Quick Test: Which image can you relate to more? A or B?

It’s always more satisfying to talk with people with faces. When you can put a face to a name, you suddenly feel related. This connection helps you collaborate better.

I have worked on hundreds of projects using activeCollab, Basecamp and other solutions. Many times I have not even met the client in person. Seeing their face just makes it so much more comfortable when I next call / email them.

activeCollab allows users to upload an avatar image, but most clients won’t bother doing it. This means you will see those dull, gray default avatar icons while you work with them on your projects.

Yet, millions of people use Gravatar service, that already has their preferred avatar images. Most blogs use Gravatar to load avatar image of a commenter. The same is now possible with activeCollab.

This hack checks if user has uploaded an avatar image in activeCollab. If not, it loads it from Gravatar. If user does not have a Gravatar image, it will fall back to the default icon.

Before applying the Gravatar hack, and After

Little things that make big differences! This hack is one of them!

What is Gravatar?

If you haven’t heard about Gravatars, it’s alright. Gravatar is short for Globally Recognized Avatar. Your Gravatar is an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums. You setup your Gravatar image on Gravatar website, and then everyone uses Gravatar APIs to show your image on their blogs / sites. All this happens in a safe and secure manner, without compromising any personal information.

Benefits

• Get related to your project teams better – when you see clients face, you feel better. When client sees your face, she feels better.
• Increase Credibility: When people can put a face to a name, it increases credibility of the person.
• Do not reinvent the wheel: A lot of people already have Gravatar profiles. Why force them to upload a new avatar on activeCollab? Just pull one from their Gravatar profile!

Image courtesy Kanonkas