A recent study done by a local graphic design firm, 8th Day Creatives, has shown that the means to increase your friend count and social network on Facebook is only a photo away. After pouring through hundreds of thousands of profile photos and reading countless hours of news feeds, they found the foolproof means to up the ever-so-important friend count.
I spoke to Brandon Palma, head of 8th Day Creatives. "It's not a phenomenon." Said Palma concerning the not phenomenon. "It's digital common sense. The only selling point you have with the not-nows(those you have not cleared as deserving of your friendship quite yet) or non-friends is your profile picture. So, you have to make the snapshot as alluring as possible, addressing the potential you represent."
This is what 8th Day Creatives discovered.
Females
Do
First time profile pics of yourself in a bikini generally result in an immediate forty friend increase, generally male, with a residual effect of decreasing numbers that resembles the Fibonacci sequence.
The forty person increase directly correlates with the photo's aesthetic appeal, said Palma. Mirror generated self-pics yield less friends, while pictures taken by someone other than your Iphone and dorm room mirror will result in a surge of friend requests. Photoshop work is encouraged, for the likelihood of a highly-prurient, unedited photo is low. And, on Facebook, misrepresentation of self is standardized, so feel free to use the pound shaving tool on Photoshop.
Don't
If your profile picture features you and your fiance/husband, male requests will decrease dramatically, sometimes permanently, depending on the presence of a child in the photo.
Males
Do
Unlike the female, children are your selling point. Creatives' study show that photos with your nephew, niece, cousin or sibling within the age bracket of 2-7 will generate about 30 friend requests, entirely female, with the exception of perpetually jealous requestette's boyfriends and/or dedicated Facebook stalkers. Within the photo itself, if it appears that you are instructing the child (who must be paying rapt attention) your friendship stock increases tenfold. Throw in a dog (puppies are preferable) and you should expect a 100 friend increase over the span of three months.
Don't
Ab shots have become passe, thanks to New Jersey pop culture icon, "The Situation," laments Palma. Those that do take photos of their hypertan, hypertrophic abdomen can expect to see a rapid decrease in proposals of friendship. Female requests will minimize and male requests will diminish entirely, with the exception of the flamboyant few with similar profile pics. Noticeable de-friending is possible.
Conclusions drawn from the study.
Females are attracted to profile pictures that show nurturing and predictability. A father figure who will never stray far from home, much like the dogs in their profile picture. Males prefer salacious profile pictures, but nothing too controversial. Think temptress, not whorish.
