... the small face (or other object) next to each blog post is a
'hackergotchi'.
I put in a request[1] to the Fedora Design team to get a ribbon or
badge that can be added to your hackergotchi to identify yourself as a
GSoC student (or mentor!). Here is one way this could be done, the
example being a ribbon used for FUDCon attendees:
While blogging is not a requirement of the Summer of Code, it is very
commonplace and a useful way to interact with your mentor and the
larger community. You never know who is going to read it and give you
a good idea!