Conformity-Non-Conformity

That's a really interesting experiment -- to blur one's own face in a profile picture. I like the difference in interaction between the two status updates: one with over 40 likes and many comments to another with just a few likes and no comments. It's interesting that people reached out to you personally rather than ask what was going on publicly, almost like they didn't want to be embarrassed or to embarrass you if there was a darker reason why you were blurring out your face. Awesome idea!

That's pretty much true.

I like the idea of using GroupMe rather than one of the more popular social media platforms that contain more information about yourself. In GroupMe you just have a name and a picture, you are essentially changing the entirety of how you present yourself to others on the platform.
I find it very creative to simply flip and turn your info, rather than using something entirely new!

I find this a very interesting approach, especially when you compare the reactions that you get from the people who know you very well and those of the people that don't. I was actually quite surprised at the very negative comments that you got from a few. Those people seemed to inject themselves into your life to berate you about your religion for no particular reason other than to put you down. It was funny that several people asked if you were "okay", almost as if you had suddenly lost your mind rather than make a (fake) drastic change in your lifestyle.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seemed like no one really wanted to discuss your new decision with you, rather they insulted you or asked if you were fine. I found that to be the most peculiar part.

Although it seems like the same approach by changing the profile photo on social media, yours is a little bit different. You're changing your profile to the pepe thing (which I don't know) and wanting to find those with the same interest as yours. It's the case that sometimes people would consider your profile photo as your interest and come to you and talk about it, but I think it's not always the case: more often, people just smile and move their thumbs to the next post instead of click your icon and start a conversation about pepe. It'll be interesting to read your result, but I can only guess this far based on your intention. Good luck on your project.

LOL eir, your idea is just the reversed approach as mine, as I'm going to change my profile to a real photo of mine. I can't guess what's the result from your plan, but so far, my question to the change of your profile photo would be "this picture is so COOL!!! Would you mind tell where it's from?" and possibly I'll going to talk about anime with you. Anyway, it's a big change for your profile photo and I hope you can have the effect you want.

Haha this was a really interesting contrast to your usual beautifully composed photos. It was humorous and I think it was really cool how you actually made that your profile picture compared to your others. I'm surprised it actually became the most liked and I liked how you were specific about the time you posted it as well as how it was only mentioned once aside from social media. The time one posts an image does in fact play a part in how quickly it generates interest--you definitely seem to have gotten it! :) Great pics btw

I think this is a really cool concept, especially because bad photoshopping skills are often critiqued on Facebook when people try to pass them as authentic representations. Your results will be wildly different depending on if people think your photo is intentionally humorous, or if they believe you are trying to pass as having this body depicted in the photo. Kudos for your bravery here.

The idea to switch profile photos is very interesting. It is easy to analysis people's different expectation on others when choosing different social media. Maybe it can also reach a bigger idea about how people act differently in different situations. It's quite similar with the difference between reality and internet. Also, I wonder that since there are not enough people know you who really are in tumblr, will there be enough reaction from others to analyze? Generally, this is a great and entertaining idea.

I really love the idea that doing this project with someone else. Because we are no longer restraint to our physical appearance to express opinions thanks to internet, we are allowed to see how strong that people will expect someone would following his personality pattern. And, to do this with someone else will enforce the effect because it sometimes might be not noticeable that someone changes his/her personality. Two people switching personalities can cause a stronger effect. I think it can be a lot of fun.

I really like this idea. It seems to me it'll be very successful, since this is your primary means of communication with these people, so they're sure to take notice. I agree with Sarah though, you should definitely keep track of your friend's reaction, whoever it may be.

I like the idea of switching with someone. Is it someone you're particularly close with? If not, I worry that most people won't understand. Also, do you two have distinct enough styles that people won't think it's merely a coincidence? I feel like you have to go very over the top with this idea to make it work, but if it works, it'll be very good. Very entertaining, which seems to be your end goal.

I'm actually curious to know more about the responses you get. On one hand, changing your "trend" will deliver a shock to people. On the other hand, will people just see it as a normal social media thing?

