Microspotting tshirts (want one?)
Posted Wednesday, June 18 2008 by The JobsBloggers
Like anyone who works in marketing, I have a lot of crappy swag tshirts. These shirts are almost all poorly fitting (too big!), poorly designed (massive logo!), and of poor quality.
So when it came time to make some Microspotting tshirts, I was insistent: I would only make swag if it was something I would actually wear. Swag that fit, swag that felt good, swag that looked good, and bonus points for making me laugh.
Enter the Microspotting tshirts.
First I wanted a good material, so these are Onno shirts made of an organic cotton/bamboo blend. If you don’t know bamboo fabric, it’s awesome – it drapes way better than cotton, and so insanely soft that I worried these shirts might turn wearers into walking HR violations, victimized by unwelcome hugs from coworkers.
I also made a point of getting the shirts in a full range of sizes for both the guys and the girls. Too many promo tees only come in Men's L and XL! Seriously: how many branded nightshirts does a woman need?
As for the design, I came up with three styles, two of which you can see above.
- I am the empire
- My job gives me special feelings
- I got microspotted
The "microspotted" design is exclusively available for people who I profile on the site, but I'm doing a promotion to give away a few of the other two styles to bloggers. (The caveat: you need to be a Microsoft employee. Blogging doesn't need to be part of your job, but you need to work for the Empire to say "I am the empire."
If you are the empire and you're a blogger, I want you to have one of these shirts.
Just follow the instructions here.
Tagged as: tshirts, microspotting




Comments
[Ask and ye shall receive
ddv
[I love Microspotting!
shrutes.blogspot.com/.../diversity.html
[Love your site. I posted about it on my MSDN blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ben/archive/2008/06/18/microspotting.aspx
I'd happily post a picture of myself wearing an "I am the empire" XL shirt!
[mad props to the microspotter!
timheuer.com/.../microspotting-p
[You guys rock. I could easily see myself in a "I am the empire" t-shirt (L) and would provide photo coverage of the event.
Take a Swedish lesson and head over to:
blogs.msdn.com/.../i-ll-do-anythin
And good luch with the intra office mail package... ;)
[I can't decide which shirt fits me more! I'm letting my readers decide....
www.projectsubmarine.net/.../microspotting.h
[[...] Microspotting | Microspotting tshirts (want one?) Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 04:26 pm by Jeremiah Andrick Permalink thecubiclepunk.com/.../microspotting-t [...]
[Ok... Saw this on twitter. Had to give you a nod.
Cheers.
[I think I'm too boring to be profiled on Microspotting, but at least I could wear a nice XL shirt!
http://www.azsharepointpros.com/ShareAndEnjoy/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=9
[I would be proud to declare I am part of the Empire and post a photo to prove it.
blog.spontaneouspublicity.com/.../Paparazzi-For-N
[Must...have...shirt...
wyldflamingo.spaces.live.com/.../default.aspx
[Identical posts on the Internet and the Corpnet... including an invitation to visit us at the Tellme campus!
[I'm likely too boring as well. I went and took a hiatus from blogging for a long while. But I've just started back up again. I'm more likely to focus on photography, exotic cars, and alternative energy cars (pure electric vehicles and bio-fuels) than software.
davequick.com/.../i-am-the-empire links to you.
-Dave
WIndows Live Cloud Storage/Live Mesh
[here is my post
www.catepol.net/.../im-the-empire
[What if I wear an "I am the Empire" shirt at my next kids music concert? That would go over well! Maybe you can make a shirt: "The Shakey Milks are the Empire!"
http://www.simondonovan.com
[Don't have much traffic on my site yet, but posted anyway.
onlyloserswin.tumblr.com/.../microspotting-o
[I'd love to send post a pic of me wearing a size men's medium "I am the Empire" shirt on my blog. :)
zorba.members.winisp.net/.../microspotting-s
[Hey Ariel! Microspotting rocks!
Can I have a job like yours?
[I really do enjoy Microspotting. It is nice to see some of the people and personalities behind our products. It is also great as a field employee to get a better sense of the culture and diversity between our field organization and the various business groups and teams in Redmond. Keep up the great work. (And yes, I'll post a picture of me in the shirt on my blog)
randyh.wordpress.com/.../i-am-the-empire
[My job too gives me special feelings.
www.betterthaneveryone.com/.../almost-1-year-r
men's m "I am the empire" please
[very good idea. post written and published.
gattasorniona.tumblr.com/.../questo-un-esper
ciao!
gattas
[Ariel--Don't have a blog... but would a tour of the EBC where I work suffice? We do Executive Events and and host deep detailed briefings for the coolest geeks in the world; it's a neat place with lots of behind the scenes geekdom!
Pretty please (and XL pls.!)
[Hi Ariel! Nice web site you have!
[this is my post:
margotelupin.splinder.com/.../17587374
[Thanks for the t-shirt! Here's a shot of me wearing it:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ben/archive/2008/06/24/i-am-the-empire.aspx
[It'd be cool to have two other variations, one that says "Paid Microsoft Shill" and "Unpaid Microsoft Shill," for MVPs. I've got folks on Twitter already lined up to buy the latter. :)
[thanks for the awesome t-shirt.
I am the empire.
[Well I have to add to the KC factor, there are only a few of us at the company, we really should band together and form a DAC... and I love tshirts that are actually made for women, vs most of the old cruddy ones I keep in a drawer. Women's small, please. Either style is fine.
http://blogs.technet.com/kclemson/archive/2008/06/26/enjoying-microspotting.aspx
[[...] And yes, i’m wearing one of the Microspotting t-shirts. [...]
