Get Deactivated

Many people seem to find themselves deactivated and are not sure why. Hopefully this post will help.

First, try not to worry. You may have been deactivated for something as simple as swagbucks needing to verify your account. Not that big of a deal... However, you could have also been deactivated for things like:

• posting an active code
  
• spamming your referral link (not just on swagbucks FB wall, but on any other blog or forum that does not allow overposting of anykind)
• having more than 1 account per household
• making multiple accounts
• attempting to cheat the swagbucks system in any way (this includes posting "how-to cheat" videos)

So if you've thought through all of this and still have no clue as to why you have been deactivated, here is what you need to do.

E-mail TSG (The Swag Guy) at theswagguy@swagbucks.com or you can e-mail info@swagbucks.com. They should be able to give you a reason as to why you were deactivated. They are very helpful and understanding and things should be resolved in no time.

Trivia And Rejaw

If you are wondering how the swagbucks trivia works, just read below and find out.

Rejaw:

• To start off, trivia is held on a site called Rejaw. It is held in a special room that TSG set up, which you can get to by clicking here. If you have not registered on Rejaw, you might want to.
  
• You do not have to register on Rejaw to play trivia, but you MUST register on Rejaw if you win and want your swagbucks. (To find out why, see the Rules for Trivia section #6)

Trivia:

• Trivia CAN be held at any time, on any day. That does NOT mean it will be held every day. To find out when trivia is going to happen, keep an eye out for TSG to post a message (most of the time on swagbucks facebook page). The message will usually say something like "Meet me on Rejaw in 5 min. for trivia." That is your cue to head on over and wait for the trivia to begin.
  
• When TSG arrives in the trivia room, he will let you know how much each question is worth (there are usually only 3 trivia questions but they have multiple parts to them) and some of the rules for the trivia session. Questions come 1 at a time. Once someone correctly answers the question, TSG notifies the winner and then will delete the question so there is no confusion from having more than one question posted at a time. There is usually a few minutes between the time TSG deletes the last question and when he posts the new question.

Rules for Trivia:

1. You must post your answer within the reply of the posted question. Which means you must click "reply" on the posted question and post your answer in there. If you post your answer in the "Lobby" or main room, it will NOT count.
2. You must be the first person to answer correctly, unless otherwise stated. Sometimes TSG will say the first 2 people to answer correctly will win, but most of the time it's just the first.
   
3. You must spell your answer correctly. Misspelled words will be counted as wrong.
   
4. You can only answer ONCE per question. If you happen to misspell your answer, or only answered part of the question and try to post for a 2nd time, it will not be counted.
   
5. You can only win 1 trivia question per session, and only once a day. So, if you win the first trivia question, you cannot win the 2nd or 3rd, or at all if trivia is held again later that day.
   
6. If you win and are not registered for Rejaw, you MUST register to get your swagbucks. Here is why...TSG will whisper (or private message) the winner and tell that person a secret word. You must then e-mail that secret word to TSG and the swagbucks will be added to your account within 48 hours.

About Hint Codes

Lately there has been some questions about giving hints for codes. Many people find it hard to tell the difference between giving a hint and basically giving the code away through a hint.

*I would like to note that the following are my thoughts on the subject and is NOT an official guideline. Use at your own risk.*

To start out, I would like to remind everyone that while posting an active code can result in your account getting banned, it is OK to post code hints.

Here is how I define what is ok and what is not ok...Click on "example" to be shown an example on swagbucks blog. I will use the example from the swagbucks blog when explaining GOOD and BAD.

Example 1: The code is posted directly on the blog, with the phrase "The code is..." or other similar phrases.

1. GOOD - Telling people to go look at the blog. Giving people the url of the blog (The whole blog, not the individual post). Letting people know that it says "The code is..." or one of the other phrases (without actually posting the code itself). Using a hint like "This is one code you won't want to pass up. Hurry before it's all over."
2. BAD - Telling people under which post the code is located (Read the post about Passover). Giving them the url directly to the post with the code. Actually telling them the code. Using a hint like "You won't want to Passover this code." **The difference between the 2 hints is this one actually posts the code, while the other one makes people have to think a little harder to get it.**

Example 2: Clues are posted on the blog and you must figure them out to find the code. *Note that the original post was everything above the "UPDATE."*

1. GOOD - Letting people know what is a good site to find the stats on. Making the directions more clear (By total they mean...). Mentioning that a site has the wrong stat.
2. BAD - Giving people any part of the equation (The first number is...). Removing all the effort of the code hunt (10950 / 2 = code). Giving the url that contains any part of the equation or code (You can find Griffey Jr's home run total here).

Example 3: A code hunt is posted on FB, the code is posted somewhere on YouTube and something on the blog could help you find it. *To see the blog post that would have helped, clickhere.*

1. GOOD - Telling people that one of the songs of the day, on the blog, has a link to YouTubewhere the code can be found. Giving a hint like "On the blog, TSG said he gets HYPED when listening to this song." One other hint could have been "The song of the day makes me glad to be a Citizen of swagbucks. It helps me Cope with many things." Letting people know that when they find the right page, the code is posted in the comments section. Reminding people that the code is either case sensitive, or letting them know it's in all CAPS.
2. BAD - Telling people exactly which blog post has the link to the code. Posting the url that takes you directly to the code. Directly telling people which song of the day it is.

