I'm a sucker for good show booths. Yesterday I got to sneak a peek at Google's Macworld booth while folks were still setting up, and wasn't sure what to expect in the way of new stuff. Today (to my surprise) the Mountain View-based company had one of the most jam-packed booths despite the lack of any new service offerings. What was the big-ticket item, though? The swag, and to be more specific--the Google swag scavenger hunt.
Google was offering four tiers of swag for expo-goers: Cub Scout-style merit badges, a rubbery grip pad for any portable device, some colored tube socks (not the cool YouTube ones from D5), and a pair of black flip flops with the Google logo on the top.
The setup rallied four stations showcasing Google's various product offerings, including Google Earth and Maps, the recently updated iPhone mobile service, and applications for OS X like Google Desktop, Picasa, and Sketchup, which had been showcased at last year's expo. At each station event-goers had to talk to a Google rep about the service in question to get the hallowed red Google stamp of approval. For each stamp you got on your card, you'd get to graduate to a higher level of swag, or get multiples of the lower tiered items.
Here are some shots from the booth. Let's start with some of the stations:
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