Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Paper or Plastic?

The time has come for a meeting of the Hipster, please! Board of Directors. Yeah, that means you. Typically, I make decisions unilaterally – not to mention arbitrarily – but I figured I'd toss this one out there into the ether and see what came back.

It's a matter of swag, dear readers, so it requires your input.

As I've said numerous times before, Hipster, please! is not exactly a revenue generating endeavor. Of course, it isn't exactly a costly project either. Still, in addition to sapping my free time, it does require the occasional investment to maintain the domain, keep my laptop in a functional state and (rarely) upgrade my podcasting rig.

Thankfully, many of you, through the magic of the Paypal "donate" button, have been more than willing to chip in to help me keep the ship afloat. I don't exactly feel comfortable asking you guys for money, and it's certainly not expected. Still, it's a heartwarming gesture, and though I still don't know if the site warrants merch, as such, I do like to keep some chotskies on hand to send out the folks who donate.

potential stickersThink of me as public television; if you send me a donation, I respond with a (totally undervalued) incentive.

But unlike public TV, I don't hand out the same lame shit year after year. No, my lame shit is limited edition.

Originally, I was slinging "nerd music. nerd culture. nerd life." stickers, but, after a year, those are no more. I was prepared to simply put in an order for an alternate design – see the above image for a pair of possible candidates – but then it occurred to me that y'all might wanna have a say in this.

As I said, my first inclination was to order stickers. I mean, people like stickers, right? You can stick them to stuff for fuck's sake! How awesome is that? That being said, the old design is gone forever. Like your childhood pet or your late uncle. And it ain't never comin' back. But the potential follow-up designs are endless.

pinback button mock-upOr I could kick shit even more punk rock and get some pinbacks made. If so, they would probably incorporate the Radio Free Hipster logo. Because it is awesome. And also perfectly-sized to fit on a 1" button.

There's also the possibility that I could employ Jason Rockstar to help me work up some sort of patch, a la his merit badges, for the site. I don't have a mock-up for that, as it's just some crazy idea he and I had kicked around at some point, and I just realized I never followed up on it... Because I am a consummate professional.

So, back to the question at hand, what kinda swag would you guys like to see?

Speak up, now. Don't be shy.

24 comments:

funky49 said...

Hugs.

Joanna said...

If I had to choose but one: I'd go with 1-inch pinback buttons. Mostly because they can be moved from one place to another - one day decorating my bag, another day decorating my jacket, etc.

I'm a sucker for a button.

Matt said...

I think we need Z action figures. Now, that would be cool.

ComplexedOne said...

I love stickers, and they jazz up my laptop. My son loves stickers too, and his is 2 and, well, that is part of his job. I also like the idea of the pinback though, as adding it to my already geeky Bag of Holding that I lug around campus will give it a +5 to geekyness. And then there are always t-shirts. I am addicted to these, and already have way to many. (And 6 more on the way from nerdrockstar.com)

Basically, I love nerdy swag in all it many shapes and sizes. So I am really not much help to solving this problem.

Sorry.

But I can't wait to see what you do decide on. I'll most likely but it. Better investment that that lightsaber I got for my avatar.

talkie_tim said...

I like the badges. A little worried that the slogan in your mock-up might be too small to read.

Z action figures get the vote though.

killsaly said...

I agree with Matt. I want the Z with Kung Fu grip option.

@my! said...

I vote for a PBS system of the more money you give the more cool shit you get. That way you can get buttons, stickers, or buttons AND stickers. Unless its just cheaper/easier to get just one thing and you don't want to have people feel like they're missing out on something by not giving uber rupees, then I vote for buttons since, while stickers are awesome, if your car/laptop/mace goes missing/breaks/gets lodged in the eyes of a beholder, you won't lose your totally cool swag.

Andrea said...

While I am all about the buttons, the back of my car is looking pretty lonely. I've had it now just over five years, so I think it's time to throw some stickers on the bumper there.

eye-shuh said...

