It's Labor Day in the US, and technically, that means we should be celebrating the history of the labor movement and the advancements that lead to greater leisure time. This weekend, Mystery Guest and I are joining my grandparents to hike some canyons in the SouthWest - Zion, Antelope and hopefully, Bryce, too. Since the weather is hovering around 108 degrees fahrenheit, 42 centigrade, I decided to change up my facial hair for the trip. And now, you get to vote on what you like best :)
Above, you can see me with my full beard in San Jose (with Mike Grehan) and in various states of removing said beard. So... which is your favorite?
On Tuesday (maybe Wednesday) we'll get back to the business of search, but for the rest of the long weekend, expect me to be very scarce :) Have a great Labor Day!
Where do we vote for you to put your shirt back on?
Now that's a very good question...
HAHAHAHA! Good one! LOL Ye Rand, not very professional. hehe ;)
When did SEOmoz lose the friendly community feel then - did I miss it???
It's labor day - its fun, and SEO can be fun - amazingly we do actually have other lives, and as a public persona, I think it's great that Rand and Mystery Guest went live with this one - I enjoyed it, I appreciated it, and it's fun - is that a bad thing now?
Waiting for Mystery Guest to try out a few styles as the new SEOwife on the block - when it happens :) - who knows, I might learn something about style for once ;) ... I need all the help I can get these days ...:P
Taking open-ness to a whole new level (once more). Next up: vote on arranged marriages for the moz team? See if the community agrees with your own choices...
Rand - if you intend to abide by the results, it might have been an idea to put a time limit in there.... (although it looks like full beard is winning at the moment, so maybe it won't be too bad).
Why is there a picture of Kevin Rose in the last one? :P
Hmmm... That's a tough one.
Unlike Al Gore... You look good with a beard. You also look good clean shaven. How about shaving half your face but not the other so we can get a better look?
You seem to have a good neck-line established in #1 but it's difficult to tell if your chin disappears without the beard because we don't get a good profile shot in the other images.
How about the scruffy look where it always looks like you haven't shaved in three days but not quite long enough to be what anyone would call a beard? (Like the cast of LOST)
(IMO) You want to be well groomed but whatever you do, don't do too much edging and over-groom it. You don't want to wind up looking like George Michael. [Ewww] Also... Nothing irritates me more than the pencil thin, mustache like Little Richard and John Waters.
The mustache only... (IMO) The worst option is the mustache only. Unless you have a huge upper lip like Tom Selleck, you just can't win with that one.
If you go for the Frank Zappa look, you'll just wind up looking like Ned Flanders or Borat. The Hulk Hogan look only works with blonds. Dark hair folks like yourself wind up looking like the biker in the Village People and you can't go too big with a mustache or you'll look like Gene Shalit.
So... Are you going to keep the mutton chops?
Aloha,
Dave.
Never, ever go with 'stache only. You look a wee bit molesty for my liking.
Or Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite.
thank God you didn't say pedro (same actor) from Crank.. lmao!
Thanks Rebecca, this way we gotta know you a little bit better :)
We wrote this down in our notebook. "Rebecca don't like man with only a mustache" :)
molesty or porn-stary... either way, not a good look for Rand... although it'd be funny seeing a whiteboard Friday with the bow-chicka-wow-wow theme music starring 'Porn-star Rand'
I think I bought a used car from the guy in #4
At first glance, I thought #6 was Matthew Broderick and then I was trying to figure out why he was on the mozBlog!?
Amazing how dramatic facial hair is, especially when you are so used to seeing someone look a certain way and then a dramaticly different look... although, this staged affair was perhaps one of the most bizarre transformations I've witnessed.
No offense Rand, but all I ask is that we keep the voting above the fold ;)
Rand! You look like a pup now!
.... and about $10,000,000 in branding washed down the drain.
Do you make any decisions for yourself Rand?
Rand, anytime you decide to look less like a G.I. Joe character, that's a bad move.
GI Joe?! This deserves a dosen thumbs up
Number 1, for sure! Full beard is sexy, moustache only is just too "Poirot"! You look like you are in a boy band when you are clean shaven...lol...
