6 million cachers!

[+jellis]

Don't know if anyone brought it up but has anyone noticed the front page of GC? 6 million cachers! Wondering if that is all active cachers? But even so I am wondering also how that compares to how many caches, 2,330,214 active geocaches. I know not all cachers own caches and some own many, why isn't the number of caches higher, if let's say each cacher own even one cache?

[+pppingme]

Nope, the greatest majority of those accounts are not active, most haven't even been logged into more than once. GC doesn't ever delete accounts, not even unverified accounts that have never been logged into.

[+6NoisyHikers]

There are 2.3 million active caches - so this does not include the zillions of containers formerly known as caches

 

The actual number of registered, validated, dedicated, active cachers is closer to 300,000. (I get this info from cacherstats.com, which counts any registered member with over 200 finds.)

 

The other thing you'll find if you do a random username search is that most names are abandoned accounts - because either they stopped caching or they decided they didn't like the username and, instead of changing their info, opened a new account. Try any word, try "pickle". The serach engine will give you up to 20 possibilities. Check each one and see what I mean. These abandoned accounts stay listed forever in the geocaching record of users, thus the 6 million figure.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I can appreciate their enthusiasm, but I wish they would try for a more accurate figure. It's a major stretch from 300,000 to 6 million.

 

At the very least, maybe they should only count accounts which have been accessed in the last year.

Edited March 12, 2014 by The_Incredibles_

[Mr.Yuck]

Nope, the greatest majority of those accounts are not active, most haven't even been logged into more than once. GC doesn't ever delete accounts, not even unverified accounts that have never been logged into.

 

Thank you, for once I didn't have to say it (and when I do, people argue with me ) On top of all that, it has been shown they won't even delete the accounts of spammers who have created accounts for no reason other than to spam these forums.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I can appreciate their enthusiasm, but I wish they would try for a more accurate figure. It's a major stretch from 300,000 to 6 million.

 

At the very least, maybe they should only count accounts which have been accessed in the last year.

 

The 300,000 number is based on a minimum of 200 finds. That might be reasonable for collecting find count stats but way too high as a criteria for the definition of a geocacher. Over half of the countries in the world probably have fewer than 200 caches in the entire country and I suspect that those that live in them and have found some of those caches, do consider themselves geocachers.

[+Ms.Scrabbler]

Nope, the greatest majority of those accounts are not active, most haven't even been logged into more than once. GC doesn't ever delete accounts, not even unverified accounts that have never been logged into.

 

Thank you, for once I didn't have to say it (and when I do, people argue with me ) On top of all that, it has been shown they won't even delete the accounts of spammers who have created accounts for no reason other than to spam these forums.

and don't forget sock puppets

[+CanadianRockies]

I can appreciate their enthusiasm, but I wish they would try for a more accurate figure. It's a major stretch from 300,000 to 6 million.

 

At the very least, maybe they should only count accounts which have been accessed in the last year.

The 300,000 number is based on a minimum of 200 finds. That might be reasonable for collecting find count stats but way too high as a criteria for the definition of a geocacher. Over half of the countries in the world probably have fewer than 200 caches in the entire country and I suspect that those that live in them and have found some of those caches, do consider themselves geocachers.

Let's also keep in mind that 300,000 is the number of accounts, not persons. My wife and I share one of those accounts, but we both consider ourselves geocachers.

[+niraD]

The 300,000 number is based on a minimum of 200 finds. That might be reasonable for collecting find count stats but way too high as a criteria for the definition of a geocacher. Over half of the countries in the world probably have fewer than 200 caches in the entire country and I suspect that those that live in them and have found some of those caches, do consider themselves geocachers.

The last time someone from Groundspeak posted statistics on such things, the median find count for ALL geocaching.com accounts was well under 200 finds, something in the range of 30-40 finds IIRC. Even in countries with plenty of geocaches, most people who create an account just don't find that many caches, and won't show up on the cacherstats.com site.

