Make Your Web Head Shot Work For You

A recent article in Slate highlights a lighthearted issue that is often a source of angst for folks with online profiles: what picture should you use? Unless you're the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal, you probably don't have a stately black and white stipple drawing to fall back on.

As the article notes, social networks from Facebook to LinkedIn almost demand a photo, and your job's website might also call for one. (Here's mine. Hint: you probably don't want a PBR to appear in yours.) If you're having a lot of trouble deciding, Slate suggests you import a few photos into Facestat to get some feedback from the great online hordes. Failing that, try what the Guardian calls a "hand job" in which your face is supported or framed by your hand. Supposedly, it makes you look quizzical, which I guess is a good thing--

(Photo via totalcd.)