Have you noticed the little monster by your comments on my blog?  Those are known as gravatars, or globally recognized avatars.  Gravatars follow you wherever you go on the Internet when commenting on blogs.  They’re linked to your e-mail address so each time you use your e-mail address to post a comment, your gravatar will display as long as they’re enabled on the blog you’re commenting on.

On my blog, the monsters are there by default.  On other blogs, another design or a blank face icon may appear.  However, if you have uploaded a gravatar, like my friend Debbie and me (see image to the right), then the default design/picture won’t show up; your gravatar will.

How do you get a gravatar?  It’s actually really simple and free. ;)

1. Browse to en.gravatar.com.
2. Click the Get your Gravatar today link.
3. Enter your e-mail address.
4. Click Signup.
5. Click the link in the confirmation e-mail sent to your e-mail address to activate your account.
6. Enter a username and password.
7. Click Signup.
8. Click the Add one by clicking here link to select an image for your gravatar.  (You can upload your own image or select an image from their database.)

If you upload an image for your gravatar, keep in mind that the image can be up to 512 pixels wide.  Also, gravatars are always square.  If you upload an image that isn’t square, your image will be cropped.  When gravatars display, they’re usually only 80 x 80 pixels.  But, that can change depending on the design of someone’s blog.  It’s a good idea to choose a high resolution image so when it’s scaled on different blogs, your image won’t look grainy.