After the cute little Android camera backpack that made the rounds of tech and design blogs a few weeks ago, we knew it was only a matter of time before Google started tapping into the selling power of cute and releasing some quality Android goodies of its own. These collectible figurine toys, designed by Andrew Bell of Dyzplastic, will be available in twelve different styles, including business apparel, demonic red, radioactive beige, caution yellow, and of course classic green. Plush versions can’t be far away, I hope…
To celebrate the release of the latest version of Firefox, I figured I’d see what is out there in the way of Firefox swag. The Mozilla store is full of custom t-shirts made by fans of the browser, which isn’t surprising given how easy they’ve made the customization process: simply create your design, upload it to their servers, and order your shirt, available in a variety of styles. There’s some great art on the site - I really like the metal-style design above, and they have something for everyone, from the cute to the abstract.
There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Google’s entry into the smartphone game. The Google Android OS, unlike Apple’s iPhone system, is not restricted to one provider of hardware or service, and is therefore much friendlier to developers who might want to create apps or other software compatible with it. Did we mention it also comes with a really adorable logo?
This Android custom backpack is so far just a one-of-a-kind item, constructed to hold a digital camera (and complete with detachable arms and legs!), but it’s ridiculously cute and has been appearing on a lot of geek- and craft-friendly blogs, ensuring that someone is definitely going to pick this idea up and start making Android bags on a larger scale. Apple may have met its match - their logo is modern and sophisticated-looking, but it isn’t cute.
A friend of mine who works for Google used to bring a few of these “Google orbs” around with him to warehouse parties and demand people pay attention to the color-changing promotional toys. It never really worked, socially, and he (thankfully) stopped doing it after a few failed attempts at picking up girls, but you have to admit that - outside of parties, of course - they’re pretty cool looking. The glowing bouncy balls cycle through shades of luminescent blue, green, and pink - a lot more interesting than the static stress balls most software companies slap their logos on.
Firefox is celebrating 5 years of Firefox. It has quickly become one of the major web browsers in the world and it’s no surprise when you start looking into their promotional efforts. Firefox encourages anyone around the world to host “Firefox Parties”, they’ll even provide the schwag! The parties are then added to their events calendar so anyone around the world will know how and when to attend.
Getting a blog on Technorati (a blog that blogs about blogs) means thousands of visitors coming to your site within a few hours. So no wonder people scoop up Technorati stickers and t-shirts like nothing else!
I love this Photoshopped picture with the Technorati logo- it’s done better than most advertisements, but by a plain Technorati enthusiast, not an employee . Some of my other favorite Technorati pictures are the “Name that cleavage” photo and the Technorati belly photo.
Internet Marketing Ninjas unfortunately went out of business almost as quickly as they started. However, their schwag from SEO conferences around the country lives on. These desktop paperweights change lights periodically, shifting from blue to pink to green and back again. Kids love color changing items and light up gifts. But adults will be drawn to the light at first as well.
Those Marketing Ninjas and their great schwag- so sad to see them go.
More Twitter schwag! These tattoo tights are made out of super sheer material so it looks like the “follow me” is printed right on your leg. Twitter has officially made it into the sock drawer. Pretty soon we’ll have “follow me” temporary tattoos and underwear too!
These trading cards were put out by Software company Fresh Books. They gave the cards away at trade shows, rewarding great employees and creating invaluable buzz at the same time. Each card lists the employee’s website, social networking site and job detail.
They were a huge hit at every trade show and event, providing a creative alternative to plain business cards. Plus, visitor’s could get involved with the “Internet All Stars” checklist, listing each card and challenging recipients to ‘collect them all!’
It was such a good promotion, I’m thinking of getting myself some! I could put a photo of my art on the front and share my contact info on the back. Definitely more eye catching than a flyer, business card or banner.
This may not be search ‘swag‘ necessarily, but it’s search related and well worth the view. Bing recently came out as the new Microsoft search engine and their commercials have earned them big time views.
Bing boasts it’s ability as a Decision Engine rather than a mere search engine. According to their advertisements, you can throw out the stress balls and finally have a happy internet search. No more weeding through results.
However, I’ve found just the opposite. I usually don’t find what I’m looking for during daily Bing searches. Plus, when I Binged myself (”binging” oneself doesn’t have the same name appeal as “googling”) I was totally disappointed with the results! Just compare Googling your name to Bing-ing your name. Big ego kill.
Internet Marketing Ninjas unfortunately went out of business almost as quickly as they started. However, their schwag from SEO conferences around the country lives on. These desktop 
