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Jeep Contest - "dig Up" Geocaches?


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Full announcement:

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cf...e&art_aid=33902

 

JEEP IS PROMOTING A NEW vehicle, the Commander, with a campaign that's part viral and part branded entertainment. The effort, created by interactive ad agency Organic, went live Thursday at the site www.WeAreTheMudds.com.

 

In addition to the teaser site and the blogs, the campaign's centerpiece will be a series of four downloadable videos, which will feature Mudd family vacations.

 

Each video will reveal coordinates to a virtual "geo-cache"-- geocaching is a hobby involving trekking to some remote location, burying a "cache" of items, and then posting the GPS coordinates of where that item can be found, so others can dig it up.

 

Web site visitors can "dig up" the Mudd's caches by using an application designed with the Google Maps application programming interface. Each time a user digs up a cache, they are entered in a sweepstakes to win, among other things, a Jeep Commander--a seven-passenger trail-rated vehicle.

 

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Did they have to use "dig up" for geocaching? :blink:

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The term "dig up" was in quotes. This implies that it was not meant literally. Radio announcers often "dig up" a little Elvis. It doesn't mean that they're grave robbers. It simply means that they've rooted through the extensive music library.

 

Yes, some people are going to misinterpret things. They will continue to do so no matter how many times we correct them.

 

I've known people who think it's an apology when someone tells them "I'm sorry that you're such an idiot."

 

People believe what they want to, just let it go.

 

It's NOT illegal to drive in bare feet. Mikey did NOT die from eating pop rocks and soda. Someone did NOT wake up in the bathtub full of ice without their kidneys.

 

Go ahead, spin your wheels correcting the ill informed. Please keep me apprised of your progress. By progress, I mean how big the dent in your wall is, from the head banging.

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awwwwww :D

;)

 

ADK - it isn't so much the general public that we need to correct, it is teh impression land managers get. They (rightly so) are defensive of teh properties they have been entrusted with, and information mishaps like this can make it harder for them to justify allowing geocaching.

 

Banging heads? Sometimes. But the payoff of not trying is harder approval processes with the guys & gals who can make a difference.

 

Keeping sites open for geocaching pays off for all geocachers.

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awwwwww ;)

:D

 

ADK - it isn't so much the general public that we need to correct, it is teh impression land managers get. They (rightly so) are defensive of teh properties they have been entrusted with, and information mishaps like this can make it harder for them to justify allowing geocaching.

 

Banging heads? Sometimes. But the payoff of not trying is harder approval processes with the guys & gals who can make a difference.

 

Keeping sites open for geocaching pays off for all geocachers.

I agree, but I haven't had to spend any time convincing land managers that ill written news articles have probably influenced their opinions on cache placements.

 

This is where my urban legend analogies came in: Bad article = Urban Legend. (See Mr. land manager?)

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awwwwww ;)

:D

 

ADK - it isn't so much the general public that we need to correct, it is teh impression land managers get. They (rightly so) are defensive of teh properties they have been entrusted with, and information mishaps like this can make it harder for them to justify allowing geocaching.

 

Banging heads? Sometimes. But the payoff of not trying is harder approval processes with the guys & gals who can make a difference.

 

Keeping sites open for geocaching pays off for all geocachers.

I agree, but I haven't had to spend any time convincing land managers that ill written news articles have probably influenced their opinions on cache placements.

 

This is where my urban legend analogies came in: Bad article = Urban Legend. (See Mr. land manager?)

Are you familiar with the history of the National Park Service ban on geocaches across the lands they manage in the U.S.? How do your assertions square up against the specific allegations which led to the adoption of that policy?

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The term "dig up" was in quotes. This implies that it was not meant literally. Radio announcers often "dig up" a little Elvis. It doesn't mean that they're grave robbers. It simply means that they've rooted through the extensive music library.

 

The second time the phrase "dig up" was used, when refering to the web site, and how visitors to the site can search for caches, it was in quotes.

 

The first time it was used, when explaining to the teaming masses what geocaching was, it was not used in quotes. Anyone that read this article and didn't know what geocaching was would certainly think that elvis was buried... I mean... that caches are buried.

 

Here's a quote from the article that I'm talking about:

Each video will reveal coordinates to a virtual "geo-cache"-- geocaching is a hobby involving trekking to some remote location, burying a "cache" of items, and then posting the GPS coordinates of where that item can be found, so others can dig it up.

 

Web site visitors can "dig up" the Mudd's caches by using an application designed with the Google Maps application programming interface. Each time a user digs up a cache, they are entered in a sweepstakes to win, among other things, a Jeep Commander--a seven-passenger trail-rated vehicle.

