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McDonalds and Burger King as WAYMARKS? c'mon, guys... :((


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Posted

imho, folks ... if THOSE are interesting waymarks, I am not too optimistic about the future of this whole new Waymarking-idea.

 

don't you think, that shops and restaurants should be tabu here - avoiding that Waymarking is used for advertising/merchandising purpose?

 

what's your opinion?

 

thank you for sharing it with me.

Posted

Sir or Madam -

 

Since you have no posts or visits, I wonder how you can attack something that you do not participate in.

 

As others are going to tell you, there are categories which if proposed now would not be passed in peer review.

 

Rather than post such as ugly message, why not play OUR game for a while. There are many much more exciting categories than fast food restaurants.

 

And you will never find a soggy piece of paper Waymarking.

Posted

Rather than post such as ugly message, why not play OUR game for a while. There are many much more exciting categories than fast food restaurants.

Since you don't seem to know where the OP's coming from, I can tell you, not because I know anything about the OP, but because I had the same experience. I thought waymarking sounded fun, so I did give it a try. I looked around for waymarks in my area, expecting to be able to find them since everyone always cites waymarking as the replacement for Virtual Caches, something I enjoy a lot. The result was being deluged with "McDonalds class" waymarks. As far as I could tell, that was all that was in my area, and there were hundreds of them.

 

So I was at least as disappointed as the OP. Fortunately, when I posted my similar message a few years ago, instead of being accused of being ugly, the response I got was more helpful, explaining what Waymarking really was about. (For the OP: the gist -- which I'm really not qualified to explain -- is that waymarking is mainly about the marking. Very few waymarks are actually found. There's a small handful that are something like Virtual Caches, but likely none in any given area.)

Posted

imho, folks ... if THOSE are interesting waymarks, I am not too optimistic about the future of this whole new Waymarking-idea.

 

don't you think, that shops and restaurants should be tabu here - avoiding that Waymarking is used for advertising/merchandising purpose?

 

what's your opinion?

 

thank you for sharing it with me.

From the beginning, Waymarking has been a community driven site. If you like a Category, you can contribute. If not, don't. If you see a new Category proposal that you like, vote it up. If not, vote it down.

 

There are no taboos, other than restrictions imposed by the Terms of Use for the site, and the whim of the community.

Posted

I have found/visited three times as many waymarks as I have created/posted. I specialize in some commercial categories and some non-commecial categories. I think that diversity is the strength of this game.

Posted

I have found/visited three times as many waymarks as I have created/posted.

Wow, Waymarking must be more fun in your area. In my area, over 99% of the waymarks have never been visited, so it's hard to even imagine a waymarker that visits more than he creates.

Posted

I have found/visited three times as many waymarks as I have created/posted.

Wow, Waymarking must be more fun in your area. In my area, over 99% of the waymarks have never been visited, so it's hard to even imagine a waymarker that visits more than he creates.

Waymarking can be confusing in the beginning; and when you try to compare it to Geocaching it will be even more confusing. It is important to understand that it is a different game.

 

There are many ways to play the game. All of them are fine. There are eager visitors and there are people that do only post. There are category specialists, there are icon hunters, and there are the ones that are only for the numbers.

 

In general, the average waymarker today does not like commercial categories. But they have been around from the beginning and we can afford some tolerance towards the ones who like them (or like the fact that they are so easy to post). But new commercial categories will not work, every attempt to create one has resulted in a total disaster, for many years now. Nevertheless, the old ones stay alive. You can ignore them, just as many of us do, or you can contribute. In the global distribution, commercial waymarks make less than 10% of the total, in my area it is much less, in yours it seems to be more. But if you find categories you like better, you can simply ignore the other ones. Premium members can even let the site ignore them automatically.

 

Your observation, that there are more people posting than visiting is probably true. I do not live in an area with many Waymarkers, about 20% of my Waymarks have been visited, not 1% as you experience. This is still not much, but this is no problem. It's not Geocaching, a cache nobody looks for is worthless. A posted Waymark is a posted Waymark. If it gets visited some day it's a bonus, but visits are not very important to most of us. It's about finding new locations and documenting them. There's not much to find at an existing waymark, I do visit them when I am in the area, but it is so easy, I prefer the additional effort of posting a new one. Many Waymarkers feel the same.

Posted

We all play our own game here. Some people are into quantity while others are about quality. There are those who play strictly for visits or posts and there are those who do both.

 

As for the quality of waymarks, I'm not going to address that. Just like in Geocaching, if you don't like a certain type of caches you don't go looking for them. If you don't like restaurant waymarks, you just pass on them.

