12 October 2012 - 10:17Stickers for your online presense?
After suggesting an idea of how Firefox could help users share their interests online [blog.mozilla.org], I’ve been wondering if it’s similar to something people already do outside of a browser. I gave it some quick thoughts, and stickers seem like they might be a suitable comparison in that they’re something people can easily acquire and customize and then present to others without giving them away.
Showing things you like on something you own
People seem to have all sorts of stickers placed on things they carry around, e.g., laptops, binders, or notepads; or a mode of transportation, e.g., cars, skateboards, or bikes. Even though showing something could be thought as a statement, I would guess that people aren’t necessarily always looking to have a conversation by displaying their sticker. They’re just happy to show off something they support or care about.
This note about having a presence without actively socializing seems to overlap in some way to the “Visitors” group from a study on Identity and the Internet [blog.mozilla.org]. Not everyone wants to be social on the internet and actively produce content, so using these stickers to show off one’s interests seems like a comfortable step from being completely without an online identity.
Do you use stickers? If so, what are you showing, where are you placing them, and why do you use them? I’m curious! 🙂
3 Comments | Tags: Development, Labs, Mozilla
As a counter-example, I don’t use stickers because:
1. I don’t want to have to fight to clean glue residue off my possessions if I change my mind.
2. It’s hard enough as-is to avoid the visual chaos of advertising and to mitigate the visual chaos of clutter in my room without adding more.
3. While I’m philosophically opposed to Apple as a company, I love the minimalist design aesthetic they and traditional Japanese rooms share.
4. I’ve yet to see a sticker that makes a well-designed product look less rather than more ugly.
5. The money I spend to buy and ship one sticker niche enough to appeal to me could buy a game in a GOG.com sale or something electronic from DX.com or the dollar store.
@Stephan thanks for the counter-example. I agree with some of those points, and I actually don’t have stickers on my stuff. I guess that’s partially why I made this post to ask why people do use them. On my desk at work, I have a bunch of Nintendo things like coin blocks and a Mario hat, and those I’m happy to show off without needing to worry about glue residue, etc.
I suppose you can treat stickers as an accessory, and there’s whole markets of ways for people to personalize cell phones and cars. Although those people looking to personalize probably aren’t trying to obtain a most minimalistic look.
That makes sense. I do similar things within the space constraints my living space imposes. For example, last time I had a bit of cash to burn, I bought a pack of never-used 80-column punch cards to use as geeky bookmarks.