Website "about me", 1st or 3rd person?

[rgrebby]

Should I write the about me section of my website with "I am.." or have it about Richard and write it in the 3rd person with "Richard has..."


Any thoughts?
______________

[tracknut]

Personally, I'm not famous enough that folks will write about me, so I have to write about myself...

Dave

[brandon9585]

I agree. I don't like the 3rd person. It sounds like you couldn't be bothered to come up with something yourself so you had someone else do it.

[darosk]

Well-written 3rd person gives you an air of professionalism (or snootiness, depending on how you look at it).
Well-written 1st person makes you seem more personal.

Either way, you're writing about yourself, so it really depends on how you want to portray yourself.

[DarkKnight369]

3rd person always seem professional to me where as 1st person seems like blog or forum speak.

[Tom Reichner]

3rd person always seem professional to me where as 1st person seems like blog or forum speak.

Yeah, that.

[photoguy6405]

Third person normally serves only as comic relief. Unless you're famous person with an entourage or part of a large organization, you're just a photographer and it's just you and we all know that. I'm hiring YOU. Tell me about you, by you.

Besides, it's rarely done well.

[HappySnapper90]

Should I write the about me section of my website with "I am.." or have it about Richard and write it in the 3rd person with "Richard has..."
Any thoughts?

If you were to use 3rd person, it should be "About Richard" instead of "About Me", right? ;) There's the answer to your question.

Just don't make it "about us" and there is only one person and no "us" (plural).

3rd person always seem professional to me where as 1st person seems like blog or forum speak.

It all depends on how you want to relate to visitors. 1st person is more "personal" and has less of a sterile mood IMHO.

[cdifoto]

I mixed it up a little bit. My "About" page has third person with a first person quote. My packages page has first person "we" even though it's usually just me since I operate under a business name that doesn't include my personal name.

[Mark1]

Use third ONLY if it is actually written by a third person. It used to be a big thing to make it seem like one man shops were bigger than they were. Now, it is pretty much just irritating.

A web site is basically marketing, marketing is an attempt to make a personal connection with a potential client. So why would you ignore this opertunity. First person is as personal as it gets. And first person does not offend anybody. 3rd person is getting pretty passee, and why take the chanse that it turns people off before you get a decient chance at the job.


...... can you tell I hate 3rd person?.....

[cdifoto]

Use third ONLY if it is actually written by a third person. It used to be a big thing to make it seem like one man shops were bigger than they were. Now, it is pretty much just irritating.

A web site is basically marketing, marketing is an attempt to make a personal connection with a potential client. So why would you ignore this opertunity. First person is as personal as it gets. And first person does not offend anybody. 3rd person is getting pretty passee, and why take the chanse that it turns people off before you get a decient chance at the job.


...... can you tell I hate 3rd person?.....

I think it depends how you write it and how your business is set up and named. I don't think using "me" and "I" as "CDI Fotografi" would really work. If I was "Joe Schmo, Photographer" then yeah "me" and "I" would be better.

Oh and OP, don't forget to proofread, no matter how you go about it. ;) :D

[Mark1]

How the business is set up is unrelated. It is how the about page is intended. Is it an about page for the person, or an about page for the company? They will be written totally differently. If it an about page for the President of GE I would like it to be in the 1st person. Even though I highly doubt he will actually be the one to write it. And if it is an about page for a 1 man shop, and not the 1 person, it is 3rd person narrative. It is barely passable to be in the 3rd if the person IS the company.

[cdifoto]

Your opinion.

[DarkKnight369]

It all depends on how you want to relate to visitors. 1st person is more "personal" and has less of a sterile mood IMHO.

I have come across websites where 1st person was done professionally in a clever way, and other sites where it just came off as unprofessional. To me, they both can be professional if written well. IMO, its easy to write 3rd person in a professional manner, but its harder to do the same with 1st person.

I really don't see a problem with 3rd person and I do prefer it. When you think about it, someone is going to a website to learn about your photography business. As I work on my new site, my plan is to keep it 3rd person for the content, then have a blog from a first person point of view. To me that is the best of both worlds.

[constrict]

3rd person seems pretentious to me most of the time, unless you're popular enough where you have little to do with making your own website.

[TeenPhotog]

I think that 3rd person is almost always pretentious.