IT Freebies Could Be Toxic Junk
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 03.21.07
O'Reilly (the name comes from Tim O'Reilly, not Bill) has come down hard on the doling out of the schwag at tech conferences. Dale Dougerty, the author, freely admits that he only kept the bag, and who can blame him; the stuff within is mostly junk. Coincidentally, Green Business News is having their own problems, being inundated with ridiculous items such as giant paperclips and giant calculators, the latter which are particularly difficult to throw away because it's subject to WEEE. They can't just be whipped in the trash, because they are toxic.
Comparatively, it's not clear if tech gatherings produce more of this junk than any other conference, although, based on the nature of the industry, they probably rank highly on the list. Electing not to show up to these events, saving the plane trip and associated expenses, is always a fine option. Freebies that are sent to your home or employ are tougher to deal with; GBN recommends that the perp look into some business intellligence software to pick and choose their marks. But please, exclude us; we have enough giant paperclips and calculators to last a lifetime.
Our company uses tote bags made out of three recycled 2-liter soda bottles. The company that makes them is called EnviroTote. They are a great alternative while getting our environmental message across.
Hey, BTW, those aren't IT conference bags in that photo, they're indie music conference bags. That's the South by Southwest bag from this year, illustrated with a chart by David Byrne.
As for the contents -- magazines, fliers, CDs, stickers, condoms, and a voodoo doll (at least in the one I saw).
South by Southwest isn't only abotu music, there's also a really big web/IT side.
The bags shouldn't be pre-filled... visitors should have to go around to all of the booths and only collect the crap that they want to throw away in a year. They don't have to take the crap that they want to throw away immediately.
I understand that sponsors want to get their brand into the hands of as many people as possible, though, so maybe they should have giant "I don't want this crap" bins (which are actually labeled with exactly this phrase) at the exits. That way the companies who are giving away the crap can see just how little visitors want a giant paperclip bearing their logo, or at worst they can try to give them away the next time instead of ordering another 50,000.
That is a great idea! Just give away the cloth bag, and have them fill it up!
Mark