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opencaching.com new mascot...

FickFam

By FickFam
in General geocaching topics

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bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted (edited)

Nobody is quite sure yet. Well, nobody but those involved with the site. The scuttlebutt is that Garmin bought the domain. Is it true? I certainly don't know.

Stop scuttling your butt.

 

Garmin owns the site. They registered it in 2003. And I am willing to bet their pockets are deeper than Groundspeaks.

Registrant:

Domain Administrator

Garmin International

1200 East 151st Street

Olathe KS 66062

US

domain.admin@garmin.com +1.9133978200 Fax:

 

Domain Name: opencaching.com

 

Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com

Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com

Registrar Homepage: http://www.markmonitor.com

 

Administrative Contact:

Domain Administrator

Garmin International

1200 East 151st Street

Olathe KS 66062

US

domain.admin@garmin.com +1.9133978200 Fax:

Technical Contact, Zone Contact:

Domain Administrator

Garmin International

1200 East 151st Street

Olathe KS 66062

US

domain.admin@garmin.com +1.9133978200 Fax:

 

Created on..............: 2003-09-14.

Expires on..............: 2012-09-14.

Record last updated on..: 2010-09-29.

 

Domain servers in listed order:

 

ns2.garmin.com

ns.garmin.com

 

Edited by bittsen
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Snoogans

+Snoogans

Posted
Posted

And I am willing to bet their pockets are deeper than Groundspeaks.

 

They also have a heckuva lot more overhead.

 

Regardless, it would take them actually PAYING folks to hide caches to build a database that might rival this 800 pound gorilla any time in the next 10 years.

 

Their marketeers need a wake up call if they think they can pull it off without spending roughly 2 to 3 times what Groundspeak is currently worth.

 

But competition is GOOD. I'm still rootin' for the Frog though.

 

Just think where we would be right now if there had been another real contender of a cache listing site since 2003. About 2005 the natives were real restless around here.

 

Terracaching fizzled in a little over a year and a half because (to me) it became a hate the frog club.... and Navicache... :rolleyes:

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Coldgears

+Coldgears

Posted
Posted

And I am willing to bet their pockets are deeper than Groundspeaks.

 

They also have a heckuva lot more overhead.

 

Regardless, it would take them actually PAYING folks to hide caches to build a database that might rival this 800 pound gorilla any time in the next 10 years.

 

Their marketeers need a wake up call if they think they can pull it off without spending roughly 2 to 3 times what Groundspeak is currently worth.

 

But competition is GOOD. I'm still rootin' for the Frog though.

 

Just think where we would be right now if there had been another real contender of a cache listing site since 2003. About 2005 the natives were real restless around here.

 

Terracaching fizzled in a little over a year and a half because (to me) it became a hate the frog club.... and Navicache... :rolleyes:

 

I signed up for a few alterative cache websites. The real issue was the fact none of them had caches anywhere near me.

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Sol seaker

+Sol seaker

Posted
Posted

That's the thing. The only way they could ever rival Groundspeak is to make some deal to share caches with them. It would take them 50 years to build up a data base anything near this.

 

At this point we pretty much all are behind Groundspeak. People may have complaints sometimes, but it's impossible to have anything that is run by people and not have any complaints. They have really done very well by us, and done their best to do so.

 

Geocachers tend to be a pretty dedicated bunch. I can't see people running in herds off to any other organization.

 

Groundspeak was really the groundbreaker here. They have built up a culture at this point. A culture that revolves around them. People love Groundspeak, in their own way.

 

Sorry Garmin, can't see it happening.

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Sol seaker

+Sol seaker

Posted
Posted

Has anyone else noticed the new updates to the opencaching.com website? They are showing the new slogan and now you can see their new blue mascot peeking around the left margin. I wonder what is in-store for cachers??

 

OK, so I have to really wonder who it is that wrote this.

 

anyone know their involvement with this site?

 

I went to the site just to look, and could find nothing there. One page that I couldn't get to link anywhere. No site in other words. Are they just holding the URL?

 

Is this thread owner just testing to see how many cachers they can get looking at the site (that doesn't seem to exist)?

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Robespierre

+Robespierre

Posted
Posted

And I am willing to bet their pockets are deeper than Groundspeaks.

 

They also have a heckuva lot more overhead.

 

Regardless, it would take them actually PAYING folks to hide caches to build a database that might rival this 800 pound gorilla any time in the next 10 years.

 

Their marketeers need a wake up call if they think they can pull it off without spending roughly 2 to 3 times what Groundspeak is currently worth.

