I’m at the IMS Learning Impact conference. Another conference, another T-shirt. I expect to get at least 5 conference bags and T-shirts this year. I already have way too many T-shirts and way too many bags. At this point, I am starting to use them to insulate my attic. It’s absurd.
Therefore, I am hereby starting the Conference BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) movement. Here’s how it works:
If you’re a conference organizer, offer to give a gift card (Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble…whatever) to anyone who brings their own bag and shirt. Just put your pile of stuff out, with gift card on the top, and I’ll gladly cram it into one of my 57 existing bags. You save shipping costs on all that bulky stuff, I get something I actually want rather than extra stuff to haul home and stuff in my attic, and we both help to save the environment.
Deal?
4 Comments
Michael–I am in full agreement with the BYOB movement. My wife and I are trying to remember to take our canvas bags to grocery stores, etc. with us. I don’t see why a similar idea at conferences wouldn’t work. Congratulations on a great idea! Now if we can just do something about cheap pens!!
Bob
Is there a petition I can sign? Can we have some kind of symbolic bringing of the old bags to be recycled or something?
I like the T-Shirts though.
Definitely a deal. I just refused my shirt at the IMS meeting you’re also attending. I took the bag, though. Better than your usual conference fare….
You’re missing the point. You’re supposed to give the bags, oversized t-shirts, and pens to your children. The key strategy is to seem totally sincere about it - “I missed you when I was out of town, and daddy brought you back these fantastic items as a token of my love.” My dad always did this to me, and now that I’m older I think it is a great tactic. No kids yet, but you can bet they’ll be burning IMS shirts at the age of 16.