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.





Comments on "Microspotting tshirts (want one?)
ddvelin said:
18 June 2008 1:24 pmAsk and ye shall receive
ddv
shrutishah said:
18 June 2008 1:32 pmI love Microspotting!
http://shrutes.blogspot.com/2008/06/diversity.html
Ben Martens said:
18 June 2008 1:36 pmLove 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!
timheuer said:
18 June 2008 1:57 pmmad props to the microspotter!
http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2008/06/18/microspotting-profiles-on-microsoft.aspx
Joakim said:
18 June 2008 2:45 pmYou 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:
http://blogs.msdn.com/joakiml/archive/2008/06/19/i-ll-do-anything-for-a-t-shirt.aspx
And good luch with the intra office mail package… ;)
Bree said:
18 June 2008 3:24 pmI can’t decide which shirt fits me more! I’m letting my readers decide….
http://www.projectsubmarine.net/2008/06/microspotting.html
Microspotting | T-Shirts for ’softies = genius linkbait | The Cubicle Punk said:
18 June 2008 3:26 pm[...] Microspotting | Microspotting tshirts (want one?) Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 04:26 pm by Jeremiah Andrick Permalink http://thecubiclepunk.com/2008/06/microspotting-t-shirts-for-softies-genius-linkbait/ [...]
jeremiah andrick said:
18 June 2008 3:28 pmOk… Saw this on twitter. Had to give you a nod.
Cheers.
Doug Perkes said:
18 June 2008 4:07 pmI 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
Luke Foust said:
18 June 2008 7:16 pmI would be proud to declare I am part of the Empire and post a photo to prove it.
http://blog.spontaneouspublicity.com/post/2008/06/Paparazzi-For-Nerds.aspx
Stacie said:
18 June 2008 8:06 pmMust…have…shirt…
http://wyldflamingo.spaces.live.com/default.aspx
Dylan Salisbury said:
18 June 2008 10:20 pmIdentical posts on the Internet and the Corpnet… including an invitation to visit us at the Tellme campus!
Dave Quick said:
18 June 2008 11:38 pmI’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.
http://davequick.com/2008/06/19/i-am-the-empire/ links to you.
-Dave
WIndows Live Cloud Storage/Live Mesh
catepol said:
18 June 2008 11:49 pmhere is my post
http://www.catepol.net/2008/06/19/im-the-empire/
Simon Donovan said:
19 June 2008 7:59 amWhat 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
Joe Friend said:
19 June 2008 10:16 amDon’t have much traffic on my site yet, but posted anyway.
http://onlyloserswin.tumblr.com/post/39056389/microspotting-oh-the-humanity
George Perantatos said:
19 June 2008 12:46 pmI’d love to send post a pic of me wearing a size men’s medium “I am the Empire” shirt on my blog. :)
http://zorba.members.winisp.net/2008/06/microspotting-shows-microsofties-have.html
KC Procter said:
19 June 2008 12:56 pmHey Ariel! Microspotting rocks!
Can I have a job like yours?
Randy Holloway said:
19 June 2008 6:09 pmI 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)
http://randyh.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/i-am-the-empire-well-sorta/
Clint Rutkas said:
20 June 2008 12:23 amMy job too gives me special feelings.
http://www.betterthaneveryone.com/archive/2008/06/20/almost-1-year-rocking-the-empire.aspx
men’s m “I am the empire” please
gattasorniona said:
20 June 2008 4:35 amvery good idea. post written and published.
http://gattasorniona.tumblr.com/post/39150494/questo-un-esperimento-serio-cavolo-vediamo-se
ciao!
gattas
Donna Conner said:
22 June 2008 4:55 pmAriel–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.!)
Patrick Y said:
24 June 2008 1:14 amHi Ariel! Nice web site you have!
margot80 said:
24 June 2008 6:27 amthis is my post:
http://margotelupin.splinder.com/post/17587374
BenM said:
24 June 2008 10:45 pmThanks 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
Scott Hanselman said:
25 June 2008 8:53 pmIt’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. :)
KC Procter said:
26 June 2008 2:40 pmthanks for the awesome t-shirt.
I am the empire.
KC Lemson said:
26 June 2008 10:21 pmWell 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
Sara Ford's WebLog : Happy Birthday CodePlex! said:
27 June 2008 4:01 pm[...] And yes, i’m wearing one of the Microspotting t-shirts. [...]
Chris Slemp said:
30 June 2008 12:08 pmLove it. A friend of mine had one and I forgot to ask where he got it. Now I know… would love an “empire” one.
http://blogs.msdn.com/cslemp/archive/2008/06/30/microspotting-a-view-into-just-how-geeky-we-really-are.aspx
Kris Hoet said:
1 July 2008 6:24 amGreat stuff Ariel, looking forward to the ‘I am the empire’ shirt ;) http://crossthebreeze.com/2008/07/01/microspotting/
- Kris
ruchir said:
2 July 2008 9:41 am-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.
Ariel said:
2 July 2008 9:49 amThese conditions are AND, not OR. :)
Bree said:
2 July 2008 4:49 pmhey Ariel — when do we get our free schwag??? :)
Ajay Bhat said:
2 July 2008 5:16 pmHere ya go .
Men’s M - I am the Empire. If it’s still available :)
Ariel said:
2 July 2008 8:24 pmBree: 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!
Kevin Schofield said:
11 July 2008 12:06 pmhttp://kschofield.spaces.live.com
Great blog, Ariel!
