We have two topics on swag that have been discussed recently, and the post is to summarize the conversations we’ve had thus far.

Swag for Meetup Groups

There’s a concern amongst meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizers about keeping up with the increase in numbers of members joining their groups. Meetup groups have been experiencing lots of growth since the launch of the Events and News widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user., which is great! But how do we adjust the swag distribution process to keep up?

The top two Ideas:

• Increase the amount of swag we send to meetup groups (sending a pack of 200 instead of the standard 100-pack).
• Shorten the 18 month limit that we currently have on meetup groups ordering swag, perhaps to every 6–12 months.

Also suggested:

• Increase the frequency of how often we re-stock the items (buttons and stickers) for the swag packs (we currently restock twice a year, so we have the 18-month limit for requests in order to ensure all groups are able to obtain swag).
• Consider meetup groups’ requests on a case-by-case basis (and not depend on a set month limit).
• Instruct organizers to use print on demand options locally (or at least in their region). They would be provided with the print files and they should find a local vendor to print the swag for them. However, there’s a concern about logistics and reimbursements.

Contributor Badges as Stickers for All

Many organizers are interested in providing stickers with the Contributor Badges to people that participate in Contributor Days. Lots of people like the idea of having these stickers, but the question is: how to get them created and distributed?

Although there has been a concern in the past if people receiving Contributor team badges as buttons or stickers are actually contributors, it seems like most organizers aren’t concerned about that anymore. The badge on a .org profile is what indicates a contributor, not the swag.

One of the initial ideas was to do a bulk order and distribute to a few WordCamps that have budgeted for this cost. Although this is a fair option, the comments didn’t express much support for this idea.

The idea was also raised to provide these as standard swag to WordCamps that host Contributor Days, and the cost would be covered by WordPress Community SupportWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program.. It was suggested that distribution could then be done by the team lead(s) at Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.. It sounds like everyone seems to support the idea of doing this, so it’s now a matter of figuring out how to do it.

Next steps

It’s likely that we will not be making a final decision on swag items for the community until the end of this year, but I will be sure to post an update here when we do. Until then, the process will remain mostly the same. Thanks for the great discussion!

#swag