Like many Googlers and Google fans, I’ve acquired drawers full of Google t-shirts. It’s also a normal occurrence around Mountain View to see people protecting themselves from the sun with Google hats and and colored sunglasses. But what you may not expect, is that if you look down at my feet, you’ll often see a little more Googliness. This actually happened to me once on an airplane. The passenger sitting next to me asked, “Do you work for Google?” I looked down, trying to spot which Google sweatshirt I was wearing, but I didn’t see a Google logo. How did he know? I asked him. “You’re wearing Google socks,” he said. Yes, I have Google socks. I have many Google socks. I collect them.
The first Google socks that I collected are these bike socks. They breathe well and come in handy now that I bike to work:
When I saw that the Google Store was offering socks with the logo stitched in colored thread, I couldn’t resist:
Oh, wow, in red now? I need some of those:
When I want to relax at home and watch a movie, that’s a perfect opportunity to bring out the Google TV slipper socks:
Or, if I’m more actively browsing YouTube, I sport the You “Tube” socks:
But what are Google socks without Google shoes? My mom, knowing that I like both Google and colorful shoes,* designed these for me. They have all of the Google colors and say “WYSZ” on the toe.
When I was at a recent Google event in Vermont, someone asked, “Are those Google-issued shoes?” Yes, they are. Google hooked us up with Google-colored Converse shoes. I was representing the green:
Not all of my search engine footwear is Google-branded. I recently started wearing Yahoo! shoes, with Google socks as protective insulation of course.
Why? Because competition keeps us on our toes.
* In fifth grade, I had a teacher who always wore colorful shoes. I decided that when I grew up, I would get colorful shoes too.
I like them slipper socks. And that explains your green shoes. I couldn’t stop looking at them today.