 

But competition is GOOD. I'm still rootin' for the Frog though.

 

Just think where we would be right now if there had been another real contender of a cache listing site since 2003. About 2005 the natives were real restless around here.

 

Terracaching fizzled in a little over a year and a half because (to me) it became a hate the frog club.... and Navicache... :rolleyes:

 

I signed up for a few alterative cache websites. The real issue was the fact none of them had caches anywhere near me.

repeated over and over for years.

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The Cheeseheads

+The Cheeseheads

Posted
Posted

Speaking of time, I wonder how long this thread will remain open?

I will not be closing posts/threads that mention alternate sites, so long as they remain on topic, and the discussion is about the sites and not promoting the sites themselves. (e.g. "I noticed that oc.com has a blue mascot now." vs. "I'm cross-posting all my caches to oc.com. You should, too!")

 

Although, as this is still a geocaching-related discussion, it should probably be in the Geocaching Topics forum and not the off-topic forum, so that's where it's going.

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teamvoyagr

+teamvoyagr

Posted
Posted

I've been covering the developments of the site on my blog - www.cachemania.com/geocaching/opencaching

 

There is no doubt they are launching a competing site. The real question is will it be able to compete? gc.com has the largest installed base which will be very hard to overcome.

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gpsblake

+gpsblake

Posted
Posted

There is no doubt they are launching a competing site.

 

I disagree. i think if anything, it's going to be a complimentary site to geocaching.com for Garmin to promote their products. Perhaps something to do with CHIRP or another upcoming technology.

 

BTW, Garmin hasn't owned opencaching.com since 2003, it was originally owned by someone who had an axe to grind with Groundspeak. you can go to www.archive.org and check out the previous owners of the site. I don't know if the owner transferred/sold the site to garmin or just allowed the domain to expire.

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northernpenguin

+northernpenguin

Posted
Posted

Has anyone else noticed the new updates to the opencaching.com website? They are showing the new slogan and now you can see their new blue mascot peeking around the left margin. I wonder what is in-store for cachers??

 

What is it, a blue beaver?

 

OMG do they realize the resemblance that critter has to some of the Happy Tree Friends characters? Not kid friendly in that context ....

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Tequila

+Tequila

Posted
Posted

 

I disagree. i think if anything, it's going to be a complimentary site to geocaching.com for Garmin to promote their products. Perhaps something to do with CHIRP or another upcoming technology.

 

 

Good point.

 

They don't have to put out millions of containers to create caches. Maybe they are going to focus more on Wherigo, virtual and chirp type caches.

 

And that might complement GS very nicely.

 

One real disadvantage with Garmin is they are a publicly traded company with constant pressure to post increasing profits every quarter. Investing a few million dollars in an opencaching infrastructure would stick out and could negatively impact the stock price.

 

Of course, this could be just pressure to get Groundspeak to come to the bargaining table for a buyout.

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The Blorenges

+The Blorenges

Posted
Posted

Has anyone else noticed the new updates to the opencaching.com website? They are showing the new slogan and now you can see their new blue mascot peeking around the left margin. I wonder what is in-store for cachers??

 

What is it, a blue beaver?

 

OMG do they realize the resemblance that critter has to some of the Happy Tree Friends characters? Not kid friendly in that context ....

 

You realise I just had to go and google that and watch some of it, don't you? :laughing:

 

MrsB

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Clan Riffster

Clan Riffster

Posted
Posted
I think if anything, it's going to be a complimentary site to geocaching.com for Garmin to promote their products.

That's what I'm hoping. I think, if they try to compete with Groundspeak, we'll see yet another failure.

Groundspeak found a business model that resulted in them owning the market, rightfully so.

The other sites can't come close to offering what the Frog has to offer.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

If Garmins site takes off

I wonder how the two will keep caches from being placed to close to each other in high cache count aeras.

I can see a range war in the making.

 

My concern is that if they don't have a review process, which is what most of the other competing sites lack, is that it can go back to the open range days of geocaching, which would be the death knell for our sport.

 

Say what you will about the guidelines here, but most of them were developed in response to issues raised by land managers and other authorities.

 

GC.com lackeys, volunteers and users have spent years developing relationships with land managers and all it takes is one irresponsibly placed cache to ruin some of those relationships.

 

I only hope they have a stringent review process, but I fear that with the opencaching name, they may follow the opencaching model.

