Google Holiday Gift: USB Flash Drive & Gift Card to DonorsChoose.org
I just got my gift from Google for the Holidays, and I’m a little disappointed, but not so much surprised. I had read from another site that they were sending out some type of USB flash drive this year. Last year I received a sweet LCD Digital Frame that said “GOOGLE” across it. The package I received this year was a bit different. It’s contents were a 2.0 Gig USB Flash Drive that size of a Credit Card, and a $100 Gift Card to donate to any education program of my choice, through DonorsChoose.org. The $100 gift card to donate is a cool idea, but the USB flash drive seems kind of crappy to me. It’s awesome if you need to carry around a cool USB plug in your wallet and show off to your friends, but who doesn’t already have a USB, and I pretty much never use one. It’s also disappointing because a 2.0 Gig Flash Drive only runs $14.95 through TigerDirect.com! The digital picture frame last year was definitely much cooler.
With a last glimmer of hope, I plugged my Google USB flash drive into my computer to see if anything was enclosed in it. Unfortunately it was blank. How cool would it have been if there was a $100 Google Adwords coupon code or something. Why not entice your advertisers and affiliates to spend more, by offering something a little extra?
As for the DonorsChoose.org $100 gift card, I applaud Google for making the change for people to “have to” give donations to charity, (as I’m sure anyone working with Google is doing pretty well for themselves anyway). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for donating and I personally make sure to do my part, but I really don’t like that this would seem to help Google so much in the end. Everyone who works with Google is always looking forward to what they will send out at the end of the year. Just search on last years LCD Digital Frames and you’ll see what I mean. Instead of sending something new and revolutionary out, many will probably be disappointed to see their gift, if a gift from Google to another charity… which will lead Google to a hefty tax deduction at the end of the year.
Anyway, it’s always cool to see what Google, Yahoo and other companies send out each year. I’m not sure if I received this gift as a Google Adwords advertiser or as a Google Adsense affiliate. As an advertiser, I only spent $11,724.24 this year on Google Adwords… and through promoting Google Adsense, I’ve earned $23,453.49 this year. If you haven’t received a gift from Google yet and are spending/earning anywhere near these numbers, hopefully something will arrive over the next few days! Nonetheless, thank you Google for sending out gifts again this year, as it seems more and more companies slack off each year and just send nothing!
Have you received your Google gift or any other packages so far this year? Also, what are some of the best gift’s you’ve received in the past from online companies?
