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How to get my friends into the game


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I remember once I tried to show some folks who were at a friends poker game. I was telling them about geocaching and they agreed to let me show them the nearest one unfound to his house. It turned out to be a nano stuck to the back of a dog poop litter bag holder. Lets just say after that exciting hide, they have forever thought it was a dumb hobby.

 

Word to the wise, if you are going to show them a cache, show them something cooler than that.

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well some of my friends think that it is nerdy while the ones that have gone with me have totally changed their minds but how can i convince the others to join.

It is Nerdy! Embrace your inner nerd!

If you are comfortable with it then they will say "hey that cool guy does geocaching let's be like him, it must not be as nerdy as we thought!"

:laughing:

Edited by jameyp
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I have managed to bring a few of my friends "into the life". I try to identify those who seem like the type who might enjoy it- folks who enjoy technology- computers, smart phones, etc, and who love the outdoors. Someone who sits inside and knits all day is not the best candidate. I threw a "geocaching party" for my daughter's 5th birthday, and we hid several caches in a state park (temporarily!) full of grab bags and candy. Several of the parents have now signed up on gc.com. Last week, I took a buddy with me out for her first caching excursion, and introduced her to three different types of caches- an ammo can in the woods, a tricky micro hidden in a parking garage (had to figure out which level!), and capped it off with a venture underground into the storm drain system of Durham. She's gone out caching by herself a few times since then. I don't know- I've had pretty good luck with it, but it helps to project infectious enthusiasm. I'm surprised my stories of being in tubes with black widow spiders crawling past me, my tendency towards terrible poison ivy infections, and the fact that I constantly sport war wounds doesn't scare 'em all off!

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If the others prefer to adhere their thumbs to their phones and sit on the couch, there's not much you can do about it.

Some higher terrain caches might help.

Tree climbs, walking a plank, tunnels, caves, cable over water (you get the picture.)

Maybe a cache with a, "I'm not gonna do it - you do it" would add a bit of cool factor.

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Making sure to take them to more interesting caches would certainly help, but if someone totally blows of the idea of geocaching as boring/dumb/nerdy I don't think you are going to be able to persuade them otherwise. Many people are skeptical when they first hear about it but at least willing to try.

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I once described geocaching to a group of friends and relatives during a camping trip. I had the idea that one particular person in the group would like it. Much to my surprise, his mom thought it sounded like fun. Several of us went off and found the one geocache that was in that campground. My friend's Mom got hooked and bought a GPSr before the week was over. As for everyone else in the group, that was the first, and last, geocache they ever saw.

 

In my experience, when people hear about geocaching for the first time the respond one of two ways. The most common response is "meh." A minority will think it sounds like fun. The "meh" people will never get geocaching. The ones who immediately think it sounds fun can be converted.

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well some of my friends think that it is nerdy while the ones that have gone with me have totally changed their minds but how can i convince the others to join.

 

My wife says its "nerdy" also

So whenever she asks about a cache container Im pondering with, I just tell her its "nerd stuff"

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I tried to get a good friend of mine hooked on it. He had a good time going caching with me (I think), but he had little interest in actually logging the caches we found.

 

I've talked to other friends of mine about caching, they thought it was a little nerdy, too. But then, I can't blame them, when I first heard about geocaching back in 2000 or 2001, I thought the same thing. "Aw, that's not for me." I owned a GPSr, I love the outdoors, I have always loved exploring places, and I love puzzles. How in the world I thought this wasn't right up my alley, I have no idea. It took my wife* suggesting this as a good way to get out of the house back in 2007 for me to give it a try. Been hooked ever since.

 

*The brains of the outfit, obviously.

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