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How To Twitter Header
11 years ago
About a year or two ago, Twitter introduced the Twitter header. Many social media sites came out with it around the same time. You find them on Facebook, Google+, and most social media sites in this year, 2014. However, so many people have failed to utilize the Twitter header to its potential.
I'm the kind of person who will go to individual's twitter pages to learn more about them, see what they talk about, see what their interested in, and get to know them better before I decide to follow them or not. Now, I'm not going to say that someone's header is a dealer breaker (though their icon could be.) However, it can be used to express more about yourself than what can be said in a 140-character bio. Let me show you what kind of headers look good and what kind of twitter headers to avoid.
Have a twitter header
The twitter header feature has been around long enough. If you are somewhat active on twitter, take a few minutes to add a header photo to it. If you don't have a header, it tells be that you probably don't post much and there isn't much more to learn about you than what you posted on your bio. Though, it's not surprising that these people generally don't have much in their bio either. I'm talking to you, Nekomon.
Can't miss with scenery
For this, I'd like to use Rivard Otter as an example. Aside from being an interesting, kind-hearted person, Rivard has an excellent Twitter header. It's not much, just a beautiful river-and-Applachian background. But it's very appealing to the eye and gives you an instant sense of awe before you read through his timeline.
Avoid centered pictures
Centered pictures are great for most anything: Computer wallpaper, Facebook header, icons. However, they stink for Twitter headers. The reason being is because your twitter icon with cover up the focus of the header photo. As a result, it just looks awkward and unappealing. Unless...
The icon fits into your header
The first person I saw with this style was Rieshal a while ago. If you go to his twitter now, you can see what his icon USED to be. When he first introduced this icon-inside-the-header style, I thought it was one of the best headers out there. I still think it's very clever, but would personally prefer if he moved the focus of the header piece, himself and his boyfriend, to the right or left sides of the header.
Edit: Found a great example in Geo Holms' twitter header!
The header and icon should be different
Yes, I love your fursuit too. However, when you have a photo of your fursuit in a snowball fight and you grab your icon from that exact same photo (and don't line it up as mentioned above), it looks very tacky. It's like having two identical photos in your living room, side-by-side, but one is a cropped version of the other. In fact, I would avoid having your fursuit as the focus of your icon AND your header, a rule that I am breaking as I write this.
That being said, the same rule applies for icons and art commissions. If your icon is from a commission, do not use that commission as your Twitter header. As you can tell, Skye Otter has broken a few of these rules.
Offcentered or two-fronted photos work great
Some of the better Twitter headers in the fandom are shots of someone's fursuit laying on his side or on the ground. A perfect example of this is Haku Pamfer's twitter header. You can still see the entire head while his body makes more almost the rest of the header. Wonderfully done.
Even though it's not a photo, Hatathi created a piece of artwork that symbolizes what I'm getting at. There's something to focus on on each side of the icon while the icon itself is not covering up anything. Another great example is Dantee's header while featuers his fursuit on the right and some fleshy on the left with a sweet backdrop to boot.
Make your header describe you
Are you into cars? Do you work as a firefighter? Do you love sports? Show this off in your header. What I love about headers like Coffeespots' and Guinness Fox's is I already know something about them without having to read a single word. Ultimately, that's why we're not Twitter instead of LiveJournal; so we don't have to read.
Yes, I'm somewhat anal retentive about this kind of stuff. Why? Who knows why! I am a fan of presentation though (except when it comes to food.) I think appearance says a lot about what you are trying to sell. If you're trying to make people interested in your Twitter, if you're trying to sell yourself as a fascinating person to them, having a nice Twitter header is one of the easiest ways to go about it. You may not see your follower count swell into the quintuple digits overnight, but people may just decide to hit that Follow button when they see that you have followed them.
I'm the kind of person who will go to individual's twitter pages to learn more about them, see what they talk about, see what their interested in, and get to know them better before I decide to follow them or not. Now, I'm not going to say that someone's header is a dealer breaker (though their icon could be.) However, it can be used to express more about yourself than what can be said in a 140-character bio. Let me show you what kind of headers look good and what kind of twitter headers to avoid.
Have a twitter header
The twitter header feature has been around long enough. If you are somewhat active on twitter, take a few minutes to add a header photo to it. If you don't have a header, it tells be that you probably don't post much and there isn't much more to learn about you than what you posted on your bio. Though, it's not surprising that these people generally don't have much in their bio either. I'm talking to you, Nekomon.
Can't miss with scenery
For this, I'd like to use Rivard Otter as an example. Aside from being an interesting, kind-hearted person, Rivard has an excellent Twitter header. It's not much, just a beautiful river-and-Applachian background. But it's very appealing to the eye and gives you an instant sense of awe before you read through his timeline.
Avoid centered pictures
Centered pictures are great for most anything: Computer wallpaper, Facebook header, icons. However, they stink for Twitter headers. The reason being is because your twitter icon with cover up the focus of the header photo. As a result, it just looks awkward and unappealing. Unless...
The icon fits into your header
The first person I saw with this style was Rieshal a while ago. If you go to his twitter now, you can see what his icon USED to be. When he first introduced this icon-inside-the-header style, I thought it was one of the best headers out there. I still think it's very clever, but would personally prefer if he moved the focus of the header piece, himself and his boyfriend, to the right or left sides of the header.
Edit: Found a great example in Geo Holms' twitter header!
The header and icon should be different
Yes, I love your fursuit too. However, when you have a photo of your fursuit in a snowball fight and you grab your icon from that exact same photo (and don't line it up as mentioned above), it looks very tacky. It's like having two identical photos in your living room, side-by-side, but one is a cropped version of the other. In fact, I would avoid having your fursuit as the focus of your icon AND your header, a rule that I am breaking as I write this.
That being said, the same rule applies for icons and art commissions. If your icon is from a commission, do not use that commission as your Twitter header. As you can tell, Skye Otter has broken a few of these rules.
Offcentered or two-fronted photos work great
Some of the better Twitter headers in the fandom are shots of someone's fursuit laying on his side or on the ground. A perfect example of this is Haku Pamfer's twitter header. You can still see the entire head while his body makes more almost the rest of the header. Wonderfully done.
Even though it's not a photo, Hatathi created a piece of artwork that symbolizes what I'm getting at. There's something to focus on on each side of the icon while the icon itself is not covering up anything. Another great example is Dantee's header while featuers his fursuit on the right and some fleshy on the left with a sweet backdrop to boot.
Make your header describe you
Are you into cars? Do you work as a firefighter? Do you love sports? Show this off in your header. What I love about headers like Coffeespots' and Guinness Fox's is I already know something about them without having to read a single word. Ultimately, that's why we're not Twitter instead of LiveJournal; so we don't have to read.
Yes, I'm somewhat anal retentive about this kind of stuff. Why? Who knows why! I am a fan of presentation though (except when it comes to food.) I think appearance says a lot about what you are trying to sell. If you're trying to make people interested in your Twitter, if you're trying to sell yourself as a fascinating person to them, having a nice Twitter header is one of the easiest ways to go about it. You may not see your follower count swell into the quintuple digits overnight, but people may just decide to hit that Follow button when they see that you have followed them.
But after a year I kinda need to update it! :O