[jholly]

There are 2.3 million active caches - so this does not include the zillions of containers formerly known as caches

 

The actual number of registered, validated, dedicated, active cachers is closer to 300,000. (I get this info from cacherstats.com, which counts any registered member with over 200 finds.)

 

The other thing you'll find if you do a random username search is that most names are abandoned accounts - because either they stopped caching or they decided they didn't like the username and, instead of changing their info, opened a new account. Try any word, try "pickle". The serach engine will give you up to 20 possibilities. Check each one and see what I mean. These abandoned accounts stay listed forever in the geocaching record of users, thus the 6 million figure.

And if you start looking at those 300,000 you will find that most under a find count of 250 haven't found a cache for the past couple years and many haven't logged into GS.com for that long either. Even the figure of 300,000 is high for active cachers. Probably more like 100-150,000 active cachers world wide.

[4wheelin_fool]

Yeah, here is the press photo that Groundspeak released of the 6 millionth cacher:

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by 4wheelin_fool

[+NYPaddleCacher]

There are 2.3 million active caches - so this does not include the zillions of containers formerly known as caches

 

The actual number of registered, validated, dedicated, active cachers is closer to 300,000. (I get this info from cacherstats.com, which counts any registered member with over 200 finds.)

 

The other thing you'll find if you do a random username search is that most names are abandoned accounts - because either they stopped caching or they decided they didn't like the username and, instead of changing their info, opened a new account. Try any word, try "pickle". The serach engine will give you up to 20 possibilities. Check each one and see what I mean. These abandoned accounts stay listed forever in the geocaching record of users, thus the 6 million figure.

And if you start looking at those 300,000 you will find that most under a find count of 250 haven't found a cache for the past couple years and many haven't logged into GS.com for that long either. Even the figure of 300,000 is high for active cachers. Probably more like 100-150,000 active cachers world wide.

 

Counting the number of geocachers that have found at least 1 cache in the past year would probably be a fairly accurate indicator of the current state of the game. Of course, there are some that don't log finds at all and some that only found 1-2 caches but have effectively left the game but I suspect both of those numbers are not statistically significant. As CanadianRockies suggests, the number of geocaching accounts used by a family of geocachers is probably the biggest obstacle to getting an accurate count of the number of active geocachers. In any case, "Over 6 million geocachers" grossly misrepresents the current state of the game.

[Moun10Bike]

Average number of finds among all cachers (only counting those with at least 1 find): 109

Median number of finds among all cachers (only counting those with at least 1 find): 8

Total count of cachers with at least 1 find: 3,033,032

Total count of cachers with at least 1 find who have logged on in the past year: 1,449,514 (note that API access does not update the last login date, so this number will not count those who are accessing Geocaching.com solely using an app)

[+K13]

Average number of finds among all cachers (only counting those with at least 1 find): 109

Median number of finds among all cachers (only counting those with at least 1 find): 8

Total count of cachers with at least 1 find: 3,033,032

Total count of cachers with at least 1 find who have logged on in the past year: 1,449,514 (note that API access does not update the last login date, so this number will not count those who are accessing Geocaching.com solely using an app)

 

It appears there are very many 'one & done' members out there.

[+niraD]

Thank you, Moun10Bike! That helps us understand the how others are participating (or not) in geocaching.

 

Would it be possible/convenient to produce the following stats?

 

Total count of accounts with at least one find in the past year.

Median number of finds for all accounts (counting only those with at least one find in the past year)?

[Mr.Yuck]

Total count of cachers with at least 1 find: 3,033,032

Of course the cynical around here might point out that means well over 50% of accounts have never registered a find.

[Moun10Bike]

Thank you, Moun10Bike! That helps us understand the how others are participating (or not) in geocaching.

 

Would it be possible/convenient to produce the following stats?

 

Total count of accounts with at least one find in the past year.

Median number of finds for all accounts (counting only those with at least one find in the past year)?

 

Sure, I like stats stuff!

