I just love this photo I snapped at the Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco this week #IMS09
Social media company entrepreneur official garb
1. Faded jeans
2. Dark jacket or sweater
3. Very comfortable shoes
4. Slight smirk
5. Hip sideburns
6. Microphone held at jaunty angle in lap
7. Head turned 45 degrees to the right
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Panel was called Discovering the Power of Your Community and included these executives from very successful companies:
Markus Nelson, Co-founder, UserVoice
Joseph Kleinschmidt, CTO, Leverage Software
John Kembel, CEO, HiveLive
Ross Mayfield, Co-founder and President, Socialtext
I guess if you're looking for VC funding in Silicon Valley this is what you should wear.
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Very funny. The CEO of a teen fashion chain recently explained to me their strategy of printing their name on the fronts of their shirts; "Most teens want to be rebels, but they also want to belong to the same club as all the other rebels."
Posted by: Tim Parker | May 01, 2009 at 05:12 PM
I love this photo. It's funny how fashion, especially for men, quickly becomes a uniform. Nevertheless, I prefer this "suit" to a traditional one.
Posted by: Jill Elswick | May 01, 2009 at 05:16 PM
Hey Now,
At least I was wearing a pink shirt and a brown jacket. That's got set me apart somehow, right?
LOL - that's for poking fun David, you're right on the money with this, "uniform" post!
~marcus
Posted by: Marcus Nelson | May 01, 2009 at 06:29 PM
I was a jacket away from looking like an important person.
Posted by: Jeff | May 01, 2009 at 06:39 PM
Very helpful information as I was about to go shopping this weekend for my husband and we are attending some VC meetings this coming week.
You never know what information people really need.
Twtr: @marketingvirgo
Posted by: MarketingVirgo | May 01, 2009 at 07:12 PM
I was wearing the same uniform. At one point I realized I was talking to two other guys and we were dressed identically. We should have gone on a crime spree.
"Suspect was a white male in a black blazer and dark jeans, last seen entering the Marriott."
Posted by: David B. Thomas | May 01, 2009 at 08:05 PM
I love the dress code, the smirk and especially the shoes; but, the sideburns will make it hard for a woman to join this group. An artificial barrier to entry?
Posted by: Jennifer | May 01, 2009 at 10:12 PM
David, my colleague Eric Hoffman (@eric_hoffman), social web guru at Park City Mountain Resort kindly reminded me that it was really my in the moment twitter post on the live screen at #IMS09 that originally sparked all the fashion commentary:
http://twitter.com/Motorad666/status/1640513194
I really enjoyed your presentation.
Thomas (@Motorad666)
Posted by: Thomas | May 01, 2009 at 10:32 PM
I was disappointed that I couldn't make it to IMS this year but I now know I could have fit right in.
Too funny.
@knealemann
Posted by: Kneale Mann | May 02, 2009 at 06:08 AM
@Motorad666 - We think alike!
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=dmscott+social+media+uniform
I posted this photo with an #IMS09 tag around the time you tweeted. By the time I got everybody's name and affiliation into the description of the photo your tweet beat mine. But I did not see yours and in my mind, my idea was original.
Please be aware that there is no question that had I seen this first from you (rather than noticing it myself) I would have certainly given you credit.
We both saw this independently.
Cheers, David
Posted by: David Meerman Scott | May 02, 2009 at 06:46 AM
Very funny. Runner up: Big shiny forehead= 3 out of 4
Posted by: azita | May 02, 2009 at 07:37 AM
David, No worries. My comment above was tongue in cheek. Who cares. We were all thinking the same thing. It was a moment. It was fun.
Posted by: Thomas | May 02, 2009 at 10:37 AM
That's LOL funny!
Posted by: Bob Sheesley | May 03, 2009 at 04:52 PM
It's like a real life clone tool !
Posted by: John | May 04, 2009 at 04:59 AM
Sad to infer, darkly, from the photo that if I want to discover the "power of my community" I have to look for white guys in their 30s/40s.
Admittedly, eye-candy all of them, but still ...
Posted by: Virginia | May 04, 2009 at 11:26 AM
My first VC meeting was done in a blue suit. Now I know why we didn't get funded.
Strangely, makes me feel somewhat better about the business plan.
Posted by: Chris Plamann | May 04, 2009 at 01:36 PM
Reminds me of high school....
Posted by: Leigh | May 04, 2009 at 02:53 PM
I would have preferred them to be wearing turtlenecked tops.
The pony tail look is still to catch on. All in all a wonderful post.
Posted by: atul chatterjee | May 05, 2009 at 03:24 AM
Haha, I love it! Gotta admit, from a female perspective, it's the perfect go-to guy outfit. Not trying too hard but still professional and stylish. :)
@amber_rae
Posted by: Amber Rae Lambke | May 08, 2009 at 02:31 PM