The idea sounds interesting, especially since it isn't the kind of thing one expects from an adult (maybe a middle schooler who just discovered photoshop, but not a college student). I look forward to seeing the result of your "bad photoshopping skillz". The more extreme, the more of a response it'll get. But there might be a point where people will just brush it off because it seems too bad? I'd like to find out :)

That's an provocative idea! One idea is that you can observe the reaction of your friend you took the photo from, people you're close with offline, and people you don't communicate often with on facebook.

Interesting idea! It's definitely out of the norm behavior. Maybe analyze the difference between friends/people you communicate often with versus the people you barely communicate with. What would your friends say? Would the people you don't usually communicate notice as well?

I like your idea but I am afraid it may not be eye catching enough. I only say this because there are at least enough people on Facebook that have drawings for pictures so it may not be a dramatic enough change. Granted I don't know your personal Facebook page or tumblr so maybe it will be impact full but that was my first thought. I do like the idea about analyzing the difference in the two social media websites but I just think it may not be enough to really get enough data. Maybe try making your Facebook page feel like tumbler and vice versa? That may help with the shock value.

I think this is an neat idea to explore. Do people like photos because there is a partial or coherent representation of you in it. Also, there's the question of whether emotion plays a role in eliciting positive feedback, which is usually the nature of Facebook profile pictures. I believe the novelty and "weirdness" of this idea will trigger interesting responses. Good luck on your project!

I think this is an interesting topic and I noticed that you have already started it. unlike Brandon I like the open ended aspect of the your project. People asking for comments and likes is practically unheard of so forcing people to thinking about it is an interesting concept. However the only problem I see is the lack of subtly. Obviously people do not really like being told what to do so telling them to like and comment might end up being to obviously negative. I like you project I guess just maybe be a but more subtle.

I think it's a neat idea to portray a different persona as your Facebook profile picture, as you will probably getting very different but interesting responses. You could talk about a lot of factors, including what makes people like a piece of content on social media. It also takes a lot of bravery to detract from what you are use to sharing, so kudos to you.

I think it will be interesting to see how people react to your profile picture change. Will people understand your motives behind the change, and the meaning of the picture? Probably not, and I think they'll most likely comment on how nice the picture looks. Are you planning on adding a caption to explain the meaning of the photo? If not, it will probably be lost on others. I find it fascinating to think about how people on social media can only see what's on the surface, and most profile pictures are chosen because they are aesthetically pleasing because it is simply more difficult to convey deeper meanings on a social media platform that discourages spending time thinking about a post. People often see a post, click "like", and quickly move on. That may be the same result you get with your profile picture change.

I really like this idea and I remember trying a similar thing my senior year of high school. What might add to your project is to also change your Facebook name and see what the comments are when they see its you in her clothes but with her name on the profile? Also like Mingquan said maybe posting onto each others Facebooks would be interesting? If you change names people may comment differently or believe you really are Sarah just based on picture and name. I think this will be a really interesting project, good luck!

I think this brings up some philosophical points about the meaning of a profile picture. Of course it's a representation of self, and many people choose to use their physical likeness as that representation. When you use someone else's image as your profile picture, does that picture become "you" in a sense? I wonder how long it will take for people to get used to it.

If possible, you should tell us how the person whose face you will be borrowing reacts. It would be pretty interesting if you use their image without their knowledge.

I think this is a great idea! When I'm mad at someone, I did the same thing when I was in high school, but my friends knew that I did it when I was angry, so they didn't have a surprised reaction. However, if you're always happy and always have a happy profile picture, suddenly the avatar to go black and huge change in mood could get very interesting reactions. It sounds very interesting and I'm really curious!

I think it's a great idea! My idea was also that I would put a friend's picture as my profile photo, so when I saw your idea, I was very curious about how the results are going to be; will we get the same results or not?

I find this concept very interesting because most people expect a profile picture to either be the person or represent him/her in some way, yet (I'm assuming) it won't. I am curious how many mutual friends you two share and then if people will get you two confused, i.e. sending you a message meant to be sent to her, because people usually identify others based on their picture (at least for chat heads). I'm looking forward to what kind of reactions you will receive, and whether they will take it seriously or treat it as a joke.

A lot of people, including me, thought of changing their profile picture to something that doesn't represent them, so it's very refreshing to see that you are taking multiple representations of yourself and combining them together. One thing I am wondering is if you had any specific reactions you expected, and if so then what they were. Beyond that, I really like your picture and look forward to how people will react! I wonder if people who know you online will react differently compared to people who know you in person.