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pppingme

+pppingme

Posted
Posted (edited)

They don't have to put out millions of containers to create caches. Maybe they are going to focus more on Wherigo, virtual and chirp type caches.

GS owns a "patent" on Wherigo (although could probably be challenged pretty easily, different discussion), and its clear that Garmin and gs are on the outs with each other. I don't expect to see any further Wherigo development happening between Garmin and GS.

 

I also think Garmin is a much smarter company than gs and it wouldn't surprise me to see them come up with some type of Wherigo alternative, that will probably end up being better.

Edited by Potato Finder
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pppingme

+pppingme

Posted
Posted

One real disadvantage with Garmin is they are a publicly traded company with constant pressure to post increasing profits every quarter. Investing a few million dollars in an opencaching infrastructure would stick out and could negatively impact the stock price.

Marketing 101... To sell a product, you have to create a market. There is no doubt in my mind that creating a market, by creating activities, will increase the sale of Garmin's trail type units.

 

Take Wherigo for example, (although not Garmin's game), do you think they would have sold anywhere near the same number of Oregon's without it? A market was created (this new Wherigo game), and devices were sold.

 

When you consider further that by far more Garmin units are used for caching than almost all other units combined, Garmin already has a market.

 

My unit used to say to go to www.geocaching.com to download new caches if I hit the geocaching button and no caches were loaded, now it tells me to go to garmin.com. The more Garmin drives games like geocaching, the more units Garmin will sell.

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niraD

+niraD

Posted
Posted
My concern is that if they don't have a review process, which is what most of the other competing sites lack, is that it can go back to the open range days of geocaching, which would be the death knell for our sport.

 

Say what you will about the guidelines here, but most of them were developed in response to issues raised by land managers and other authorities.

 

GC.com lackeys, volunteers and users have spent years developing relationships with land managers and all it takes is one irresponsibly placed cache to ruin some of those relationships.

Yep. Several of the parks and open spaces around here have geocaching policies that require caches to be listed on geocaching.com, and the review process here is the reason.
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keehotee

+keehotee

Posted
Posted

Not only will it be difficult to give people a reason to leave Groundspeak, any serious competitor needs to offer features comparable if not better than Groundspeak.

 

Why would anybody have to leave Groundspeak to use another site? I don't remember signing an exclusivity clause when I signed up..... :laughing:

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narcissa

+narcissa

Posted
Posted

I signed up for a few alterative cache websites. The real issue was the fact none of them had caches anywhere near me.

 

Yeah, same here. I'm not going to bug people to sponsor me on Terracaching when there's nothing to find, and Nuvicaching's interface is horrible. It would be nice to see Garmin use their clout to develop a good alternative with a decent interface. And it might be nice to have a site that isn't run by an old guard like this one is. It's pretty tricky for anybody who wasn't around before 2004 to get much of a word in edgewise with Groundspeak, and the reviewer team, bless their hearts, are a little stale and in need of new blood.

 

Groundspeak's made some very poor decisions lately that have the potential to be very damaging to the game. I understand that they want to embrace the new mobile technology, smartphones, etc., but to do so at the cost of quality and integrity is unfortunate and won't lead to good things. Now is probably a good time for an upstart to rise up and give them a serious challenge. Even if it didn't take off, the threat of real competition might be the motivation Groundspeak needs to clean up its act (and clean house a bit).

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Rross1973

+Rross1973

Posted
Posted

I would be interested to see their polices on placing caches. Does anyone know when the site will go live ?? I have been poking around and a couple of posts on the net indicate January 1st is when they will be up and running. I have not see a press release from Garmin though about it.

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Tequila

+Tequila

Posted
Posted

 

Take Wherigo for example, (although not Garmin's game), do you think they would have sold anywhere near the same number of Oregon's without it? A market was created (this new Wherigo game), and devices were sold.

 

 

I am a huge supporter of Wherigo (I own 20+, most in Canada) but I doubt Wherigo represented much of a catalyst for the Oregon. Paperess caching would have been the major purchase reason. I would also suggest that the crappy performance of the Colorado resulted in more Oregon sales than Wherigo. :laughing:

 

 

 

When you consider further that by far more Garmin units are used for caching than almost all other units combined, Garmin already has a market.

 

 

I agree with this. In fact I would say Garmin "owns" the market. Which makes one wonder how much additional sales can be driving by owning a competitive caching site.

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GOF and Bacall

GOF and Bacall

Posted
Posted

And I am willing to bet their pockets are deeper than Groundspeaks.

 

They also have a heckuva lot more overhead.