Example 4: Here is one other example of a code posted directly on the blog. However, this code was posted on this blog post a few days after the post originally came out. I'm using this one because there were many good examples of hints that came out.

1. GOOD - Again, telling people to read the blog and providing them with the main blog url. Giving hints like "Think of candy," "This blog post is pretty Shady" or "Maybe we should find the Marshall." Since the code was put on a post a few days back, you could give a hint like this "It's one of the songs of the day from the past few days."
2. BAD - Giving the exact blog post away, or giving the blog post url. Telling people the song title or the artist.

Basically, I feel it comes down to is this...Hints should help people figure it out on their own, without giving them the code or an answer to part of the code hunt directly. While there are no set guidelines as to what is OK or is NOT OK, just make sure you really think about it before giving out a hint. If you aren't sure if a hint would give away too much info, it's probably best to not post it.

SwagBucks-What You Need To Know

f you want to know how to get swagbucks on swagbucks.com, then pay attention.

Searching:

1. Search "naturally." This means search for an actual thing, not just "jkasdbhf." Do not search too much too fast. This will result in you seeing the rules page and you may not be able to search again for the rest of the day, so be careful. To be safe, leave at least 1 min between searches. Use swagbucks.com just like you would use Google or yahoo.
   
2. Most people only average 2-5 swagbucks a day just from searching. If you search a few times in the morning, a few in the afternoon and a few in the evening, you should win around 2 times per day. This is normal. You should not expect to make hundreds of swagbucks your first day, that's not how it works.
   
3. When you search, you can win by clicking the "Next" link found at the top and bottom of the page, by clicking the next page numbers (2, 3, 4..), or by clicking the "related searches" link. However, each time you click one of these, it will count as a search. So if you click back and forth using the numbers, you may very well end up seeing the rules page.
   
4. What you search for does not make a difference. For example: If your friend searches for "Bananas" and wins 1 swagbuck, there is no guarantee that if you search for "Bananas" you will win too.
   

Codes:

1. Codes can only be posted by one person, TSG (The Swag Guy). If anyone else posts an active code you could have your account banned. TSG will mainly post a code, or clues to find a code (called a code hunt) on the swagbucks blog, on swagbucks facebook page or on twitter. If you are having trouble finding a code, go to the swagbucks facebook page, where people will be giving hints to help others find the code.
   
2. Codes are case sensitive. This means that if the code is "THIS" and you try type in "This" or "this" it will not work. You must type in the code exactly as you find it, or as the code hunt states it.
   
3. When you find a code, go to your "my account" page and enter it on the left. Then click the button that says "Gimmie."
   
4. Codes can expire 1 of 2 ways. There are codes that expire by TIME (Ex: This code is good for the next hour. Or this code is good until 6:30pm PST). Codes can also expire by # of people (Ex: For the first 500 people).
   
5. *Do not go to swagbucks facebook page and ask for the code. People will not risk getting their accounts banned just to give you the code.*
   

Referrals:

1. If you get people to sign up under your referral link, every time they search and win, you will win the same amount up to their first 100 swagbucks. However, there is no 2nd hand swagbucks. What I mean by that is this...If you have 3 people, A, B and C. Lets say person B signs up under person A's referral link and person C signs up under person B's referral link (A<--B<--C). Now, if person C searches and wins 2 swagbucks, person B will win 2 swagbucks as well, because they referred person C. But, Person A will NOT win 2 swagbucks because of person C. Person A will only get swagbucks when person B searches and wins. You only get swagbucks directly from the person you referred, not from anyone that person will refer. Also, you only get swagbucks when someone SEARCHES and wins. This means if they get swagbucks from a code or when they start out with 3 swagbucks just for signing up, you will NOT get matched for those swagbucks.
   
2. When you refer someone, it will take about 24 hours for them to show up in your friends list on swagbucks. However, if they search and win within those first 24 hours, the swagbucks should show up within a few minutes in your account.
   
3. There is a 1 account per household rule for swagbucks. Do not have more than 1 account per household, or you could have all accounts at that household banned.
   

Other Good Ideas for Getting Swagbucks:

1. Download the swagbucks toolbar.
   
2. Sign-up for the monthly newsletter (there may be a code in each new newsletter).
   
3. Sign-up for Twitter and follow Swagbucks on it.
   
4. Submit poll ideas (You won't earn any swagbucks for submitting a poll, but if they consider using it, you will get 1 swagbuck and if they actually use your poll you will win 9 more for a total of 10)
   
5. Take pictures/video of yourself unpacking any items you ordered from swagbucks. Send those pictures and video to swagbucks and you could earn a few swagbucks for it.
   
6. Join in Trivia. TSG will let you know where the trivia will be held.
   
7. Recycle your old cell phones.
   
8. Trade in your old video games and systems.
   

Good Ways To Get Yourself Banned:

1. Posting an active code.
   
2. Posting your referral link on the swagbucks facebook page.
   
3. Posting any non-swagbucks approved link on the swagbucks facebook page.
   
4. Spamming.
   
5. Having more than 1 swagbucks account per household.
   
6. Making, posting, or joining any attempt to cheat or hack the swagbucks system.
   

Other Things:

1. If you have a question, ask it on the swagbucks facebook wall. There are plenty of people there who are happy to help.
   
2. Be patient! It will take a little time for you to get in the swing of things and start earning more and more swagbucks.
   
3. Don't give up! It may seem like it takes a while to get something, but you have to remember 2 things...1 its FREE! and 2 its totally worth it!