Putting aside the fact that I have a sticker fetish, patches would be awesome! I am also a sucker for buttons, however, they do tend to fall off the places I button them.

Church said...

1. Pinback (larger type)
2. NERD 2 teh CORE
3. WWYTCD?

antisoc said...

Stickers. Perhaps of a Hipster Please logo, or maybe a "certified hipster" sticker or something. Preferably small stickers. I have a Dilbert comic that finally fell off my laptop that I need to replace. It just feels empty without it.

MPFM said...

I believe we need trading cards for the nerd music community (if somebody hasn't already came up with the idea) and yours could be a hologram.

JMarler said...

Everyone loves stickers. And they are cheap to mail.

My ultimate favorite are pinbacks, but lapel pins. I take lapel pins and convert them into cuff-links to wear at work. I have an entire collection of Nintendo pins, guitar knobs, microchips, diodes ...

I'm trying to learn how to do resin casting so I can make more custom stuff. Some Hipster Please! cufflinks would be ultra bad ass!

WWYTCD? He would DO THE DAMN THING!

Jimi said...

I'd like a patch or a sticker. A coaster would be a cool and original idea. Mugs for big donations? A tiered system with a sticker, a coaster and a mug would be ideal for me. I like the 'what would ytcracker do' thing quite a lot. Only a nerd would get that, unlike nerd to the core, which I like but is less 'in-joke'. Obscure references ftw!

alienbobz said...

I do like the idea of a Z action figure. Maybe I can dangle him from my mic stand at nerdy concerts :P. But yeah stickers and buttons would be cool to decorate my taping bag and other things.

Stellarbenny said...

Hmmm, stickers are harder to lose than buttons. You can move buttons from place to place. I love the Hipster Please merit badge idea! What do you think about a Hipster Please pocket protector!? Do you know how hard it is to find those things anymore? I'd probably donate/buy one of each if offered. =)

Dave White said...

Add me to the chorus of folks clamoring for stickers. I need something to plaster all over my sketchbook...

clockwork said...

All for stickers.

Jimi said...

Pocket protector! Pocket protector wins! Great suggestion!

Church said...

Patches and Pocket Protectors (http://www.jamplastics.com/horizontal-credit-data-card-size.html) are awesome. Polo/Hawaiian shirts too, as long as we're dreaming shit up.

Beefy said...

i feel as though z has taken an idea i had and will make billions off it! well played sir *slow clap*
<3

Z. said...

I've been trying to brand my hugs for years, funk. No dice.

That's one for pinbacks, Spring.

Find me a cheap vendor, Matt, and we'll all have Z. action figures.

You're an easy man to please, CO. :)

I'm worried about that myself, Tim. Having to mock up my own design – something I suck at – and the potential price of shipping 'em are the two things making me a bit wary of buttons.

Like I said, KS, just find me a vendor. ;)

Another one for buttons. I'd really love to offer all kinds of stuff, @my, but the upfront price of printing more than one of two things at a time is prohibitive. :(

So you need a sticker for your car, Andrea? I am sure such can be arranged.

Patches? Alright, Eye-shuh, I'll follow up with Jason about those.

Nice breakdown, Church. Thanks for being thorough. :D

Soc is down for stickers too.
Trading cards, Steffo? Now that's a fuggin' great idea!

True, J; stickers are wonderfully cheap to ship.

Patch or sticker, Jimi? Duly noted.
How about a Z. LEGO minifig, Bobz? ;)

Stickers for Dave? Got it.

Same for Clockwork. Looks like stickers are pulling ahead.

Man, those pocket protectors cost more than I thought!

It's what I do, Beefy; I steal from the greats! ;)

DV said...

I burn through laptops so fast that stickers will pretty much always be handy for me.

Z. said...

I've decided to do a test run of patches first, DV, but after that stickers will be in the works.