Laptop stickers are a strange facet of geek culture. Who would guess that grown men and women would love to pepper their valuables with sticky advertisements? And yet, stickering your laptop is a fun pastime that many in the tech industry love to participate in. But why? We looked to Twitter to find out some compelling reasons!
Affiliation
Just so I’m clear, laptop stickers are the tech equivalent of prison tattoos right?
— One Devloper Army (@OneDevloperArmy) June 20, 2018
As humans, we like to feel like as if we’re a part of the group. We want to know that we belong. So we wear crosses, wave flags, and put stickers on our laptops. We signal affiliation to others and let other insiders know that we are one of them.
Express Yourself
I made my laptop stickers today and it’s lit.🔥
— 👑🐺 (@Latifalnuami) June 23, 2018
You can know everything about me in it & everything I like. pic.twitter.com/VzUZAzeM4Y
We all have a unique style, and we usually like our belongings and personal spaces to reflect that style. For some, putting stickers on their laptop is just another way of showing off a part of their personality—no different than hanging trinkets from their rearview mirrors, or consistently donning a pair of flashy headphones.
Inspiration
Tech peeps! I'm collecting laptop stickers for high school students in a STEM program. Let me know if you can spare some. 😊
— Paola Mata (@PaolaNotPaolo) June 24, 2017
For aspiring developers, laptop stickers can be a small but powerful source of inspiration. One of the best ways to stay on track to a goal is to have a constant visual reminder of what you hope to accomplish. Eyeing a tech sticker on your laptop right before you power it on can be just the thing you need to get in the right mindset for success.
Give Support
A good number of the men in my MA at Goldsmiths have @CodeLiberation stickers on their laptops and I can not even tell you how happy this makes me. Men in tech who support women are unsung heroes.
— phoenix perry (@phoenixperry) May 4, 2018
We’ve all seen them: Presidential stickers riding bumper-to-bumper through traffic. But elections aren’t the only social issue to elicit a sticky reaction from the general population. Many social movements, like the LGBT movement and the feminist movement, garner attention as well. Stickers don’t do much in the way of drastic social change, but they do allow you to let others know where you stand on the issues. We in tech are people, too, and may use this as a chance to show our support for an issue close to our hearts.
Have Fun
I've been known to shake my head at the fact that stickers are both the currency of 2nd graders on the playground and tech conference attendees. But I'm also coveting a unicorn sticker and saving my cat wearing a Google hat sticker for my new laptop. So...carry on?
— Aja Hammerly 🦖 (@the_thagomizer) March 6, 2018
This is probably the simplest reason as to why people in tech like to sticker their laptops! Like collecting books or sprucing up your car, decorating your laptop with stickers may simply be a fun activity to enjoy. And where's the harm in that?
Memories
tech culture is applying stickers from conferences and events over old ones on your laptop until the layers of stickers are actually thicker than the laptop itself
— business lesbian (@Fir3Sparkle) January 10, 2018
Hundreds (if not thousands) of conferences and events go on in the tech world each year. If you're not careful, you can quickly and easily lose track of all the ones you've been to. Laptop stickers, to the rescue! Just grab a sticky souvenir from your latest con and you'll never forget the amazing time you had meeting other people in tech.
Endorsement
Professional tech conference speakers should get paid endorsements for the stickers on their laptops, like European soccer players' jerseys.
— Erik Rasmussen 👨🏻💻🇺🇸🇪🇸 (@erikras) August 25, 2017
Laptop stickers are pretty much walking advertisements. The portable device goes with you anywhere, and no matter where you open it up, there are sure to be eyes on your machine. It’s the perfect form of free advertisement for up-and-coming languages and projects alike.
For those of you that love Python and wouldn’t mind spreading the word, we’ve got an amazing array of hand-designed laptop stickers for Python developers in our online store. Check them out and get ready for a sticky addition to your laptop!
Do any of these reasons line up with your own for stickering your laptop? Have we missed something? If so, head on over to @nerdlettering and let us know! We hope this article has rekindled your desire to make your laptop sticky and fun.