Men (and women) in black to honor Steve Jobs for WWDC

By Michelle Maltais

June 8, 2012 12 AM PT

One man is known for wearing an iconic black turtleneck -- Steve Jobs. With eyes on Apple early next week during the annual developers conference, makers of a new app have found a way to get eyes on their company as well. ChallengeLoop, which launched on Friday, has issued a challenge to iFans everywhere.

“In honor of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), join Apple fans all over the world and wear a black turtleneck one day this week (June 11-15) as a tribute to Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was a creative genius and inspired countless people. Let’s come together this week and pay tribute to him by wearing black turtlenecks.”

So far, a small but growing number of “roots” supporting the idea and “snags” sharing it have been posted. Some commenters have said they’re planning shopping excursions this weekend, and some have posted pictures of their actual black turtlenecks.

“We are hoping to blanket the streets with people wearing black turtlenecks (both at the conference and around the world),” wrote founder and ChallengeLoop Chief Executive Jason Davis in an email to The Times.

Of course, in many places, June isn’t the best time of year to don something both long-sleeved and black. But the challenge includes a slight modification: “You can at least wear a long-sleeved black t-shirt.” At least your neck will breathe.

ChallengeLoop says it isn’t just about the tribute to Jobs: It’s another way to motivate yourself or friends to accomplish a goal. “We believe that every activity is more fun when it’s a competition so we created ChallengeLoop (an iPhone app and website) to turn everyday activities into epic battles,” the website reads.

You can set up a “compete” challenge, putting something that’s not of value on the line for the winner to get from the loser. Or you can issue an “inspire” challenge, with the option of associating a reward with its completion.

Among the suggested challenges are to shoot a photo a day, creating a “story of my life” video, weight loss and exercise and the turtleneck tribute for the WWDC.

While you’re foraging through the closet to dig out that faded black turtleneck, be sure to follow Tech Now’s Salvador Rodriguez‘s Twitter updates from the WWDC keynote address on Monday.

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