Thoughts about swag

I will preface this by saying there is a difference between this cup and a mug. I have a couple of favorite mugs and those I don't use, like my Silver Spring Metro Penguin Mural mug, because they are just too cool to risk messing them up. It graces my desk at work proudly holding my collection of small country flags I've collected from various arrival ceremonies over at the South Lawn. Our "I Do" and "Me Too" mugs, one of which I barely replaced last year after Dublin broke it by accident, grace our shelf of wedding memoribilia at home holding various sparkling wine corks we have collected. The following statement refers to the usefulness of the product below not because it holds a special place in my heart.

This is the best coffee cup I've ever owned. I know, it doesn't look like much, but I don't drink coffee so that should explain things a bit. I got this cup at the recent ESRI (the vendor that makes the mapping software I use) Federal Users Conference that I mentioned last week. I think I like this cup because it's large, heavy ceramic with a very simple design to it. I like most things simple with a touch of flair here and there which would explain why Jake and I got all white dishes as designated by our wedding registry. We got a 2-hour delayed start this morning so I brought this guy into the office with some hot chocolate powder and it got it's first real use aside from seeing the inside of the dishwasher.

I don't go to a lot of conferences but I've been to enough to have learned the difference between useful and non-useful swag. I used to just grab everything and then realized what a waste that was because I was just throwing it out. I've gotten good at determining what is useful swag and what isn't. This cup? An excellent example of something useful even to a non-coffee drinker like myself. It looks to be about the size of a Starbucks 'Grande'. Think of all the cardboard cups you could save by using this guy! ESRI's choice of tote bag this year, their traditional swag giveaway, was lacking. It was designed like a laptop bag but made of

cheaper reuseable grocery bag material. I was really hoping for another grocery bag. They gave those out last year and I use mine all the time. So what else is useful? Pens? Highlighters? Yes to both. Other things I like are things that maybe you wouldn't considering buying for use in your office but might be good to have laying around all the same. Examples of these are small tape measures, sewing kits or eyeglass repair kits. All good choices. A friend of mine gave me a couple of clip on battery powered blinking lights, perfect for running after dark, walking the dog or to wear while cycling. What am I not a fan of? Foam stress relief squeezie things. First off, they've got to be bad for the environment when thrown away. Not to mention I've never really experienced any true stress relief from pummeling one. Note pads or sticky notes can also be hit-or-miss if the company logo takes up more space than you're given to write on. Edible swag is pretty much always acceptable as there's nothing quite like the instant gratification it can give you. So what's the most random swag I've received? A pair of low-quality socks. No kidding. What's the best or worst swag you've ever gotten?

Images from here and here.