IT Freebies Could Be Toxic Junk

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.