
Rethinking our default profile photo - r721
https://blog.twitter.com/2017/rethinking-our-default-profile-photo
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72mena
> people have come to associate the circle head with masculinity, and because
> of this association, we felt that it was important to explore alternate head
> shapes. […] As a result of these iterations, we ended with a more gender-
> balanced figure. We chose grays because they feel temporary, generic, and
> universal.

This approach reminds me of the Greendale mascot, the "Human Being”.[1] The
egg was better imo, it treated identity in a more light, not-so-serious
manner; no need to think of genders, and you could even see it as a symbol of
possibilities waiting to happen.

[1] [http://community-
sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Greendale_Human_Being](http://community-
sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/Greendale_Human_Being)

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m-p-3
I think they misunderstood the issue. Changing an egg for a human shape isn't
going to push new users to change their avatars now, and you can still
distinguish a new user by its avatar like before.

It's just a different but common identifier. They could have gone with a
random item, or even a randomized pattern.

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aratno
I actually really liked the egg as an icon, and I'm sad to see it go. The
colors should have been rethought though. Muted colors that are universal for
all accounts (instead of each account getting its own bright color) would also
encourage users to upload their own photos.

I don't see the point of using an "alternative" head shape, or including
shoulders in the default image. No matter how the head is shaped, it'll
represent some users more than others. Using an egg avoided this issue of
approximating a human shape.

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_petronius
> We’ve noticed patterns of behavior with accounts that are created only to
> harass others – often they don’t take the time to personalize their
> accounts. This has created an association between the default egg profile
> photo and negative behavior, which isn’t fair to people who are still new to
> Twitter and haven’t yet personalized their profile photo.

Seems like that's massively missing the point, no? Or at least trying to fix
the wrong thing?

~~~
DanBC
I thought it was missing the point too.

>> We’ve noticed patterns of behavior with accounts that are created only to
harass others – often they don’t take the time to personalize their accounts.

I'd be interested to see comparison of "eggs" and "anime avatars" to see which
group is worst.

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tribby
this reads like an april fools joke! it is absolutely not an act of inclusion
to move from an ultra non-specific abstract circle to a different abstract
shape more reminiscent of a potato chip.