 

Presently there are 683958 waymarks worldwide, listed in 1094 user-created categories. I'm sure is at least one or two categories that you might find interesting. Not all categories are fast food restaurants. Many are historical based. Historical markers, National Register of Historic Places, to name two. There are similar categories for those who live in other countries.

 

Unlike Geocaching, Waymarking does not have a fancy mobile App. We do have a third party App which is web based. Maybe it will help you see what waymarks are near you.

 

https://geotrailsw.com/wm/

 

A lot of geocaches are located near waymarks or vice versa. So next time you are signing that log, check to see if maybe you can log a waymark too.

Posted (edited)

Wow, Waymarking must be more fun in your area. In my area, over 99% of the waymarks have never been visited, so it's hard to even imagine a waymarker that visits more than he creates.

 

Wow, I am surprised you had the energy to post here after reviewing 1,255 waymarks in your area for visits. That is 99% of all waymarks within a 6 mile radius.

 

I see you geocache in nearby areas why not check those areas for waymarks and be sure to let us know how many have not been visited?

Edited by BK-Hunters
Posted (edited)

I have found/visited three times as many waymarks as I have created/posted.

Wow, Waymarking must be more fun in your area. In my area, over 99% of the waymarks have never been visited, so it's hard to even imagine a waymarker that visits more than he creates.

 

I have found/visited 4.3x as many waymarks as I have created/posted. Posted 161, visited 693.

 

Not all waymarkers are in it for the number of waymarks created. I only create and visit waymarks that I find interesting, and skip over many (also what I consider interesting may change with time and location). I'm just as happy to log a visit, in fact sometimes I prefer that because I don't always have the time to create a new waymark.

 

Not so hard to imagine at all....

Edited by Bon Echo
Posted

since everyone always cites waymarking as the replacement for Virtual Caches, something I enjoy a lot.

 

If you want to find a direct replacement for virtual caches, you will need to look beyond Groundspeak. There are at least two active listing websites that still allow virtual caches to be listed. Both allow for logging passwords, so no need to email the CO before logging to verify you visited the area - visit the site, find the logging password and post your log. And IMO the level of "quality" or "interesting-ness" of locations being used for virtual caches on those sites is no different that those used for the original set of virtual caches.

 

I don't shop at just one hardware store - one store is bigger and offers more selection, but sometimes I can get something at a smaller store that is more suited to my preferences or tastes. In geocaching I use the same philosophy.

 

But I completely agree with the sentiment that Waymarking is not the same as virtual caches, just as the letterbox hybrid is nowhere close to being the same as a true letterbox. Find what you enjoy and do it. I enjoy all of the above and so that's what I do.

Posted (edited)

Every so-many months we have folks "come over" from the geocaching forums to bad-mouth Waymarking, without really understanding what it is. (Both nay-sayers have 0 Waymark visits and posts.)

 

Dudes, there wouldn't be so many of us Waymarkers if the hobby was totally useless! It doesn't have as wide of appeal as Geocaching, but why hit a man while he's down? What's the point?

 

In a way, Waymarking is like the old video phones from the 1960s. No one wanted one because it was only useful when talking to someone else, and no one else had one, so why get one?

 

If/when Waymarking has built up large enough that there are Waymarks in lots of interesting categories in lots of areas, then the average newbie can look to see what's around them and go visit them. But it's not like we're the OpenStreetMap people that has a HUGE contributing audience that can tell you everything that is at every exit on every road. There's too few of us, so far.

 

Thus, a newbie can go to quite a large area and look for Waymarks around there and not find anything at all. Or they may find Waymarks in those categories that even the current Waymarking community finds silly, but just happened "back in the day." It probably won't occur to the newbie to go ahead and add a bunch of Waymarks for really interesting categories in the said area; unless that newbie really has other folks' interests at heart. ;)

 

If/when Waymarking ever took off big (don't laugh too loud), there'd be so many interesting Waymarks blanketing so many areas -- in lots of nations, at that -- that folks would be swarming to Waymarking to look for those neat things in their areas, or in places they plan to visit. But we're not there (yet).

 

Those of us who choose to contribute Waymarks to categories that we find interesting are trying to do something about this dearth. Unfortunately, in the meanwhile, from time to time we have to endure the occasional diatribes from folks who hate Waymarking without doing it.

Edited by MountainWoods
Posted

We all play our own game here. Some people are into quantity while others are about quality. There are those who play strictly for visits or posts and there are those who do both.

