Like a lot of folks here, I've been to a reasonable amount of tech conferences, events, trade shows, etc over my career.
When I was younger, I thought the best swag to grab from a vendor were the things that were "cool." A nifty tee shirt, a coffee mug/water bottle, or (on rare occasions) something really unusal like a custom LEGO set or a toy of some sort. I thought the worst swag was the ubiquitous pen and notepad combo.
That resulted in a closet full of mostly useless crap. One or two mugs are still useful (as is the rare baseball cap to keep the sun off me). But toys I'll never use, shirts that are just ads, etc are just a waste.
Now, I don't take any swag unless it's functional. I actually take pens, because seriously, I always need more (not in need of as many notepads, though).
The best swag? Things that are actually functional around the house. I love that a lot of vendors offer some sort of screwdriver or multitool. I always need more of these, and since I'm great at misplacing things or forgetting what pocket it's in. That cheap-looking Cisco screwdriver? Has a magnetic socket for the bits and a flashlight. Was the perfect thing for setting up some Halloween decorations that required opening a battery case with a small Phillips head driver. Doesn't have the torque of some other devices, but it was the right tool at the time.
I donated almost all of my swag shirts ages ago, ditto the toys and other branded crap. I've got all the water bottles I need. But tools? Yeah, keep 'em coming.
43 sats \ 3 replies \ @xz 1 Nov
I'm a stickers freak. Nothing gets me going like a good quality, well-designed sticker. Completely useless unless you want to propaganize a public space or persnalize something. But you can cut them up for creative fun.
Other than I agree, utility is the way to go.
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Oh yeah, love some good stickers (and they don't take up space like other stuff). Haven't had a sticker-free laptop in decades.
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32 sats \ 1 reply \ @xz 1 Nov
Sticker-stackers united.
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✊🏽
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 1 Nov
Voltage gave out slide sandals at a conference recently. It's not a tool and you're not going to volunteer to wear them like a billboard, but it is functional - a shoe to take the trash out in etc. That was one of the more interesting swags I've seen in bitcoin.
This has me thinking about what novel swag SN can give out.
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Slide sandals would absolutely be swag I'd snag. I've seen a bunch of places give out socks, which are also practical and something I rarely turn down.
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Have you read Marie Kondo? Might be interesting to you.
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I have, and while I appreciate a lot of what she does, I do not enjoy the level of austerity or tidiness that she does. But I have enjoyed her shows on Netflix.
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I also went through this stage. I would collect swag, but it was always garbage. Except usbs, those were nifty for a while. Looks like companies are starting to think outside the box and offer more.
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Oh yeah, went through a big USB, cords, and power brick phase, but the issues around security and safety with so many of them got me off that train.
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They were nice to have when l was in school. Then google drive came out.
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