On you, I like no 1... but that's how I know you... otherwise I would say 6... But Mystery Guest needs to be deciding factor - and I strongly suggest you listen you to her ... she has to wake up with you - we just get you at your best ;)
... I am strongly assuming she had some say in this initial post as a fun post too.. if not, you might be for the high jump :)
<edit> hope the hiking is great - beautiful country...
Which does Mystery Guest prefer?
Surely thats the vote that counts
You should test run the hair chinstrap. A little thin beard that gets a wee bit thicker at the chin.
Who is #6?
Hey, Matt Fishkin No. 2!
Your beard is your identity! Plus without it I think you would get carded for going to a Rated R movie. I feel the pain.
Wow Rand! You look like you're about 20 in #6.
I say #1. You're not Rand otherwise. Hehe. cool post.
oh, sorry then - I misinterpreted your previous quote - obviously a bad hair day... no, no - mine, not yours Valik... or Rand... *blush*
<edit> note to self - read ALL posts before having a mini-hissy-fit...
3 and 5 are a little 'Inigo Montoya from 'The Princess Bride' :P
Gotta be number 1 wtf...
But omg you look so young and innocent in 6!
ha ha...I can just imagine Rand saying: "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father prepare to die."
Princess Bride is such a classic.
isnt it just! :)
I'd play the beard - you're a young-looking fellow (much like myself). While you look young, wear the beard. It makes you look your age. Once you start really looking your age, drop the beard. Unless you're going for the ancient guru thing.
#6 - "well hello muy name is Rand, and I like to do droorings. . .bum lookas. . ."
Three cheers for Uncle Rand and his ever-diminishing (or is it ballooning?) ego!
This is scary. Like if I came in with black hair. Isn't that right, Jeff? You've already told me that you find that scary :P
#6 kind of looks like angsty emo Peter Parker after he started donning the Venom suit in Spider-man 3...
I finally found out where Rand must have taken the inspiration for the post from:
World Beard And Moustache Championships 2007
German guys seem pretty dominating though. :-)
Edit: Oh but look at this: Beard Team USA
Rand--You should have only allowed women to vote. Who cares what the guys like. They shouldn't even have an opinion on such a subject. I think we need a new gender-specific survey.
Hear ye, hear ye! Recount demanded! Women only... I went with #1.
A beard is a terrible thing to waste Rand, but truly more of a pain to upkeep.
Okay dude - you're not wearing a shirt in all but one of those... Umm... Kinda creepy but okay.
I say you go with mustache only ala Steve Jobs in Pirate of Silicone Valley.
You should sport what I call a Stinger (thin strip of whiskers from the bottom lip down to the chin). I've rocked this look for a couple of years, and I'll never go back to a goatee. I believe you could also call it an elongated Soul Patch.
I know I'm a year late, but your eyes in #6 make my heart skip beats, and smooth shaving is always welcome in intimate situations. I know everyone loves your beard, but you are so droolworthy without. =)
Didn't expect this post to generate much except a laugh, but criticism noted, everyone. I'll try to keep it clean (or, rather, bearded) from here on out :)
Beard should be back in about 12-14 days, and I probably won't be shaving it again for a good little while. As some clever folks have noted, it kills my jawline and makes me look about 15 pounds heavier :( (and 10 years younger - which could be handy in the future).
Hey, it could be worse, Rand. I couldn't grow a beard if my life depended on it. I have a young face myself - I'll probably be ID'd for beer until I'm 40. They just stopped checking me for rated 'R' movies, and I'm 25.
At least you've got options!
It just occurred to me (a whole week later) that you should really claim the term BeardRank. I see a social voting site for facial hair fetishists in your future...
Let's start a contest to see who can look most like Rick Ruben by the next SES?
Huh wanna? Come on...
What about just a goatee, no 'stache? Taken from a normal angle with a shirt on?
So few men look good with beards, and when they do look good, they should rock 'em! Grow it back! Alternatively, #3 is a good choice too. Makes you look suave :p. All I have to say about the rest is NEVER do just a moustache! It makes you look smarmy. And #6, well like everyone else has said, you'll have to get used to being carded for R rated movies again.
Rock the beard!!!!
I have to say, this is likely the oddest poll I have taken, at least in a while.
Some people can pull off the beard thing well (not me), and it seems to be you. That's how people know you. The connected goatee (#2) would be a close second, because it is less of a radical change.
