LR Museum of Schwag, Part I
4:45 PM -- Like all of my good ideas, this one is stolen.
For years, my office has been a dumping ground for industry memorabilia -- little bits o' history that range from the ridiculous to the absurd.
I have assembled this memorabilia and started, as an analyst once suggested to me, a Museum of Schwag. "Schwag," for those of you unfamiliar with the term, refers to those little marketing toys you pick up at tradeshows (or Shriners' conventions, for that matter) -- the things PR folks send to your office unsolicited to try and tart up a usually dreary new corporate message.
Now that the collection has reached critical mass, I will begin releasing these invaluable items piece-by-piece here on Light Ranting before they are eventually assembled and catalogued into an all-encompassing, exhaustive report.
Occasionally, these Schwag posts will feature a trivia question. And for the truly orginal and insightful response, we'll send out some of our own Schwag -- a Light Reading T-shirt!
Ready? Okay, first up:
Marketeer:
Name: Dorky Cisco Guy. I don't really know his name. I've been calling him DCG. If you know his real name, please let me know. I could not find anybody at Cisco that knew his name, even though I asked at least five marketing people. Many of them laughed at me, thinking I was joking. But, no, I am serious. And DCG's identity hangs in the balance.
Era: Pre-bubble to bubble-nova (1999-2001). Believed to have been discontinued after Cisco's share price dropped below $40.
Debut Venue: Unknown. Found next to the decaying carcass of a CLEC?
Field notes: A favorite of hardcore Cisco techies, the Cisco Guy originally came festooned with an oversized coffee mug. The mug was filled with something caffienated, but, alas, I think this was consumed by one of my children. This little guy has personality, enhanced by slightly nerdy Elvis Costello-like glasses frames and -- get this -- a soul patch! Would any Cisco marketeer worth his stock options come to work with a soul patch? How very dotcom.
— R. Scott Raynovich, US Editor, Light Reading
For years, my office has been a dumping ground for industry memorabilia -- little bits o' history that range from the ridiculous to the absurd.
I have assembled this memorabilia and started, as an analyst once suggested to me, a Museum of Schwag. "Schwag," for those of you unfamiliar with the term, refers to those little marketing toys you pick up at tradeshows (or Shriners' conventions, for that matter) -- the things PR folks send to your office unsolicited to try and tart up a usually dreary new corporate message.
Now that the collection has reached critical mass, I will begin releasing these invaluable items piece-by-piece here on Light Ranting before they are eventually assembled and catalogued into an all-encompassing, exhaustive report.
Occasionally, these Schwag posts will feature a trivia question. And for the truly orginal and insightful response, we'll send out some of our own Schwag -- a Light Reading T-shirt!
Ready? Okay, first up:
— R. Scott Raynovich, US Editor, Light Reading