In my area, there's only one way to play because no one posts waymarks to be visited. Well, actually, no one's posted waymarks for any reason for several years. I don't know if my area's unusual because it's so dead or your area's so unusual because it's so alive.

 

Wow, I am surprised you had the energy to post here after reviewing 1,255 waymarks in your area for visits. That is 99% of all waymarks within a 6 mile radius.

I admit that I applied statistical analysis rather than an exhaustive search to come up with that number.

 

I see you geocache in nearby areas why not check those areas for waymarks and be sure to let us know how many have not been visited?

From time to time, I have looked at the waymarking situation in nearby locations, and it always seems to be uniformly vacuous. When someone once told me about a really good category I should check out, I discovered there were 4 waymarks in the category in the entire state of California. I don't claim that's because of a problem with waymarking itself -- how would I know that? -- I'm just pointing out that it's a fact about waymarking where I am, so perhaps the OP is in a similar area.

 

Every so-many months we have folks "come over" from the geocaching forums to bad-mouth Waymarking, without really understanding what it is. (Both nay-sayers have 0 Waymark visits and posts.)

I'll take your word for it. I try to read threads complaining about waymarking, and I don't remember seeing one for a year or more. No one from geocaching really cares enough about waymarking to complain about it, so generally complaints aren't from people coming from the geocaching forums so much as people starting out in the forums in general.

 

Dudes, there wouldn't be so many of us Waymarkers if the hobby was totally useless! It doesn't have as wide of appeal as Geocaching, but why hit a man while he's down? What's the point?

Are there many waymarkers? There was almost literally one waymarker in my area, but I think he stopped marking, too, last time I looked.

 

If/when Waymarking has built up large enough that there are Waymarks in lots of interesting categories in lots of areas, then the average newbie can look to see what's around them and go visit them. But it's not like we're the OpenStreetMap people that has a HUGE contributing audience that can tell you everything that is at every exit on every road. There's too few of us, so far.

I had to double check the date of your post to make sure I wasn't responding to some ancient post. It was a few years ago I gave up waiting for waymarking to "catch on" and blossom in my area.

Posted (edited)

We all play our own game here. Some people are into quantity while others are about quality. There are those who play strictly for visits or posts and there are those who do both.

In my area, there's only one way to play because no one posts waymarks to be visited. Well, actually, no one's posted waymarks for any reason for several years. I don't know if my area's unusual because it's so dead or your area's so unusual because it's so alive.

 

If your in Pleasanton, CA, there are 1,260 waymarks in a 10 mile radius on city center. If you want to go to a 50 mile radius there is 30,000. So I'm not sure where you are getting your info from.

 

They might not all be something that you are interested in, but I would have to say that they are there.

 

If there are none to be found then you have free run to post anything that is out there that interests you.

 

Have fun either way and welcome to Waymarking!

Edited by jhuoni
Posted

If your in Pleasanton, CA, there are 1,260 waymarks in a 10 mile radius on city center. If you want to go to a 50 mile radius there is 30,000. So I'm not sure where you are getting your info from.

Almost all are vacuous McDonalds marks.

Posted

If your in Pleasanton, CA, there are 1,260 waymarks in a 10 mile radius on city center. If you want to go to a 50 mile radius there is 30,000. So I'm not sure where you are getting your info from.

Almost all are vacuous McDonalds marks.

 

Not quite.

There's 1268 waymarks within 10 kms (6 miles) of the above mentioned city. Here's how that breaks down in terms of the number of waymarks in each category; it is true that waymarks within the Business categoies account for a third of all waymarks in that area. But that also means there are more than 850 waymarks in that are not business. Look at the list. Surely something in that list appeals to you?

 

Business

Food and Drink (291), Stores/Retail (87), Natural/Organic Food Stores (10), Lodging (7), Publicly Held Corporation Headquarters (6), Wineries (3), Newspaper Headquarters (2), Auto Clubs (2), Flea Markets (1), Indoor Malls (1), A.M./F.M. Radio Broadcasting Stations (1), Farmers' Markets (1)

 

Buildings

Government and Services (58), Religious Buildings (15), Transportation (Buildings) (10), Architectural (10), Meeting Houses (5), Dated Buildings and Cornerstones (4), Converted Firehouses (2), Converted Bank Buildings (2), Blacksmith Shops (1), Geodesic Domes (1), Victorian Houses (1), Relocated Structures (1), Doorways of the World (1), Charity (1), Carnegie Library Buildings (1), View more Buildings subcategories...