Matt said:
14 July 2008 12:00 pmI 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): http://msblogs/mattburr/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=14
Love your blog!
Keith Johnson said:
15 July 2008 7:13 amHello: 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!!
Ariel said:
22 July 2008 10:02 amKeith, unfortunately since I’m sending shirts via Intraoffice mail, they can only go to Microsoft employees at this time. :)
KC on Exchange and Outlook : What has two thumbs and likes microspotting? said:
23 July 2008 6:46 pm[...] Thank you, Ariel - it is super soft and comfy! Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 7:46 PM by kclemson [...]
Wes Alvaro said:
23 July 2008 7:28 pmThis 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!
Nancy said:
24 July 2008 10:24 amLove the “I am the empire” shirt! Love the stories.
http://blogs.msdn.com/inside_office_online/archive/2008/07/24/what-s-it-really-like-to-work-at-microsoft.aspx
Chris Hollander said:
24 July 2008 3:33 pmI am the empire. :)
http://objective.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3A09DD37A6E760B4!3170.entry
Erwien said:
25 July 2008 7:45 amIt is a nice blog, well done!
Man’s size medium, either “My job gives me special feelings”, or “I am the empire”. :)
http://blogs.msdn.com/helloworld/archive/2008/07/25/paparazzi-for-the-computer-literate.aspx
ShiSh said:
25 July 2008 6:14 pmGreat site … I love the concept :) I blogged about it on http://blogs.msdn.com/shishirs/archive/2008/07/25/its-all-about-people.aspx
Arpit Mehta said:
27 July 2008 12:48 pm‘I am the empire’
You made me start the page
http://www.arpitm.com
Nothing there yet except you know what. But soon there will be something there.
Robert Firth said:
28 July 2008 11:01 pmI 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!
Jordan said:
29 July 2008 5:57 amHey, 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)
Nate Henderson said:
29 July 2008 6:51 amTwitter counts, right?
Adam Kinney said:
30 July 2008 3:19 pmA post in hopes of obtaining an XL “I am the empire” shirt:)
Scoble’s Backpack and Microspotting
William Reading said:
30 July 2008 6:09 pmI 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.
Marius said:
30 July 2008 11:52 pmPosted. And subscribed to Microspotting. :)
musc@> $daniele.rant | Out-Blog said:
31 July 2008 2:32 pm[...] have been talking to Ariel last month, asking for a Microspotting T-Shirt since I had mentioned her earlier on my [...]
Kevin said:
1 August 2008 12:42 pmhttp://kevin.is-a-geek.net/2008/8/1/i-am-the-empire
hook it up!
Mauli said:
2 August 2008 6:49 amI’ll happily post a picture of myself wearing a women’s tshirt - I’m either M or L.
Benjamin Gay said:
4 August 2008 1:43 pm<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 :-)
Adventures in IIS, Commerce and whatever else comes into my head. : Microspotting Anyone? said:
6 August 2008 7:33 am[...] 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 [...]
R.A. Williamson said:
10 August 2008 1:24 pmHoly 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. :)
Meg said:
12 August 2008 12:07 pmFinally, someone realized that gigantic tees end up as sleeping shirts! YAY! (I wish I were eligible for one)
Aaron said:
14 August 2008 12:53 pmI posted about Microspotting on Twitter: http://twitter.com/screwdriver
Does that get me an XL “I am Empire” shirt? :) Thx.
Dmitry said:
17 August 2008 7:23 pmHere 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 :-)
Krassi Hristova said:
19 August 2008 2:05 amHi 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.
cbuck said:
21 August 2008 6:44 amhey 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.
hi-tech blog » Blog Archive » What has two thumbs and likes microspotting? said:
24 August 2008 4:13 am[...] Thank you, Ariel - it is super soft and comfy! [...]
Frank Arrigo said:
25 August 2008 1:23 pmhi there
i did a post about microspotting back in May
http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/05/12/microspotting-like-the-paparazzi-but-for-geeks.aspx
any tshirts left?
i have some other spiffy work shirts;)
http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2007/12/05/my-work-shirts.aspx & im wearing my 31337 today!
What has two thumbs and likes microspotting? | MS Tech News said:
27 October 2008 2:22 pm[...] Thank you, Ariel - it is super soft and comfy! [...]