 

It's another example of a reporter writing an article that gives bad information about geocaching, proving that they didn't check their facts.

 

Bad, bad reporter!

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I'm not familiar with the ban. Do you think that it was the product of an ill informed journalist?

No, it was the product of a NPS memo that said that caches are sometimes buried. We've not been able to fully shake that label ever since. History Lesson

 

Some of us who know this history are extra-sensitive about the issue. Ditto for anyone who's talked with land managers -- one of the most frequent questions/concerns expressed by land managers is "we don't want people digging up treasure in our parks." That's the perception in many places, based on my personal experience talking with land managers.

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Here in Nebraska the parks have been pretty good, but we also still faced the buried cache idea. When the State Parks made a policy, they made sure to forbid burying. When I talked with very caching friendly Natural Resource District people and a few misc park districts, a few asked if caches were buried and expressed concerns about that. They had seen various erroneous references and/or the original National Park Service info about caches generally being buried. If caches were really buried they would have maybe banned them. They put in their regulations the "no buried caches" rules anyway, in part because it could still happen since there are more ways to list/hide a cache than on GC.com plus one could slip through the process here or something. I think one might have banned caching altogether if this site would list buried caches. I got them to see that it isn't the norm even on other listing sites that don't have guidelines against it, and by telling them how to see the other sites so they could see all the caches across sites. At that point they could better enforce their regulations if needed and they seemed content.

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The problem with the urban legends is that People beleive them.

 

The "cell phones blow up gas stations" legend is a good example. A bogus story circulated around the internet for a while, and all the gas station managers beleive it.

 

It has been proven time and time again that it has never happened, and it is not even possible for it TO happen, yet nearly every gas pump I see still carries a sticker banning cell phone use near the pumps. I even had it happen once where my cell rang, and when I answered it the attendant killed all the pumps and SCREAMED at me over the PA system. I spoke to her when I went in, explained that it was nothing but a myth, but her response was "I am not going to get blown up because of a moron like you!"

 

All the explaining in the world, with all the facts in the world were not going to make her beleive any different, because she "read it on the internet"- we all know if it in the internet it must be true, right?

 

The problem with these articles is the same- Every time an article comes out mentioning "buried caches" or "digging up" caches the people that tread the article will beleive it to be true. It will be nearly impossible to get them to beleive otherwise.

 

After all, they read it on the internet- so it must be true, right?

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Some of us who know this history are extra-sensitive about the issue. Ditto for anyone who's talked with land managers -- one of the most frequent questions/concerns expressed by land managers is "we don't want people digging up treasure in our parks." That's the perception in many places, based on my personal experience talking with land managers.

Interesting reading... thanks for posting it for us who don't have the history some of you guys do. My question though is, did he ask permission to bury a cache or just put one in the park?

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I don't mean to sound abrasive. It's been my experience that people believe what's easiest for them to believe. If a correction can be printed in an offending article, that's nice, but it also seems like the damage is done and irrepairable.

 

Things in this world are designed to be understood by the people who are the lowest common denominator. Those who are more intelligent have to suffer and roll their eyes in disgust and disbelief. Perhaps this is one of the prices of having a better grasp on things.

 

Maybe my time and effort in this thread could have been better spent, perhaps by writing to the federal land managers. Perhaps that damage is irreversible as well.

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I didn't see "buried" only "dig up".  Like "I'm going to dig up some babes for Saturday night."  It don't mean I'm going to the graveyard.

Then I'll quote from the article again. This was also quoted in my post above, except this time I'll add some bold to highlight the offensive wording.

 

Each video will reveal coordinates to a virtual "geo-cache"-- geocaching is a hobby involving trekking to some remote location, burying a "cache" of items, and then posting the GPS coordinates of where that item can be found, so others can dig it up.

 

This is the paragraph in the article where the reporter explains to the uninformed what geocaching is, so that they'll understand the game (or contest, or whatever) on the website.

 

As it turns out, the reporter is also one of the uninformed.

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So I was reading through my Google alerts when I came across this tidbit of information on Geocaching as written by Media Post Communications:

 

"Each video will reveal coordinates to a virtual "geo-cache"-- geocaching is a hobby involving trekking to some remote location, burying a "cache" of items, and then posting the GPS coordinates of where that item can be found, so others can dig it up."

 

Obviously this is inappropriate. Perhaps this is what they are doing for their promotion, however to say that all Geocaches are done this way is a step backwards. I understand that the contest involves "Virtual" caches to be dug up, but I sincerely hope that no landowning organizations read this particular article!

 

You can read the whole article here

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