 

Culture

Sculptures (Art) (47), Artistically Decorated Utility Boxes (23), Statues (Art) (7), Murals (6), Mosaics (6), Topiaries (4), Relief Art Sculptures (2), Artistic Seating (2), Etched in Stone (2), Painted Hydrants (2), Frieze Art (1), Outdoor Stations of the Cross (1), Musical Instruments (1), Kokopelli Sightings (1), Outside Wooden Display Carvings (1)

 

History

Historical Markers (59), U.S. National Register of Historic Places (14), Time Capsules (6), Exact Replicas (5), First of its Kind (4), Municipal Flags (4), Highways and Byways (4), NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings (3), Guest Books (2), Tragic Sites (1), War (History) (1), New World Ancient Evidence (1), American Guide Series (1)

 

Structures

Fountains (52), Free Community Book Exchanges (14), Freestanding Arches (6), Dated Architectural Structures Multifarious (4), Gazebos (4), Outdoor Amphitheaters (4), Bell Towers (3), Bridges (3), Windmills (2), Non-Coastal Boardwalks (1), Engineering Landmarks (1), Water Towers (1), Nuclear Power Plants (1)

 

Recreation

Public Playgrounds (35), Outdoor Basketball Courts (11), Roadside Attractions (6), Skateparks (6), Tennis Facilities (6), Bicycle Tenders (6), Lawn Bowling (4), Amateur Baseball Fields (4), Water (Sports) (3), Hiking and Trails (2), Martial Arts (2), Golf (1), Inline Hockey Rinks (1), Billiards and Pool Halls (1), Winter (Sports) (1), View more Recreation subcategories...

 

Monuments

Dedicated Benches (16), Dedicated Trees (12), Donated Engraved Bricks and Pavers (11), Citizen Memorials (9), War (8), Final Resting Places (6), Statues (People) (3), Sister City Monuments (3), Rotary International Markers (2), Police Memorials (2), 9/11 Memorial Sites (2), Animal Memorials (1), Lions Clubs International Markers (1), Firefighter Memorials (1), Peace Poles (1), View more Monuments subcategories...

 

Technology

Internet (24), Fabrication (17), Machines (12), Vehicles (8), Communication (5), Solar Power (1)

 

Signs

Elevation Signs (15), Population Signs (13), Neon Signs (10), 'You Are Here' Maps (9), Time and Temperature Signs (4), Flora and Fauna Information Signs (3), Artistic Welcome Signs (2), Unusual Speed Limits (1), Small Town, Big Name (1), Bridge Date Stones and Plaques (1), Artistic Neon Lights (1), Welcome Signs (1)

 

Nature

Parks/Reserves (40), Plants (5), Trees (Nature) (1), Demonstration Gardens (1), Scenic Overlooks (1)

 

Waymarking Multifarious

Limited Availability (17), News Article Locations (7), Real World Reproduction (4), Coordinate Games (1)

 

Entertainment

Museums (7), Live Performance (3), Movie Projection (2), Bookcrossing Zones (2), There's a Book About It (2), Movie Locations (1), Pop Culture (1), Horse Racing Tracks (1), Literary Sites (1), Official Local Tourism Attractions (1), Dance Clubs (1), Rides and Moving Attractions (1), Model Railroads (1), Photo Cutouts (1)

 

Animals

Off-Leash Dog Areas (9), Animal Hospitals (6)

 

Oddities

Satellite Imagery Oddities (3), Readable From Above (2), Man-made Devilish Locations (1), Urban Legends and Superstitions (1), Guinness World Records (1), Highway Giants - Muffler Men (1), Ghosts and Hauntings (1), Superlatives (1), Human Error (1), Letters on Hills (1), Themed Homemade Mailboxes (1)

 

Measurement Standards

U.S. Benchmarks (1)

Posted

If your in Pleasanton, CA, there are 1,260 waymarks in a 10 mile radius on city center. If you want to go to a 50 mile radius there is 30,000. So I'm not sure where you are getting your info from.

Almost all are vacuous McDonalds marks.

 

Not quite.

There's 1268 waymarks within 10 kms (6 miles) of the above mentioned city. Here's how that breaks down in terms of the number of waymarks in each category;

 

Bon Echo - you have WAY too much time on your hands. 😁

 

Thanks for the statistics!

Posted

 

Bon Echo - you have WAY too much time on your hands. 😁

 

Thanks for the statistics!

 

Actually it's mostly a copy and paste thing. Took a few minutes. Those numbers are always available whenever you do a location-based search. Run the search and then click the plus to expand the Categories section. Easy. But thanks.