I agree with those who said Mystery Guest should have the ultimate say. I assume she is a "beard gal" - as that is how she found you. :)
- OldSchool
I like the sixth picture, it is much better without beard. Keep shaving everyday!
Full beard is the only way to go. I gave up my lifestyle of goatees and mustaches for the full beard about two years ago and I've never looked back since.
My eyes! My eyes! #6 is surely some kind of abomination - weren't you born with a beard, Rand?
Fair play though, I love doing beard art when I'm shaving. Maybe next time you could play around with some over the top sideburns.
#3 is Gangsta!
If I were you, I'd certainly go for #1.
But I voted for #4, because that was the most ridiculous look and the question was far from "What Facial Hair Does Rand Look Best With?" ;-)
Well Rand, I just can't choose! You look sexy in any way.....
Can I vote on all 6 of them ?
Man, Rand, women like beard, so it was a mistake. :D
...?? really??? beard is best... mmm - no
A wise friend once told me: some women like beards. Some don't. There are fewer men with beards than there are women who like beards, do you put yourself in a good competitive situation.
I don't have a beard so I can't speak from experience.
No women like a guy that isn't afraid to rock a pony tail mullet with pride, you must be knee deep in action my friend, knee deep.
Everybody's working for the weekend, but not you my man, you are living the dream.
go for the emo look (6)
Without the yellow shoes in the pictures I only recognize #1.
Is #5 Frank Zappa?
#6 which intern is this?
number #2 is too 'Matt Cutts' for me.
Go with #1 or #6
If you're going to change hairstyles for #6 you need to do a proper MV test - we need a faux-mohican and a clean shaven dome at the very least too!
In order of preference:
1, 6, 3, 2, 5, 4.
#6 might have won but I found the rosey lip gloss on the emo at the end a little off putting. :-)
I prefer #1.
But with those eyes you can't do anything wrong anyway. :-)
Haha, babyface #6!
Enjoy your Labor Day - getting out of SEA-TAC was a nightmare with everyone leaving for the long weekend!
Yes, lose the beard - you'll have to start carrying ID again!
My boss is 12.
Considering you inspired the bearded babes segment, #1. But #6 is my second favorite. 3-5 make me think you'll break someones legs if they don't give you a link at a nice price.
Number 5 makes you like like Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone.
haha numbers 3 and 5 are just scary/nerdy. number 4 is "i have come to clean ze poo-ell" rand, and number 6 is emo-rand.
number 2 isnt bad but i think number 1 is the best :)
I should have done this!
I used to have a full beard, at the weekend I shaved. My girlfriend didnt even notice, and yet pointed out a spot appearing on my forehead...
What? No square mustache?
Rand can bring it back and be known for more then just his shoes.
You just can't have mustache party anymore without someone whipping out a Hitler reference? Seriously that fascist bastard not only killed 3.8 million people but also the fashionable Rotzbremse for ever.
Damn you Hitler, damn you to hell.
The funny thing is SEOmoz may just now rank #1 for the proper name of Hitlers mustache for quite a while after this post.
I'm actually going to a mustache party tomorrow night...
Did you just get out of the shower in #6?!
I don't think he just got out of the shower, but I do think he just stepped out of a bathtub full of rainbows.
You definitely need to let Mystery Guest loose on the stuff up top (not physically, but choosing an inspiring new style of barnet).
Enjoy hiking in Utah - the National Parks are impressive, although the alcohol laws suck.
Personally, this entire post is making me feel uncomfortable. I understand that shaving gets hair everywhere, but you're shirtless and that's just not cool. Shirtless + hair-free and rosy cheeked = PeeWee Herman.
Go with the beard, it's manly and suits you.
With that I need to take a shower, #6 made me feel like a child molester.
Rand, enjoy the hike. I just did on on Huangshan mountain in China. 4 days trecking with 2 night sleap over. It was fucken great, I got to walk down steep perpendicular into this canyon 5 kilometers and up 5 kilometers, and then around the mountain, and down a slope of the baby.
All the time I was panting like a run away bull. Bring plenty of watter, have a big breakfast and try not to eat luch except some frutes and stuff to keep your boddy light for walking...
As far as your hair goes, I pick none of the above, shave your head and join the Shaolin monks in a monostery, practising Kung Fu...so after a few years of that, if you can not beat the competition with SEO you can break some bones... :)