Has your logo gone square?

There has been an unintended consequence of social media that has flown under the radar. With all the social media and networking sites popping up, companies and individuals have the option to add logos or photos to their profiles, also known as avatars. However, the only option for the large majority of sites is a small square.

But there is a problem. Most logos don't easily fit into a square. Can you imagine the Coca-Cola swirl inside of a square? And what about the entire word Google spelled out? These wouldn't fit into a square very easily without negatively impacting the core brand identity.

To solve this problem, some companies have created a square logo from the first initial of their name. Others have gone so far as to create a new logo that they launched as part of their overall social media initiatives. Others have tweaked their logos so that they fit into a square shape, but they may not be very easy to read. At the end of the day, you may ask, is all of this additional work worth the effort? The answer is a resounding YES.

With so much attention paid to social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn, Flickr, and countless peripheral and industry-specific sites), whatever appears in those little square logo boxes reinforces a company's or individual's brand. No one wants to see an egg profile in Twitter or a blank blue head shot profile in Facebook - these mean that someone just doesn't understand the world of social media.

So what did you consider when making your logo go square?