Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A Referring to oneself in first vs. third person in online profiles

I think a major difference is: do you want to give the reader the sense that you are speaking to him, or do you want to give him the sense that he is reading about you? First person can feel more ...

posted 13y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T20:05:57Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3389
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T01:46:55Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3389
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T01:46:55Z (over 4 years ago)
I think a major difference is: do you want to give the reader the sense that **you are speaking to him** , or do you want to give him the sense that **he is reading about you**?

First person can feel more personal, more informal, as if an actual person is standing in front of the reader - "Hi, I'm Ray!". Third person is a description of the profile owner - generally aiming for a neutral, factual/descriptive tone ("Ray is an experienced software developer") that can feel more professional and matter-of-fact. Sometimes, this can be humorously subverted ("Ray's core competencies include vast expertise in software developement and ingenious placement of whoopie cushions when his co-workers aren't looking").

So in general, first-person is great for feeling like a personal introduction; third-person is great for a straightforward, professional description of yourself.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-07-20T19:32:53Z (almost 13 years ago)
Original score: 6