 

Total number of accounts with at least one find in the past year: 1,333,325

Average number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 217

Median number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 19

[+niraD]

Total number of accounts with at least one find in the past year: 1,333,325

Average number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 217

Median number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 19

Wow... Thanks!

 

So of the "over 6 million" accounts, more than 78% haven't logged a find in the last year.

 

And the average is really skewed by those of us who have done a LOT of geocaching.

 

Thanks again!

[Mr.Yuck]

Total number of accounts with at least one find in the past year: 1,333,325

Average number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 217

Median number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 19

Wow... Thanks!

 

So of the "over 6 million" accounts, more than 78% haven't logged a find in the last year.

 

And the average is really skewed by those of us who have done a LOT of geocaching.

 

Thanks again!

 

Yes, averages really skewed by those of us with "a lot" of finds. It seems like there area a lot of one and done people out there, and I guess there is.

 

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend. The 6,000,000 probably comes from 3,000,000 with a find, and family members? I know Mrs. Yuck, Yuck Jr., and daughter Yuckette have found caches, but will never have an account to log them.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Mr.Yuck

[+JL_HSTRE]

I recall hearing that Groundspeak considers 1 account = average 2 people. This accounts for family and friends who do who find caches with the account owner and do not log seperately.

 

Trying to define an "active cacher". I have a friend who has over 200 Finds dating back to 2010 and logged Finds earlier this month, but didn't find any caches in 2013 and basically only caches a few times a year nearly always with me or other friends. I've also come across a few accounts that have finds going back 5 or 10 years who only find a few dozen caches a year at most.

 

An interesting way to look at account stats might be to find an old, easy, non-PMO Traditional cache in your area and see the stats of the different people who find it over the years.

[Mr.Yuck]

I recall hearing that Groundspeak considers 1 account = average 2 people. This accounts for family and friends who do who find caches with the account owner and do not log seperately.

 

 

There may be a more complex algorithim out there for a website to determine how many people engage in their activity, or they could have just rolled with "2 for 1".

 

By the way when I say Mrs. Yuck, Yuck Jr., and daughter Yuckette have found caches, I mean with me. And we can throw in Cousin Yuck (same age as Yuck Jr.), whom I'll bet has been to over 50 with us. However, the chances of any of these 4 people downloading the app, and finding caches without me is non-existent.

[+Alkhalikoi]

These are fun stats Mount10. With the median that low, what percentage log one-and-only-one?

 

* * *

 

And I'm quite sympathetic with Groundspeak having an imperfect grasp on their users. My company sells a consumer product and trying to understand -- really understand -- who is using it, who is buying it, how long they stick around, etc., is part statistics, part necromancy. We have a guy who spent 20 years with Procter & Gamble figuring out why people by Crest and not Colgate, Tide with Lemon and not Tide with Orange, etc. etc., and the most basic, statistically useful survey to understand this, with real interviews and tests and surveys (instead of SurveyMonkey), is at least $50,000. I have no idea of Groundspeaks finances, but it costs a whole lot of money to truly grok your customer base. I'm not surprised -- given that it largely works -- that they guestimate.

[4wheelin_fool]

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend.

 

Today, its up to 8,980,000. That's another 30,000 in the last 5 days? At a rate of 6,000 per day. 250 per hour, 4.1 per minute, 1 every 14.4 seconds..

Edited March 13, 2014 by 4wheelin_fool

[Moun10Bike]

These are fun stats Mount10. With the median that low, what percentage log one-and-only-one?

 

It's right around 10%. Running the numbers today, I get 1,334,506 cachers with at least 1 find in the past year and 142,828 of those with only one find.

[+The_Incredibles_]

If I only went golfing once I wouldn't consider myself a golfer.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Here's a question: if you emailed all 6 million of these people and asked them if they considered themselves geocachers, how many would say yes?

[Mr.Yuck]

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend.

 

Today, its up to 8,980,000. That's another 30,000 in the last 5 days? At a rate of 6,000 per day. 250 per hour, 4.1 per minute, 1 every 14.4 seconds..

 

Easily explained. They're all bots.