Ambiguity is a great way to look at how people's mindsets differ when looking at things. Reminds me of various psychological examinations intended to determine some subtleties in one's nature, such as the Rorshach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test. Of course, this is much more specific and rigid in terms of how it may be interpreted, but I'm interested to see how society has primed us for such situations. We are increasingly encouraged to try to lend a hand, and suicide awareness is probably the highest its been in history. Do your friends know you well enough to interpret it the same way you have? Or will their duty as a friend and a member of society looking out for others come out on top? I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.

I love your idea of swapping profile pictures with another person; it is quite unique and interesting. Because it is the picture of another person rather than some arbitrary avatar which is obviously not meant to be a physical likeness of yourself, it brings up some potential issues. Due to it being another person, this could be looked at impersonation, which is most likely violates the terms and conditions of your social network(I'm assuming Facebook, for which this is certainly true)

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-illegal-to-use-someone-elses-picture-a-photo-of-a-random-person-you-found-on-the-internet-as-your-Facebook-profile-picture

Though since you clearly have some understanding with the person's whose picture you're using, things should be more acceptable, especially for the purposes of this project.
Alternatively you could use photoshop to transplant your faces between the photos. This will serve to not only take you out of that gray area, but also due to comedic value, may
invite more comments and the like.

Response provoked.

Is this supposed to be the intent? In any case, I think this could use more 'meat'. I am asking, 'to what?'. You're asking for responses to you asking for responses? Or do you have something more specific in mind?(a question, or issue) What intention effect exactly are you looking for? Is it simply responses in general? Or something as of yet unspecified? In any case, I think having such an open-ended project is a bit risky, if say, no one actually responded. Good thing you had me ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

What is the effect that you are intending to get? I can see like...trying to get people confused about your gender. But what are you trying to measure/find out with this project?

I'm not sure if friending people will necessarily get a reaction if they've never seen your profile before, since it's just setting their initial impression of your profile rather than changing something that they have a prior experience with to compare to. However, changing your profile picture to something else seems like you're trying to gauge how interested your friends are in your profile -- basically, whether they'll notice you're being out of character / doing something that isn't you. It seems interesting, and I'm very uncertain about how people will react. Like, will they take it seriously since you're going to include the fact that you're not actually interested in anime? Or will they just think you're trying to screw with them and therefore ignore it?

This is sounds like a very interesting way to spin this project. To choose to represent yourself in way that defies the rules of how you present yourself on social media seems like a very brave thing to do. Also, the way you're chronicling the consequences of this action is unique and I honestly never considered doing it that way.

While changing your expression can have a large impact on how people perceive, I wonder how really extreme the response will be, unless their are multiple factors going into this. For example, if a majority of your profile pictures have been you emotionless and stationary, maybe a picture where you are actively doing something and expressing joy from that activity would get you a better reception.

I think this is a really cool idea! We've all noticed that profile pictures are supposed to represent you, and your legs are certainly a part of you, but yet there is still something weird about using them as a symbol of yourself. I think to make the strongest point you should make sure the picture doesn't appear artsy at all (because I could see that happening with a picture of legs) and that you aren't wearing a particularly interesting pair of pants (because an interesting article of clothing could reveal more about your personality than you seem to want in this project).

I like how you're changing your profile picture to something that commands others to act. The most interaction profile pictures usually generate is simply liking and commenting, but yours requires even more participation in order for users to even see your image. It would be interesting to see if the increased participation (shaking your head) causes people to "like" the image because they were involved in understanding the picture, or if the increased involvement needed to even view the figure will discourage people from "liking" it (if they simply scroll past it because a first glance reveals no image). Of course, it may be hard to tell why people do or do not "like" your picture; perhaps you could ask some of those who end up "liking" it why they did so. Basically, is there a limit to how much people want to interact with a profile picture?

I think the idea behind it is amazing. A lot of people comment on how on Facebook people's lives look so amazing because they only show the highlights of their life and I think it's a great idea to upset that and show a more authentic version of yourself. However, like Nicole I'm slightly confused as to how an image with a crack in it gets that point across. I think her idea of an image right after getting up in the morning with no filter or editing is good but if you want to focus more on how people are not always happy, maybe find a more candid image of when you weren't smiling or happy. Just an idea, I think it'll be a great project and good luck!

