I used to think, naively, that appearance didn't matter at all.
After all when you really can perform, what's important is the result of your work.
That's a logical thought, one that makes a lot of sense.
A thought no one should deviate from... in a perfect world.

I've been playing with my looks for a while now, so much that my hair has aquired sentience. In my line of work, which doesn't include much public speaking, if at all, I can take the freedom of  proudly harboring, at work, a blonde streaken mohawk and a pink t-shirt.

When it comes to communicating to a wider public rather than a keyboard, though, a little experiment I did with a certain pair of sunglasses showed me that things are completely different.

See for yourself, the difference with and without.

Now... I remarked several things while wearing these:

• I can't do eye contact
• I have to smile the whidest grin ever to show that I'm agreeing or happy
• The said smile makes me look like an angry wholf
• People look at me a quickly look away
• I am given more seats in the bus than ever before, and it goes with a body language indicating fear, yes, fear.

To put it simply:

Where am I going?

Well, think: such a little detail as a pair of glasses can change the behavior of people all around you. What if your face were a website, what if the glasses were a feature, and add, a video? Something you would think innocent, but would definitely change your audience's behavior?

A popup means spam, background music means amateurism, flash splash screens mean you're stuck in 2002... maybe not to you, but to your visitors, whom are either born in the internet era or using it since long enough to know the patterns, it will make the difference.

Be open to critics, show your work before publishing, make closed alpha and beta test, and you'll know if you look killer or look like one.