Bloggers are told one of the best ways to capture audience attention is to use a cool photo.

Yeah.  That'll do it.   After all a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here's how it plays out.  You are surfing the internet.  Voila.  You see a shiny brand new professionally done photo of a big truck driving down the road.  That definitely captures your interest so you click on the photo which is part of a blog that is talking about dangerous trucks.  And then by clicking on that blog you end up attached to a lawyer's website.  And now you can hire them.  Or at least think about hiring them if in the future you get hit by a truck.

Or some variety of that.

Actually, it is amazing how many even good blogs use stock photos.  There are blogs devoted to telling you were to find photos.  istockphoto, stock.xchng, yotophoto, Flickr, wikipedia, etc to name a few.

Here's the reality.

Top 10 reasons why generic fake photos suck.

1.  They were taken by someone completely unrelated to you.  This kinda defeats the purpose of a blog. Which is supposed to be personal.

2.   You are passing someone else's stuff off as your own.  Plagerizing is plagerizing even if you pay for the privilege.

3.  They don't have anything to do with what you wrote.  Or who you are as a human being.  Sometimes you just can't help yourself.  Searching through those reams of free photos.  You like one just because.  And then try to blog around it.

4.   They are distracting.  We're thinking - wow this person really writes well. Why are they using fake photos.

5.   This (#4 above) leads us to assume that you really don't know what you're talking about.  Because otherwise you would have your own photos.

6.   They ruin your credibility.  Kind of like inviting a new friend into your home, pulling out the photo albums.  And...what - no real photos.   No problem.   I can tell you some fake stories to go along with those fake photos.  How about Not.

7.  They may be glossy.  They may be pretty.  They may even be cool.  But they are no different than the fake photos inserted in empty picture frames.  And we know it.

8.  They detract from your brand.  Imagine if in order to make a point, Warner Brothers, the producers of Man of Steel, asked Disney for permission to use an image of Johnny Depp's Tonto wig.  Would never happen.

9.  They mute the collective richness, depth, and soul of a blog

10.  You are what you post.  If you post fake, generic photos.   Then guess what..