Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by j_s on Saturday October 07, 2017 @05:57AM (#15423112)

Hat tip to the evil growth marketing technique (source long lost, sorry) suggesting use of a default female "outline" avatar to strongly motivate account creation / gender reassignment (and perhaps even replacement with genuine profile pictures)!

Edit: Twitter recently discussed changing default avatars, in part because their default was often left in place as "fun and cute": https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/product/2017/...

My main point was that default avatars can drive sign-ups motivated primarily just to change it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by lasserafn on Saturday October 07, 2017 @07:17AM (#15423334)

In regard to latest edit with Twitter

I think it's interesting how much thought goes into default avatars, and that it can be used as a marketing tactic. Thanks for providing link to Twitter as well. Guess I'll have to think more about it in the future.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by homero on Saturday October 07, 2017 @06:20AM (#15423181)

Now I see why the top of https://giphy.com/gifs/homer-simpson-the-simpsons-bush-4pMX5... and it made me click it

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by lasserafn on Saturday October 07, 2017 @06:36AM (#15423220)

.. I still don't get it :D

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by homero on Saturday October 07, 2017 @07:38AM (#15423378)

Oh, the avatar is a girl

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by Kiro on Saturday October 07, 2017 @06:38AM (#15423228)

What is this referring to?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by wastedhours on Saturday October 07, 2017 @07:02AM (#15423291)

Not heard of it before, but my interpretation is:

For a service where the early adopters are predominantly male (perhaps an invalid assumption, but a lazy tech stereotype), you have the default picture be the outline of a female to incentivise the male to "correct" the default by uploading their own picture (demonstrating they're a male, rather than female).

Interesting thought process if my interpretation is correct.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by wingerlang on Saturday October 07, 2017 @08:30AM (#15423503)

And/or that the service seems to have more female participants?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by wastedhours on Sunday October 08, 2017 @10:19AM (#15428295)

The OP was referring to an "evil growth marketing tactic" - it wouldn't be as evil if it were mainly for empathy with the user base rather than as a dark pattern.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by lasserafn on Saturday October 07, 2017 @07:03AM (#15423295)

Wow, I expected something else. That is actually interesting!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by superasn on Saturday October 07, 2017 @07:05AM (#15423301)

I'm just guessing but maybe that if I see a female avatar for my profile I may be motivated to change it with my own profile image? not sure though.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by lasserafn on Saturday October 07, 2017 @06:00AM (#15423121)

I'm a little sad that I didn't do this

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by oneeyedpigeon on Saturday October 07, 2017 @08:02AM (#15423431)

Could analyse any name/username given to determine most likely gender and set it to the opposite.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Generate avatars from user initials by lasserafn on Saturday October 07, 2017 @08:07AM (#15423441)

Absolutely, I've played around with this. There are tons of open source libraries to determine gender from name. Obviously it cannot be 100% correct, but it can provide a guess

[ Parent | on HN ]