[Love it. A friend of mine had one and I forgot to ask where he got it. Now I know... would love an "empire" one.
blogs.msdn.com/.../microspotting-a
[Great stuff Ariel, looking forward to the 'I am the empire' shirt ;) crossthebreeze.com/.../microspotting
- Kris
[-Write a post on your blog about Microspotting
-Leave a comment here with a link to your blog post
-Agree to post a photo of you wearing the shirt after you get it
Are those conditions OR'd or AND'ed?
I'm sorry but the blog says its a geek-positive space.
[These conditions are AND, not OR. :)
[hey Ariel -- when do we get our free schwag??? :)
[ Here ya go .
Men's M - I am the Empire. If it's still available :)
[Bree: In most cases, shirts were sent out via intraoffice mail last week. (A couple sizes are on backorder.) I'm never sure how long I/O takes to non-Redmond locations ... if you don't have it in a week, lemme know!
[http://kschofield.spaces.live.com
Great blog, Ariel!
[I finally got some time to set up my blog (MS-internal) and post a bunch of content I had been saving. Here's my post on Microspotting (and other books/blogs about Microsoft): msblogs/.../Post.aspx
Love your blog!
[Hello: Well, I am not a Microsoft employee, but do work for a software company that is 100% Microsoft...is that good enough for me to get a t-shirt? Thanks/Cheers, Keith J.
BTW...cool blog!!
[Keith, unfortunately since I'm sending shirts via Intraoffice mail, they can only go to Microsoft employees at this time. :)
[[...] Thank you, Ariel - it is super soft and comfy! Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 7:46 PM by kclemson [...]
[This is the greatest marketing idea, EVER. I just hope that I can get one of these sweet t-shirts before I head out of Redmond next week!
[Love the "I am the empire" shirt! Love the stories.
blogs.msdn.com/.../what-s-it-reall
[I am the empire. :)
http://objective.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3A09DD37A6E760B4!3170.entry
[It is a nice blog, well done!
Man's size medium, either "My job gives me special feelings", or "I am the empire". :)
blogs.msdn.com/.../paparazzi-for-t
[Great site ... I love the concept :) I blogged about it on blogs.msdn.com/.../its-all-about-p
['I am the empire'
You made me start the page
www.arpitm.com
Nothing there yet except you know what. But soon there will be something there.
[I love Microsoft tshirts! I've got a few cool ones that I wear all the time. Too bad I'm not a regular MS employee. I'm a Microsoft Student Partner, but that program seems to be contracted out to Volt Information Sciences.
One day!
[Hey, if you're still doing this, I'd love a "I am the empire" in a M or L (whichever you have more of) :-)
Also, I'm glad to see you on FriendFeed. Just now thought to look!
(Link)
[Twitter counts, right?
[A post in hopes of obtaining an XL "I am the empire" shirt:)
Scoble's Backpack and Microspotting
[I totally want an "I am the empire shirt" in XL.
Blog link is Shameless Promotion and my alias is t-willre. It would be totally awesome if you could send me one before my internship ends next Friday.
[Posted. And subscribed to Microspotting. :)
[[...] have been talking to Ariel last month, asking for a Microspotting T-Shirt since I had mentioned her earlier on my [...]
[http://kevin.is-a-geek.net/2008/8/1/i-am-the-empire
hook it up!
[I'll happily post a picture of myself wearing a women's tshirt - I'm either M or L.
[<a href="http://blog.imbengay.com/2008/06/microspotting.htm" title="Well better late than never!" I certainly hope you have an XL to send my way :-)
[[...] It's up to you to consider which 2! I should probably come out with it and say that I want a T-Shirt Posted: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 4:33 PM by [...]
[Holy snappin' crap!
I work with Mr. Technical Director of Farts and Explosions. Crazy little world, eh?
And yes ... of course I would be tickled pink if I could proudly proclaim that, "I am the Empire" while riding the SLUT to and from work. XL would be fabulous. :)
[Finally, someone realized that gigantic tees end up as sleeping shirts! YAY! (I wish I were eligible for one)
[I posted about Microspotting on Twitter: http://twitter.com/screwdriver
Does that get me an XL "I am Empire" shirt? :) Thx.
[Here is my story about Microspotting at
http://dmee.livejournal.com/38770.html. And I'd love to get a picture wearing "I am the empire" M-size tee :-)
[Hi Ariel,
I maintain a blog on Facebook, and here's a link to my Microspotting: Because I want to be the Empire, too... blog entry.
I'd love to get one of those "I am the empire" shirts in a women's Small. My alias is t-krhris. My internship ends on Sept 5th and it would be awesome to be able to receive the shirt by then.
[hey Ariel, hopefully I am not too late to participate in the swag giveaway. I maintain the BlueBadgeMojo blog where I attempt to capture anything and everything irrelevant about life at Microsoft, and have created a Microspotting entry here.
[[...] Thank you, Ariel - it is super soft and comfy! [...]
[hi there
i did a post about microspotting back in May
blogs.msdn.com/.../microspotting-l
any tshirts left?
i have some other spiffy work shirts;)
blogs.msdn.com/.../my-work-shirts. & im wearing my 31337 today!
[[...] Thank you, Ariel - it is super soft and comfy! [...]
[Dogbert... eat your heart out!