What is swag anyway?

Swag is an acronym for Stuff We All Get. It's commonly used to refer to the free stuff you get at conferences. The idea behind Swagapalooza is to 'liberate' the world's best swag for the world's top bloggers and tweeters.

What's the deal with the free stuff?

In exchange for getting a five minute audition, participating companies have to give away tons of free product. For bloggers, there is no obligation to write about anything.

Do bloggers have to disclose the swag they get?

Yes! All of the bloggers are given the following guidance:

"Be aware that if you receive free products and blog about it, you'll want to disclose that to your readers in order to comply with FTC guidelines. If you link to the web site of a product company, you should add a nofollow tag on that link, e.g. Company that gave me swag. Likewise, if you tweet about a product that you received for free, please add a hashtag such as #spon or #sponsored to provide disclosure to your followers"

Bloggers who fail to disclose are not invited to future events.

Do companies pay to participate?

Most presentations are sponsored, however we always let at least one company present for free.

Can I refer companies I want to audition?

Please do! And while you're at it, tell all your friends as well.

Are there any blog posts describing prevous events?

Hundreds. Here are a couple blog posts that were written about our first San Francisco event. Or, better yet, just Google it.

What does the last question on the application mean? (Are you willing to help liberate swag from The Man?)

From time to time we may ask for your help in emailing companies we want to participate...

My business is interested in auditioning at Swagapalooza, but unfortunately we can't make it to Chicago on the date of the event. Is there any way we can participate?

Yes! Fill out the 'I want to present' form and if we like your product we'll include it in the swag bag for distribution.