity mirror lighting. You might have to experiment to make sure you capture yourself in the best light.
2. Check the view “beyond the mirror”. This simply means, stop looking at yourself for just a minute and try to see what else is visible in the mirror with you.
* Did you close the under-the-sea-fish-print shower curtain? We don’t need to see the 14 bottles of shampoos and body washes or the grungy shower stall behind your head. Yeah, many of us probably don’t clean the shower but every few months, but we don’t need to see your grunge. It doesn’t make a great shot when trying to pick up potential dates.
* Any Ninja Turtles towels hanging over the shower curtain rod? If so, remove them! No one wants to see that you don’t have the ability to match your bath towels with the shower curtain. Worse, if you’re 35 years old and still using Ninja Turtle towels, you may want to analyze more than just your bath towels.
* Any rolls of toilet paper in view? Get rid of them! Especially if there are 3 or 4 of them visible, while an empty roll sits on the holder. I kid you not… someone who BBM’d me had 3 rolls stacked on the toilet plunger sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor. Very attractive! He also didn’t check the shower curtain or towels. I guess he was too obsessed with taking the perfect half-naked upper body shot to notice. Hey, I’m here for you people! I won’t steer you wrong.
* Any dirty clothes on the floor or slung over towel bars? Remove them! You really don’t want to tell others what a slob you are in the first 20 seconds of meeting on BBM do you?
3. Check the view “in the mirror”. No, I’m not talking about you here. I’m talking about the mirror itself.
Is the mirror clean? Free from toothpaste splatters and who knows what else? Make sure it’s sparkling clean before taking your photo…please.
The Car Shot… also very popular, but probably loses out to the number of bathroom shots posted as profile pics. Here’s what to watch for in the car:
1. As in the bathroom shot, check the view in your rear view mirror. What’s behind your head? Headliner falling down? Grungy, sticky baby car seat in view? Three month old French fries littering your back deck along with other trash? Fix, remove, remove and remove.
2. If you must take your picture with your sunglasses on, please be sure your sunglasses aren’t dorky! Ask a friend. Perhaps borrow a cool pair from someone else. While lots of people like to hide behind shades (I just happen to be one), make sure your shades reek coolness. Even a generic pair of Wayfarers look better than some of the dorky sunglasses I’ve seen. What’s cool versus what’s dorky is certainly a matter of opinion, although I’ve never failed anyone in coolness counseling. When in doubt, check with your friends or co-workers.
Some people are so obsessed with taking the perfect “me” shot, they don’t notice their surroundings. Well those surroundings scream loudly about the person in that shot…so look behind you and around you. Clean up the room, or car… wherever you may be. Stop trying to look tough… put on a smile… forget about showing off your tattoo, nobody but you thinks it’s cool in a photo… you get the idea. Take several pictures then choose your best one. Let’s see some better profile pictures people!
Originally published 03/30/2011 at www.Driphter.com.
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