Your Facebook profile stands out for its creativity and internet indulgence, so I am curious about how both the artistic and memetic expectations from your friends will affect the results of your project; most people's Facebook pages seem more personal, yet yours seems less so and more standalone on the internet. I wonder about the reactions you receive, if they are specific to online cultures or if there are offline manners you meet or defy--and if there are, what they are and if they have parallels online.

I find multiple elements unique about your choice of changed picture:

• The new picture is generic, while you have on your page, as evident, an identity. I am curious about what your friends will interpret about an anonymizing image.

• The picture you choose implicitly breaks website boundaries. This week, we have discussed about how online vs. offline etiquette, and among one of the points that seems taken as granted is how online etiquette differs from site to site. Is changing a profile image to that of another social media site's a violation of online etiquette? I wonder how people will respond.

• I am quite interested in your exploration of how many 'Likes' you might receive from this change of image--especially if 'Likes' are more a social obligation on Facebook or more personal an action to take.

Overall, the project hits multiple inquiries that stand out to me, so I look forward to seeing a discussion of the results!

I find your idea very interesting. I understand that you are trying to get at authenticity, something that is generally very lacking in profile pictures since we do tend to spend a lot of time making sure we look as good as we can. However, I am a little confused about how you will be getting that across with a photoshopped image. To me this idea of authenticity might mean an image of oneself right after getting up in the morning, no hair brushing, nice clothes or makeup. I do agree however that this is a very interesting issue to address via facebook since an overwhelming amount of pictures are of people being happy when most people are not all the time. I look forward to seeing what kind of response you will get.

I think this is a really interesting concept! I know that if I saw a male post a female's profile picture, I would think they must be in a relationship or be very close. Also, just having the back of her is an interesting idea too since it might make the viewer question even further why you are posting this girl as your new profile picture. I hope that you get a strong response and people question this via comments.

I'm interested in what this project will reveal about profile pictures associated with "slactivist" movements, particularly forgotten ones. Though I predict that there will be ironic comments made and a general assumption that the profile won't be taken seriously, I wonder what the impression would be if instead of Kony 2012, the picture was of an old campaign that didn't have negative press come after the fact, such as the ALS ice bucket challenge. Would the level of irony be the same? In any case, I'm curious to see if "slactivist" movements fall closer in line with those of "fads" than proper activist movements for a cause.

I really like the intention for this project, as I think such an exercise will reveal the degree to which one's online appearance is tied to their identity. Something that I think you could think about when you analyze the data is how online visual imagery is often the first, and generally only point of contact. Does this maybe tie into how the profile picture is associated with a specific identity? In any case, it should be interesting to note if any people get confused between you and your friend (though that itself may depend on the number of mutual friends).

The plan of your intention is unclear. Do you mean that you will change your profile multiple times in the next week portraying different emotions, and seeing the response you will get from there? Based on your description, it seems as though you will be analyzing others' profile pictures, but I believe this assignment asks for more of an active roll. However, I think it's a great intention and point of analysis, and I'm excited to see the results.

I actually thought of doing this, but I couldn't think of someone who would be a good fit to change my profile picture to. I wonder if you're going to ask the person for permission, or if you're just going to change it. I think the response will mostly be confusion, because most of the time people don't use other peoples' faces as their profile picture. The fact that you're picking someone that you're not that close to also means that your friends will also probably be confused. I wonder if they might think that you've suddenly become really close to them.

When I read your intention, I thought this was really funny. If one of my friends changed their profile picture to just their legs, I would probably laugh a lot. I think it's really interesting though, because you're right, usually profile pictures include some sort of face and even if it's not a face it's usually not a different body part. I'm curious to see what kind of response you get. I would probably think it's some sort of inside joke, or maybe you were really confident in your legs in that picture.

I think this is a great idea. The social norm is definitely to have the profile picture be of your own face, and having someone else's face will not only bring a shock, but it may lead to confusion that she is the one posting comments that you are actually posting. (I often look at the pictures more than the name to see who is commenting/posting). I think it would make more of an impact if it was her face, and not the back of her head. If one of my friends changed it to be the back of one of their friends heads, I would assume it was because of an inside joke or just to be goofy. The front of the face would make me pause more. Overall great idea and I think you'll get a strong response.

