I have been an Engish speaker for over 4 decades but Slang in the US is another story ( I was born and brought up in India) So when I hear people talking about 'SWAG" My curiousity gets me. I ask on Twitter what "Swag" means and I these friends responded quicly and gave me the exct meaning:

@Jestutripup Schwag: bag of marketing goodies or junk you get at conferences, which include pens markers highlighters pads stickers tshirts etc

@ColleenCoplick i'm familiar with SWAG, which are all the freebies & giveaways from wherever. is sCHWag something else or just a diff spelling?

@mkrigsman Schwag is free crap you get a trade shows

@PreppyDude Schwag = free stuff that companies give out for self promotion
at 11-12-2007 23:31

@rslux Swag = "Stuff we all get" = tradeshow giveaways

@WillBrown, schwag is the misc free branded pens, notebooks, etc you get when you go to conventions.

@dacort Schwag is slang for sweet, or cool. At least that's how I use it. I don't know where it came from. It also indicates free gifts.

@danieljohnsonjr I think schwag refers to the goodies you get at a conference, etc., usually in a goodie bag.

@sgetgood schwag is another term for trade show trinkets and trash -- the stuff companies give as promos

Thanks everyone. I have removed responses I got from my friends whose updates are protected.

here is what Google shows me http://www.google.com/search?q=swag ( 8.9M results)