Year: 2011

/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching Vlogs and Online Videos – The New Horizon of Caching Media

Geocaching.com's YouTube Vlog: GoGeocaching

Reading is one thing. Seeing and doing and hearing is another. Enter geocaching vloggers and geocaching video series. As globalization advances, so does technology and the interconnectedness of social media. Vlogging, or “video blogging” has become an increasingly popular medium for sharing and connecting people all over the world.

Geocaching vlogs, as well as YouTube based TV series, have proven to be influential and highly popular amongst the geocaching community. For example, if you search for ‘geocaching’ on Youtube.com, you discover 7,000 geocaching channel results, including the Geocaching.com channel GoGeocaching. Many geocachers use geocaching vlogs and TV series to show and tell and allow people to both see and experience the hobby.

Zaid Adham is one of the many people flooding the global bandwidth with geocaching videos. He is a Canadian director and producer. Zaid’s most recent creation is a geocaching TV series based in the Middle East. The series, titled ‘Treasure Hunters’, is being broadcast on satellite TV and posted to his vlog.

Zaid, Middle Eastern Vlogger

Zaid decided to make the TV series because he says he, “… loved the idea that an adventure such as this can be so full of excitement and exploration on so many levels.” Zaid explains that, “the point of creating the show was to raise awareness of the sport in a region where outdoor activities are greatly cherished in the months when the weather allows them.” For example, in Saudi Arabia,  temperatures can rise above 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the months of June through August.

Zaid says that the Middle East is home to some of the most challenging and extreme caches. His series focuses both on geocaching and the region itself.  He says, “the show not only covers the hide and its find, but the significance of the area it’s been placed in. This makes it both adventurous and educational!” Zaid’s passion to share geocaching with the world is evident in his excited proclamation in his videos: “Guess what?! You don’t have to just watch this! You can do this too!” Tune in to Treasure Hunters in order to take part in many captivating Middle Eastern geocaching adventures!

Alex, German Vlogger

alexschweigert is another prominent international geocaching vlogger. His German vlog, Geocaching Nordfriesland, is successful amongst German geocachers because, as Alex states, “It just makes [people] enjoy that outdoor hobby combined with weblog/videos.” Alex’s vlog has been around for more than ten years and covers an assortment of geocaching related posts including geocaching advice and videos highlighting unique geocaching experiences. Alex uses his intense curiosity and big personality to attract viewers to the adventure that is geocaching. Alex states, “There are so many beautiful things in life that are worth discovering.”

Both Zaid and Alex showcase geocaching in their local language. They are among a substantial number of vloggers who talk about geocaching in languages other than English.

Make sure to check back next week for a blog on English language vloggers, including one vlogger who has over 40,000 hits on his site – and they just started producing geocaching videos this year.


 

/ Eric Schudiske /

Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – September 28, 2011

Seasonal Geocache Maintenance

As the northern hemisphere passes into fall and spring comes to the southern hemisphere, it is time for geocache owners to think about cache maintenance. Seasonal changes can affect both geocache locations and geocache containers. Perhaps the hint to find your cache was “near the log in the middle of the field,” but the log that was very obvious in the winter has since been obscured by tall grass and wild flowers. You will need to visit the cache location to see the new setting and update your hint. Maybe the elements have been hard on your cache container and it needs to be replaced.

There are many other factors that can affect the quality of your cache – everything from animals to full logbooks – so please make sure to visit the cache location every so often and keep an eye out for any “needs maintenance” logs on your cache page. Our goal as a community should be to make sure that any issues with a cache are fixed quickly; geocachers should seldom, if ever, find a cache that needs maintenance. If there is an issue with your cache that cannot be immediately fixed, please temporarily disable the cache listing, so that people do not search for it, and fix the issue as soon as possible.

Read more about proper geocache maintenance.

/ Eric Schudiske

Announcing the September ‘Featured Geocacher of the Month’

Congratulations to all the Featured Geocacher of the Month nominees for September. The geocaching community is comprised of inspirational individuals – who go above and beyond in geocaching innovation, creativity, respect for the environment and helpfulness. Each nominee should be congratulated as an exceptional geocacher and individual. We are proud that each of the cachers is part of our worldwide community.

SuperGoober, Featured Geocacher of the Month

The choice for the September Featured Geocacher of the Month was difficult. A panel of Lackeys, relying on voting and community comments, could ultimately choose only one.

SuperGoober is the September Featured Geocacher of the Month. Dozens of geocachers wrote in to share stories about SuperGoober’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. He has hosted and attended numerous events, led many geocachers on their first outings, and is involved in local geocaching organizations. According to one nominee, “Jeff is a model geocacher who all of us in the area and beyond can be proud of. He is always willing to lend advice/help to any cacher that approaches him or contacts him.”

SuperGoober will receive a collectors Geocacher of the Month geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by the founders of Geocaching.com: Jeremy Irish, Bryan Roth and Elias Alvord.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.

Every nomination must meet the following requirements: Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and description (in 500 or fewer words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month. Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award. Nominations for the October Geocacher of the Month must be received by October 3rd.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the Latitude 47 blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

/ Eric Schudiske /

“Screaming Skulls” GCPJNV GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – September 26, 2011

"Screaming Skulls"

“This is a very interesting location, try to have extra time to explore the area.” That brief hint is all the cache page for “Screaming Skulls (GCPJNV) offers about this visually amazing geocache location in Ontario, Canada.

The Go Getters hid the traditional geocache at this site in 2005. Since then more than 200 geocachers wandered into a grassy field crowned with larger than life sculptures in search of the cache.

One cacher who logged the difficulty one, terrain 1.5 geocache says, “I walked around in awe for about 45 minutes, checking out the statues, structures and miscellaneous other sights throughout the property. The house is very unique as well. Thanks for placing a cache here and thereby bringing me to a spot I would never visit. This one rates a ‘Favorites’ listing from me.” That cacher wasn’t alone. “Screaming Skulls” has earned 40 Favorite Points so far.  There are more than 1.5 million active geocaches around the world. Each can lead you on an adventure you never imagined.

"Screaming Skulls"

Continue your exploration of some of the most engaging geocaches from around the globe. Explore all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

/ Eric Schudiske /

Groundspeak Weekly Newsletter – September 21, 2011

Give the Gift of Geocaching!

How many times have you given a gift that can help the recipient become smarter, healthier and more creative, all while introducing them to a community so strong that they gain friends all over the world? That is what it means to introduce someone to geocaching. It also means that you are opening the door for them to have incredible experiences with friends and family, visit amazing locations that they may not have otherwise seen, and feel the thrill of finding a geocache.

The best way to introduce someone to geocaching is to take them out with you. If that’s not possible, we suggest sending our Tell a Friend email and directing them to our “What is Geocaching?” video, which provides a basic overview of geocaching in less than 2 minutes.

You can also give the timesaving gift of Premium Membership. A Groundspeak Gift Membership provides the recipient with 12 months of prepaid access to premium features on all Groundspeak sites. The gift can be used to upgrade a new or existing Basic Membership or to extend an existing Premium Membership by a year.