( CNN ) -- When Facebook 's 27-year-old CEO , Mark Zuckerberg , wore a hoodie at a presentation to investors during the lead-up to Facebook 's initial public offering , a financial analyst publicly accused Zuckerberg of immaturity . By dressing casually at such an important event , he alleged , Zuckerberg was telling potential shareholders they did n't matter . The blogosphere 's response was swift : Business and tech commentators across the nation rushed to the billionaire 's defense , explaining that the hooded sweatshirt was a symbol of his independent-mindedness , his youth , his authenticity , his loyalty to the culture of Silicon Valley . They argued his business acumen is reflected in Facebook 's numbers , not in his fashion choices . Now that the firestorm has cooled , it 's worth taking a moment to consider the complex significance of the hoodie for someone like Zuckerberg . Life on Planet Facebook . In one respect , both the anti-hoodie and pro-hoodie factions are correct . When Zuckerberg wears a hoodie at a high-profile meeting , he 's saying : I am an artist , not a salesman . Salesmen wear suits because their job is to persuade , seduce , cajole ; appearance is all-important . And the salesman 's first priority is profit , which , if you 're a Facebook shareholder , is the ethos you might wish to see in the CEO of the company you 're investing in . But Zuckerberg has said explicitly he is devoted above all to his beautiful creation : Facebook . This , presumably , is why he turned down Yahoo 's offer of $ 1 billion for the company back in its early years and chose to keep running the company himself . He 's first and foremost an inventor , a tinkerer in a workshop , a monk in hooded robes . Sales , the bottom line , these are not the things that define me , the hoodie says . To a tech geek , indifference to dress is a badge of pride because any creative endeavor , whether it 's coding software or writing novels , goes better if you can forget about yourself entirely , forget about how you look , what you 're wearing , how people perceive you . Your must immerse yourself in your art . It must become the only thing on your mind . Timeline : Mark Zuckerberg 's rise from child prodigy to Facebook billionaire . The nerd 's spastic movements , childlike laugh , checked-out eyes as she codes or writes or thinks are the symptoms of a person obsessed with work , a person unconscious of herself and the impression she 's making . That 's why Bill Gates used to dress like a homeless guy , and Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck , why Zuckerberg wears the hoodie . It 's about taking pride in being an artist . Hoodie 's evolution from fashion mainstay to symbol of injustice . So the analyst who said the hoodie shows I-don't-give-a-damn attitude was right in one sense , but he was wrong to suggest Zuckerberg 's hoodie was bad news for Facebook investors . Because showing the world that you 're an artist instead of a salesman can be a great sales tactic . As a cub reporter , I had the privilege of watching Steve Jobs pitch the Pixar movie `` Monsters , Inc. '' to a handful of journalists in a small room . It was the best sales presentation I 've ever seen . While it was happening , I wanted to do anything Jobs asked , because he was able to seem like he did n't care what we thought of him . He was unshaven , wearing his cat-burglar ensemble . He never tried to kiss up to any of us , like movie people often did . There were no visual aids , no refreshments . He just fulminated about what a good movie it was , how major its advances in animation technology , almost as if we were n't there . Are you living without Facebook ? He was a brilliant salesman because he did n't act much like a salesman . You believed him because he did n't seem like he cared that much whether you believed him or not . He was a good-looking , confident person , but his conduct in many respects was that of somebody so passionate about his work that it made him just a little socially unacceptable . This guy is a nerd , you thought -- the real thing , so he must know what he 's talking about . Zuckerberg has learned much , I suspect , from Jobs . He knows the impression he makes is important , so , like Jobs , he acts like he does n't think it 's important . The hoodie is both who he really is -- a big nerd -- and a thoughtful executive 's performance of who he really is . He is n't being immature or youthful at all . He 's striving to earn the confidence of investors by presenting himself as a scruffy genius who does n't care about earning their confidence . And that 's good business . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Benjamin Nugent .
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was criticized for wearing a hoodie in meeting . The company has since apologized and said it will donate $1 million to the American Red Cross as part of its annual Giving Pledge. Zuckerberg 's hoodie signals that he is an artist , not a salesman . He says that for tech geeks , indifference to dress is a badge of pride . Nugent : Zuckerberg is n't immature ; wearing a hoodie is a great sales tactic .