What are You Wearing?
Malcolm Davenport September 29th, 2009
Aloha,
As we draw nearer to this year’s Astricon, which celebrates the 10th year of Asterisk, and as I was rummaging around my closet this morning for something to wear, it occurred that I might bring all of you on a walk down a Digium memory lane. Thus, I present a 10-year history of Digium in shirts.
Before the beginning, no one at Digium wore any work shirts. We might have worn shirts, but we wouldn’t say. Customer meetings were conducted in paraphernalia that would have been appropriate for college dormitory rooms and we’d never been to a tradeshow. So, we wore shirts that looked a lot like this.
In the beginning, Digium was known as Linux Support Services and resided at www.linux-support.net (no link, as it no longer goes anywhere). At the time, our logo was comprised of three human-shaped characters (people) , in three different colors (all kinds of people), two of which (Linux experts) were supporting the third (Linux users, we’re so clever). The shirts were tan (yuck), short-sleeved work-shirts and were purchased from WalMart by Mark Spencer. This shirt is vintage 2001.
Following our Linux support days, when we needed to refocus the business, after we’d started doing business as Digium, and while we still had a large supply of the tan shirts (Mark had bought in bulk; it’s Walmart, after all) we re-badged them as Digium shirts. Note the original instantiation of the Digium logo. This shirt is vintage 2002.
Fearing that we’d ruin a good thing by using something other than tan (it goes great with khaki pants), we then attempted to buy more of the shirts (excellent decision). Unfortunately, WalMart had run out of stock; and, much to my chagrin as I missed the tan shirts dearly, we finally found our way to button-up knit shirts. Here we are with Digium in orange on a black shirt. This shirt saw one of its first tours of duty at the original Astricon. This shirt is vintage 2004.
Sticking with our black theme, we made only minor changes in the next shirt. By minor, I mean that we changed the color of the Digium logo from orange to white – a small change, but one that greatly improved the readability of the logo – and we converted the Digium logo to a registered mark. Ho hum. But, at the very least, the photogenics were improved. This shirt is vintage 2005.
After conquering the short-sleeved knit shirt, we then decided to go for something with long sleeves and a proper collar. And, while we appreciate how professional this makes us look, we often wonder “Should we have commissioned a Digium necktie?” If so, what would the design be? Anyone? This shirt is vintage 2006.
Having put on the Ritz with our fancy shirts, and considering just how hot (temperature, not our physical attractiveness) we were on show floors in long-sleeves and fabric that wasn’t breathable, we moved back to the knit shirts. Here though, we combined the Digium and Asterisk logos in order to enforce the association between Digium (the toilers) and Asterisk (the object of the toiling). Visitors to our offices in Huntsville will see the same logo on the sign out front. For me personally, between tradeshows and customer visits, my shirt circled the earth three times, making it the most well-traveled of all my Digium shirts. This shirt is vintage 2007.
We took five for most of 2008, and introduced a new corporate logo in December. That new logo resulted in this shirt, which remains our current shirt; an excellent, breathable knit fabric, short-sleeved show shirt. Aside from the original Linux Support shirt, this is personal favorite.
Any ideas for future Digium shirts or accessories? Perhaps that necktie? I’ll be in khaki and our 2008 model shirt. What will you be wearing to Astricon?
I’ll be wearing the usual tye-dye button-down shirt – maybe I’ll have one of my older Digium white button-down shirts “modified”. I’ve been trying to get my shirt artist (who knew there was a living in tye-dyeing shirts?) to make an asterisk on the shirt, but apparently the folding pattern still eludes him. Someday, someday.
JT
I’ve considered wearing my original Linux Support Services shirt, which of course I’ll need to pair with some khaki pants, brown belt and brown shoes.
What should an exhibitor wear? I am coming representing one of the major PBX equipment manufacturers.
William – I’d suggest anything between “business casual” and “beachwear formal”. The conference is quite informal, and it is our goal to have attendees comfortable and in their natural state. While as a vendor you may want to be slightly more formal than a t-shirt and shorts, don’t be surprised if you see quite a few of the attendees sporting Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops, especially given the heat of Phoenix. See you there!