Failwhale and Zazzle

Just read an article about "failwhale http://tinyurl.com/5cebzm. It's an interesting story about the icon used by twitter when their service is unavailable. For me it's another story about the power of promotional products(PP).

You see the first thing that someone who recognized the power of this symbol did was out it on a t'shirt. And the next thing the community did was get in touch with designer and get premission to use design to create a store on Zazzle to sell that t'shirt and other merchandise (read PP). That merchandise includes coffee mugs and buttons, PP staples.

There is a whole internet industry including Zazzle and Cafe Press and others who do custom logoed merchandise and sell it. Not just to the companies whose logo it bears, but to people who pay money to promote others' businesses

So what does this say about the power of Promotional Products do get the message out and to link influencers and buyers to a company? That's what I am exploring on this blog