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Geocaching reality show


Chief301

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*FIRST, let me preface this topic by saying that I am not aware of any plans for a Geocaching reality show, so don't get all excited :) . But the idea intrigues me. Seems like they'll make a reality show based on just about any interesting or unusual lifestyle....Gator hunting, spoiled rich kids, car repo, travel, you name it. So why not one about Geocaching? It would lend itself to travelling to unique locations and appeal to the travel and outdoor demographic, which a lot of these shows seem to cater to these days.

 

So here's the theoretical part...Do you think such a show, if it happened, would be BENEFICIAL or DETRIMENTAL to Geocaching? It seems (to me at least) at first glance that it would be beneficial by presenting Geocaching in a positive light and highlighting the adventure, maybe introduce it to a whole new audience.

 

Now, here's where the DETRIMENTAL comes in...would it be TOO broad an audience? Let's face it, this is still a bit of an underground activity in most places....chances are in any given group of 10 people maybe only 1 has ever even heard of Geocaching, much less ever tried it. Would it be a bad thing if suddenly half the population of the United States found out about Geocaching? I think it might. We already have enough problems with impulsive people who sign up, find one cache and hide 5 the weekend they join, then disappear forever, leaving their poorly planned and unmaintained caches littering the landscape. Or the jerks who learn about it and go out to steal or vandalize caches just to get their jollies. I could see the exposure suddenly multiplying these problems tenfold overnight.

 

Now, personally I think the show could be great. It could be a good fit for the Outdoor Channel or the Travel Channel or Discovery, I think. They could have a cast of regulars that represent a diverse mix of cachers...the gung-ho extreme 5-5 cache seekers, the retired couple travelling the country hunting caches in their RV, the newbies, the family caching with their young kids, just to name a few.

 

So whaddya think? A bit of a double edged sword, yeah? Discuss amongst yourselves....

 

(Oh, and if 6 months from now such a show appears, just remember where you heard it first :P )

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I'd never watch it... well, maybe once. I don't watch geocaching Youtube videos for the same reason. They're boring. Besides, the real thing behind reality TV is not what the people do... it is how dysfunctionally they interact, and we all know that geocachers, particularly those that participate here on the forums, are hardly dysfunctional! (OK, maybe a reality show about the forum regulars would sell) :lol:

 

Your theoretical TV show would be a very bad thing for Geocaching, IMO. I am one that thinks that publicity and proselyting and popularity work against us. This is one activity where more is not merrier.

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I think it would also be detrimental. The hobby continues to grows based on word or mouth, or more accurately by example at a sufficient rate. It does not need reality TV. If you create some crazy fad based on a TV show, then you will have every idiot who thinks it is cool for about 2 weeks trying it. They will not have the consciousness towards people's property, and the "gestalt" of the hobby. There will be numerous Geocaching horror stories of land/property destruction, inappropriate caches etc. Ultimately, the hobby will end as we know it. I am not trying to be over dramatic, but I have seen what the over promotion of activities like Jet sking and kayaking is doing to aquatic environments.

Edited by Russ!
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Besides, the real thing behind reality TV is not what the people do... it is how dysfunctionally they interact, and we all know that geocachers, particularly those that participate here on the forums, are hardly dysfunctional! (OK, maybe a reality show about the forum regulars would sell) :lol:

 

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: Would I watch a show with the forum regulars? You bet I would. :blink: Would it be good for Geocaching? No it would not. :sad:

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Besides, the real thing behind reality TV is not what the people do... it is how dysfunctionally they interact, and we all know that geocachers, particularly those that participate here on the forums, are hardly dysfunctional! (OK, maybe a reality show about the forum regulars would sell) :lol:

 

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: Would I watch a show with the forum regulars? You bet I would. :blink: Would it be good for Geocaching? No it would not. :sad:

So what are you saying about us?

 

as to a caching reality show - NO NO NO!

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What?

We drove our car a while, then stopped at this pull-out along the highway [cut due to spoiler].

Then we continued along to the next pull-out and [cut due to spoiler].

Once we were finished there, we continued up to this short trail along the ridgeline and [cut due to spoiler].

 

Of course the producer isn't OBLIGATED to leave out the spoiler segments, but in the interest of community respect, they do.

NAH, it ain't gonna fly.

Geocaching is a hands-on activity, not a spectator sport.

I wouldn't mind it if Rick Steves mentioned there was a Geocache nearby in his travelogues, though. ;)

 

'And if you are visiting downtown Barcelona, be sure to look for GC2MAQY'

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Besides, the real thing behind reality TV is not what the people do... it is how dysfunctionally they interact, and we all know that geocachers, particularly those that participate here on the forums, are hardly dysfunctional! (OK, maybe a reality show about the forum regulars would sell) :lol:

 

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: Would I watch a show with the forum regulars? You bet I would. :blink: Would it be good for Geocaching? No it would not. :sad:

So what are you saying about us?

 

as to a caching reality show - NO NO NO!

We are always entertaining and sometimes dysfunctional.

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What?

We drove our car a while, then stopped at this pull-out along the highway [cut due to spoiler].

Then we continued along to the next pull-out and [cut due to spoiler].

Once we were finished there, we continued up to this short trail along the ridgeline and [cut due to spoiler].

 

Of course the producer isn't OBLIGATED to leave out the spoiler segments, but in the interest of community respect, they do.

NAH, it ain't gonna fly.

Geocaching is a hands-on activity, not a spectator sport.