 

Just kidding. That is a lot of people signing up. They keep that sign up form page busy, don't they?

[4wheelin_fool]

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend.

 

Today, its up to 8,980,000. That's another 30,000 in the last 5 days? At a rate of 6,000 per day. 250 per hour, 4.1 per minute, 1 every 14.4 seconds..

 

Easily explained. They're all bots.

 

Just kidding. That is a lot of people signing up. They keep that sign up form page busy, don't they?

 

Mostly app's with humans attached and completely fixated to the smartphone? And generating prewritten generic logs? Some would call that a form of bot.

[+niraD]

Here's a question: if you emailed all 6 million of these people and asked them if they considered themselves geocachers, how many would say yes?

That's a good question. Over the years, I've taken dozens of people geocaching. Most of them have found at least one geocache. (I tend to play huckle buckle beanstalk style, so everyone gets a chance to spot the cache on their own if they want to.) Many of them have signed a geocache log. Some of them have traded trinkets. But I doubt that many of them would call themselves geocachers.

[Mr.Yuck]

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend.

 

Today, its up to 8,980,000. That's another 30,000 in the last 5 days? At a rate of 6,000 per day. 250 per hour, 4.1 per minute, 1 every 14.4 seconds..

 

Easily explained. They're all bots.

 

Just kidding. That is a lot of people signing up. They keep that sign up form page busy, don't they?

 

Mostly app's with humans attached and completely fixated to the smartphone? And generating prewritten generic logs? Some would call that a form of bot.

 

I knew someone would take the ball and roll with that one.

 

Median number of finds among all cachers (only counting those with at least 1 find): 8

 

Total count of cachers with at least 1 find: 3,033,032

 

You know, I was thinking about this one. I'm an Engineer, and a Math geek. Despite the fact that Median, a statistical term, isn't widely used in Engineering. But I don't think a lot of people are grasping the concept of the above quote. The Median of 8 means that of those 3,033,032 cachers with at least 1 find, ONE HALF, or 1,516,516 of them, have 8 finds or less.

[+TheHarleyRebel]

What they mean is 6 million accounts

[jholly]

Thank you, Moun10Bike! That helps us understand the how others are participating (or not) in geocaching.

 

Would it be possible/convenient to produce the following stats?

 

Total count of accounts with at least one find in the past year.

Median number of finds for all accounts (counting only those with at least one find in the past year)?

 

Sure, I like stats stuff!

 

Total number of accounts with at least one find in the past year: 1,333,325

Average number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 217

Median number of finds (all-time) for those accounts: 19

What would be real interesting is the number of accounts with say 50, 100 and 500 finds during the last year. For real giggles you might also run it for 1,000 and 2,000. If you want to do the average and median for those levels it would be dynamite.

[4wheelin_fool]

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend.

 

Today, its up to 8,980,000. That's another 30,000 in the last 5 days? At a rate of 6,000 per day. 250 per hour, 4.1 per minute, 1 every 14.4 seconds..

 

Today it's up to 9,780,000. That's 800,000 new accounts in the last 87 days, which is close to 9,200 new accounts per day. It's good to have a fresh flow of new people, but a flood of new app users is a little different..

[+Snoogans]

There are not 6,000,000 accounts, there are over 8,950,000 accounts. That's a nice round number, so 8,950,000 was created last weekend.

 

Today, its up to 8,980,000. That's another 30,000 in the last 5 days? At a rate of 6,000 per day. 250 per hour, 4.1 per minute, 1 every 14.4 seconds..

 

Today it's up to 9,780,000. That's 800,000 new accounts in the last 87 days, which is close to 9,200 new accounts per day. It's good to have a fresh flow of new people, but a flood of new app users is a little different..

 

Whoa.... Geocaching's Mainstream Event Horizon is within view. Let's see if my prediction holds...

[+The A-Team]

Today it's up to 9,780,000.

That profile page is a good example of why there's been such an increase:

Not Validated Member

Apps.

 

How many of those daily thousands of new users can be contacted if necessary?