In which Jill discusses what to wear. Or what not to wear.
I recently wrote a blog post on social media and CRM, “Meeting Customers Where They Are: When Social Media Misses the Mark.” In the post I described a client meeting in which two cavalier, t-shirt wearing social media consultants spouted aphorisms about social CRM without understanding what the sponsors really needed, and where they were on the CRM continuum.
The post got a lot of hits, and a lot of comments. Thanks to those of you who weighed in on the topic, I think everyone made valid points. But the first paragraph of one of the more recent comments by a reader named “rune” took an interesting turn. Rune wrote:
hey- is wearing a T-shirt hitting a rough spot in some of you.. watch your customers, they all wear them.. are you in any way better then them.. come on. But multitasking while presenting is pherhaps a bit to much eaven for me. But do this kill the content of their presentation ?
I’d like to state here for the record that I do not in principle object to t-shirts. Au contraire! I say the more men wearing t-shirts in the workplace, the better! A man in a t-shirt says, “Hey, I’m a casual-but-confident guy, comfortable in my own skin. Wanna beer?” Indeed James Dean in a t-shirt was nothing less than a gift from God. (You never saw a picture of him sporting a logoed golf shirt, did you? I rest my case.)
I particularly appreciate the so-called “Beefy T,” which has been worn by some of the greats, and in its latter years often morphs into useful cleaning implement. Many a dish has been dried, and myriad dirty dog paws have been wiped clean with a Beefy-T. The Beefy-T is smart and versatile. It’s up for anything. The Beefy-T is the George Plimpton of t-shirts.
But I am truly sorry if my blog post offended. My apologies to any t-shirt wearing social media consultants—their unfortunate sartorial judgment notwithstanding. Apologies to Zac Efron, David Beckam, Antonio Zapato Junior, and Marky Mark. Please keep up the good work, guys. And, in the interest of equal time, Pam Anderson and Eva Mendes can definitely rock a t-shirt. Bygones, ladies.
Finally a special apology to the good people at Hanes and Fruit of the Loom (and, to a lesser extent, BVD). You really are providing a public service. Most of the time.
photo by emdot via flickr.
Good grief, glad I wasn’t wearing a T-Shirt when we met last week