I wouldn't mind it if Rick Steves mentioned there was a Geocache nearby in his travelogues, though. ;)

 

'And if you are visiting downtown Barcelona, be sure to look for GC2MAQY'

 

What's the significance of that cache in the context of this thread? I found a few in Barcelona last year but didn't get anywhere near that one.

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Picture anyone you have watched on a "reality" TV show.

In your opinion, did they improve your perceptions of whatever they were doing?

A show about repo folks leaves the audience thinking all repo guys are nitwits.

The same can be said about folks who buy storage lots at auction, run pawn shops, etc.

Would a show about cachers paint us in a negative light?

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(OK, maybe a reality show about the forum regulars would sell)

I would LOVE to watch that show.

 

As for a geocaching reality show PLEASE NO! For the love of god man lets keep this to ourselves. The last thing I want to see is Paris Hilton geocaching. Kill me know

 

I wouldn't mind it if Rick Steves mentioned there was a Geocache nearby in his travelogues, though.

 

'And if you are visiting downtown Barcelona, be sure to look for GC2MAQY'

 

I don't know who Rick Steves is but it would be cool if he was someone like Anthony Bordain

Edited by Presence
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Picture anyone you have watched on a "reality" TV show.

In your opinion, did they improve your perceptions of whatever they were doing?

A show about repo folks leaves the audience thinking all repo guys are nitwits.

The same can be said about folks who buy storage lots at auction, run pawn shops, etc.

Would a show about cachers paint us in a negative light?

 

LOL. Maybe.

 

It improved my opinion of Sharon Osbourne.

 

But okay, I hafta admit that the Pickers don't set off my gaydar and they should right? Maybe it's brokeded.

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Wouldn't watch it. Like another reply said they would recruit some really nice people and then recruit some jerks. The jerks would be jerks at the cache doing god knows what to it and to the nice cachers. I hate that stuff. TV is bad enough. Reality TV is nothing but a waist of air. They do it to make money and not have to worry about paying an Actor etc.... It is to TV what Wally Mart is to Department Stores. Watching it just allows them to keep dishing out junk instead of the good stuff.

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Wouldn't watch it. Like another reply said they would recruit some really nice people and then recruit some jerks. The jerks would be jerks at the cache doing god knows what to it and to the nice cachers. I hate that stuff. TV is bad enough. Reality TV is nothing but a waist of air. They do it to make money and not have to worry about paying an Actor etc.... It is to TV what Wally Mart is to Department Stores. Watching it just allows them to keep dishing out junk instead of the good stuff.

 

You do realize that the "stars" of these reality shows are being paid very well for their participation in the show, right? :huh:

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Wouldn't watch it. Like another reply said they would recruit some really nice people and then recruit some jerks. The jerks would be jerks at the cache doing god knows what to it and to the nice cachers. I hate that stuff. TV is bad enough. Reality TV is nothing but a waist of air. They do it to make money and not have to worry about paying an Actor etc.... It is to TV what Wally Mart is to Department Stores. Watching it just allows them to keep dishing out junk instead of the good stuff.

 

You do realize that the "stars" of these reality shows are being paid very well for their participation in the show, right? :huh:

There's money to be made????

I say we all sign up to do the show. This could be Blue Bow's new job. We would still have to find the token jerk to join in.

Wait. how much is the pay? is it in cash or ammo boxes?

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I don't know who Rick Steves is but it would be cool if he was someone like Anthony Bordain

:lol: No, you definitely do not know who Rick Steves is. :lol:

 

I didn't know who Rick Steves was until a week ago. I was talking with someone that recently got back from a vacation in Italy. Apparently he and his wife are Rick Steves fans because when they were planning their trip, and were told by others to hire a travel agent, they found a phone number for Steves and called it. The woman he talked to told him that Steves does work as a travel agent but only for larger groups but gave him the number of *Steves* travel agent. He called that person and had their vacation all planned. He said they had a great time.

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I saw geocaching featured on a show called Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. The family (who were geocachers) were given a GPS complete with coordinates and set off to find.........a car! No smiley, but the car and the new house were needed. I don't watch it often, but I find it a feel good type of show.

I like the idea of Rick Steves incorporating caching into a show of his - who knows, he may geocache already, maybe he's here in the forums and we don't know it! Love his shows....

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I don't know who Rick Steves is but it would be cool if he was someone like Anthony Bordain

:lol: No, you definitely do not know who Rick Steves is. :lol:

 

I didn't know who Rick Steves was until a week ago. I was talking with someone that recently got back from a vacation in Italy. Apparently he and his wife are Rick Steves fans because when they were planning their trip, and were told by others to hire a travel agent, they found a phone number for Steves and called it. The woman he talked to told him that Steves does work as a travel agent but only for larger groups but gave him the number of *Steves* travel agent. He called that person and had their vacation all planned. He said they had a great time.

Rick Steves also has a travelogue series on PBS. That's where I know him from. Anthony Bordain, on the other hand, is the "bad boy chef" on the Travel Channel. The two are pretty much opposites when it comes to personalities, even though they each travel around the world for their jobs.

 

As to geocaching reality shows, it's Thursday, almost time for the next episode of "Geocaching with Knowschad".

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My .02 cents: I wouldnt like to see this happen. Do you remember what Extreme Couponing on TLC did for the extreme couponing crowd. It was awful and my wife cant use half of her coupons anymore because of the rule changes. I just envision people stealing caches left and right. I dont think it would be good for this hobby of ours...

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