 

Regardless, it would take them actually PAYING folks to hide caches to build a database that might rival this 800 pound gorilla any time in the next 10 years.

 

Their marketeers need a wake up call if they think they can pull it off without spending roughly 2 to 3 times what Groundspeak is currently worth.

 

But competition is GOOD. I'm still rootin' for the Frog though.

 

Just think where we would be right now if there had been another real contender of a cache listing site since 2003. About 2005 the natives were real restless around here.

 

Terracaching fizzled in a little over a year and a half because (to me) it became a hate the frog club.... and Navicache... :laughing:

 

I signed up for a few alterative cache websites. The real issue was the fact none of them had caches anywhere near me.

 

So be the first.

Link to comment
geodarts

+geodarts

Posted
Posted (edited)

With garmin's opencaching.com and all the various national opencaching sites (unrelated to garmin) it can get a bit confusing out there. I have never been that good with multitasking games. Its hard enough to keep up with Groundspeak without adding opencaching, terracaching, or navicaching in the mix - on top of an occasional letterbox or a more-than-occasional iphone iSpy mission. Under the circumstances, I couldn't even keep up with gowalla unless I quit working. And if you don't get a smiley on this site, does it really count?

 

I wonder if a business like garmin could ever be the catetaker of an opencaching ideal implied in the name of their site. It might be hard to be "open" when your goal is to sell a chirp-enabled gpsr to those who participate. So the part of me that appreciates good gossip makes me wonder what garmin is up to with opencaching.com. They have their own set of challenges with the automotive core of their business in decline, earnings not up to expectation, and the smart phone debacle still fresh in mind. But it has been reported on cachemania and other blogs that for three hours in November, their site looked like this:

 

opencachingcoms.jpg

 

Still, if garmin could do something with Wherigo, I would give it a closer look.

Edited by mulvaney
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sTeamTraen

+sTeamTraen

Posted
Posted

Garmin currently has probably 90% market share among geocachers who use a handheld GPS unit, but the growth is in smartphones.

 

Five years ago, a new geocacher meant that Garmin took in between $70 and $250, and Groundspeak took $30/year in perhaps 10-15% of cases, so an average of maybe $5/year/player.

 

Now, a new geocacher using an iPhone makes $7 for Groundspeak, with maybe a Premium Membership on top for another $5 in the first year on average. Garmin's share of that is a big fat $0.00.

 

The Wherigo tie-in is double-edged for Garmin too (ignoring for a moment the relative lack of traction generated by Wherigo). Garmin's OS and release schedule would make it hard to keep up evolutions in the Player software, because you can't just drop a new app onto a Garmin unit.

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The Blorenges

+The Blorenges

Posted
Posted

Gossip, chatter, speculation...

 

I won't be deserting Signal for that strange blue newcomer.

 

MrsB

 

To twist an argument that is often used by another cacher in these forums Just because you are a fan of Ben & Jerry's doesn't mean you can't enjoy an occasional Dreyer's. :(

 

I'll run with your analogy for a moment (while trying to avoid it dripping ;) )

 

Yes, we, The Blorenges, get our icecream from the main supplier, a familiar name world-wide. They're well established, and have a good selection of flavours and outlets everywhere. For our ice-cream needs they keep us happy.

 

I, however, also enjoy a couple of odd flavours that are no longer being produced by the main supplier. I think it's a bit of a shame because stocks of those flavours are running lower month by month... But, hey ho! - Here in UK you can still get those favorites of mine from one of the smaller ice-cream businesses so I have an account with them and I support their much smaller outlets occasionally - I've even set up a few of their outlets myself.

 

However, there's now speculation that there may be a new, big, ice-cream business soon to start production. Nobody's quite sure how, or even if, they'll set up their company. But if their idea is to offer franchises to cachers to set up outlets for their own flavours of ice-creams then I'm not really interested, thanks.

 

I'd probably taste one of their new flavours if I happened to be near an outlet (Butternut squash with raspberry and Kahlua ripple, anyone? :( ) but that's as far as my "investment" will go.

 

Mind you, we could all be surmising wrongly. Perhaps they'll be going in a rather different direction entirely.

 

Ice-lollies, anyone?

 

MrsB

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btrodrigues

btrodrigues

Posted
Posted

Take Wherigo for example, (although not Garmin's game), do you think they would have sold anywhere near the same number of Oregon's without it? A market was created (this new Wherigo game), and devices were sold.

 

wait. wait. did you just said that people bought oregons because they supported Wherigo?

 

:(

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