Mini icons

We all know these little icons for new, updated to show changes in the content of a website. These items are like small (31x14 px) to show some a changed condition a the page.

Just some time ago, I noticed these little icons, that are used by amazon.com to show some extra information about a review, like realname. Today I saw a little sale icon.

Is this a new pattern? And how can it be used on websites?