I'm very interested by how you incorporate the notion of time as a shock factor in eliciting a response from your audience. I definitely agree that the type of responses you may receive can be generalized into the three categories you mentioned. Do you think that a response is indicative of that person's own beliefs, or their perception of you? Do you think some people would change their reaction or "filter" their posts because they're posting on a public social media site?

I think identifying with those who share a specific interest with you through changing your profile picture is a very cool idea because it will make you guys feel more connected. You may even be surprised with some of the people that share this interest who knows.

For those of us that don't know, what exactly is a pepe? I tried looking it up on urban dictionary but I don't think I found the correct definition.

Also, do you think those who don't share this interest will comment or like your picture? Unfortunately it'll be hard to document reactions for this project if people don't provide us with any. One could say that if people don't react then that's a message in and of itself, but then again, who's to say one person saw it and didn't do anything while another person just didn't see it at all.

I think your idea is incredibly interesting and daring. I actually can't wait to see what data you come up with. I would be too scared to do what you're doing on one of my social media profiles because honestly I'd be too afraid of what people thought or said, both on the social media platform itself, and in the 'real world'.

I think that what people mention about you face-to-face could be an undesired (or perhaps desired) consequence of changing your profile to what you're describing.

Have you thought about what description you're going to add (if any) to the picture, or what comments you're going to write to those that comment on your profile (if there are comments on Wechat [sorry not familiar with the platform], or if you want to reply to comments)?

First of all, I applaud your bravery in making this courageous decision.
I think this is no doubt one of the most controversy-inducing profile picture changes that you can perform and will really give us insight on how peers on Facebook make judgments of others. It's definitely interesting that you hope to engage with people that you perhaps don't know as well, as it may really show a discrepancy between the seemingly "personal" space of Facebook and the way we seem to "filter" our personalities online for a wide audience.

I like the idea of going for a shocking change, but that change has something your fully comfortable with and are confident represents you as a person. Your explanation implies that you are tired of being tied down by the expectations of others and you want to show the world who you truly are. The intention explanation seems really vague, but I'm guessing you don't want to give too much away. Good luck.

This is an interesting project that I believe the response will be huge. You can think of what kinds of photos you are going to post. Are all of them selfies, or every single one has different meaning, or they are all just random doodles. That may have a large difference in their influences.

This is an interesting project. "Stealing identity" is a crazy but practical idea. I have never thought about that before, though I once made a fake facebook account. Making something fake is totally different than stealing someones identity. Maybe you can try to use others' facebook account (if both of you don't mind) to make it more real. However, since all of your friends know who you are, so the result may be generally common (like is your account stolen by someone). You may just do nothing, or pretend that this account is yours with truthful words and expressions (which will make this project more fun). Still, I want to see how well this project goes on.

I am attracted by this idea. Your special background in Smogon University makes you unique. In that social media, you are the focus but not just random doodles on facebooks. People will intentionally check your avatar and find something different. That will have a large difference from changing a profile photo on facebook, since people do not intentionally check your profile photo. Maybe you could think more about how the new photo influences others' discussion. If you use another kind of photo to substitute your profile photo, will the result be the same? Anyway I really want to see your project.

This sounds a really interesting idea. At least a person who never takes selfie before uses one of his selfie as his profile photo will definitely shock me and make me think of what is going on. Your special case makes this change special. Maybe you can think of what kind of expressions you will use in your selfie and what kind of message you want to send (if any) with your expressions. That may lead to more discussion about your selfie.

This sounds like it could be interesting, and I hope you do get plenty of responses, since it seems that this project would rely heavily on people taking note and making the comments you're hoping for. I would have liked to read more about the reason behind your choice of project, and what you aim to show/learn from it, though, so it would be easier to tell what the objectives of the project were, beyond simply hoping to get a reaction from your social circles. Best of luck to your project!

This definitely sounds like it'd shape up into a unique subject for the assignment. It comes across clearly that the topic you're discussing is important to you, and the enthusiasm is somewhat infectious, although perhaps the writing could be a little less intense - if only to ensure that the writing does not run out of steam and impact when you actually get to the results and discussion of the project. I look forward to seeing how the project pans out.