Posted

 

Bon Echo - you have WAY too much time on your hands. 😁

 

Thanks for the statistics!

 

Actually it's mostly a copy and paste thing. Took a few minutes. Those numbers are always available whenever you do a location-based search. Run the search and then click the plus to expand the Categories section. Easy. But thanks.

 

Bon Echo, we are impressed and learned a new trick. Thanks.

Posted

First: Dear bubblezone, I'm not your guy.

 

If someone likes to take pictures, likes to travel, likes to discover new things, likes to do some researches and likes to write -> Waymarking is the perfect thing.

 

Before Waymarking all my pictures of nice things got burried in my computer. With Waymarking I gave them coordinates, descriptions AND everyone who uses the internet can find my Waymarks and with that informations about things which have often never been in the www before.

 

dprovan: Try it, go out and explore things you like, take good pictures of them (not only one) and write up a good listing. Help documenting, become one of us!

Posted

Not quite.

There's 1268 waymarks within 10 kms (6 miles) of the above mentioned city. Here's how that breaks down in terms of the number of waymarks in each category; it is true that waymarks within the Business categoies account for a third of all waymarks in that area. But that also means there are more than 850 waymarks in that are not business. Look at the list. Surely something in that list appeals to you?

Wow, it sounds so much more interesting when you break them into categories. Too bad only a handful are remotely interesting.

 

By the way, in that listing, where does it tell you which ones are exactly the same thing listed multiple times?

Posted

Not quite.

There's 1268 waymarks within 10 kms (6 miles) of the above mentioned city. Here's how that breaks down in terms of the number of waymarks in each category; it is true that waymarks within the Business categoies account for a third of all waymarks in that area. But that also means there are more than 850 waymarks in that are not business. Look at the list. Surely something in that list appeals to you?

<nitpick mode on>It is ten miles, not kilometers. The distance search always takes miles, also when you have the distances displayed in metric (and the drop down says kilometers). And that is only fair. Why should we get less results, just because we use a different measurement standard.<nitpick mode off>

 

Wow, it sounds so much more interesting when you break them into categories. Too bad only a handful are remotely interesting.

So what would be interesting? Waymarking covers a large bandwidth of topics, you just have to find them.

 

By the way, in that listing, where does it tell you which ones are exactly the same thing listed multiple times?

It does not tell you. The same thing in a different category is a different Waymark. You can post as many as you like if they fulfills the category requirements. And of course, you can visit them all. This is called cross-posting and it is totally accepted.

 

And then, there are often waymarks at the same location that are not the same thing. Like: a Roman Catholic cathedral that is in the NRHP can be cross-posted to the three respective categories. The stained glass windows, the unique steeple, the dated cornerstone, and many more have the same coordinates, but are different things.

Posted

To the OP.

 

McD's and Burger Kings are nothing that I find interesting either, and the let's Waymark everything people have made this site what it is.

 

I see the Waymarking community as one small group of elitists, and I believe that most see this site as you do. At first glance several years ago I saw a pay phone, a Pizza Hut and other lame stuff listed nearby and never looked back at this site for over a year.

 

Waymarking is not for everybody, and not every tree, lamp post, telephone pole or whatever is worthy of being a waymark. Learning to navigate the site takes time. :)

Posted (edited)

If your in Pleasanton, CA, there are 1,260 waymarks in a 10 mile radius on city center. If you want to go to a 50 mile radius there is 30,000. So I'm not sure where you are getting your info from.

Almost all are vacuous McDonalds marks.

I’m not sure what your interests are, but waymarks can be filtered from any of the 15 major Waymarking departments. Let me suggest these subsets in your area:

 

History Waymarks near Pleasanton

 

Cultural Waymarks near Pleasanton

 

Monument Waymarks near Pleasanton

Edited by DougK
Posted

There are several different ways of playing Waymarking.

Examples...

 

If you want to build up counts very quickly, it's easy enough to waymark or find sites that qualify for 10+ waymarks in just one building or location. Old churches for example. You can walk around downtown DC or another large city and easily find over 100 an hour if you want.

 

Or you can focus on just a few categories that you like. Some people do like to eat at McDonald's and perhaps like to waymark them as they eat there.

Posted

I have a hard time wrapping my head around Waymarking as a game. To me it's more of a directory. I use it sometimes when I stumble upon Waymarks while googling for interesting locations to visit. For example specialty gardens like Japanese gardens or historic buildings or sites.

Posted

If your in Pleasanton, CA, there are 1,260 waymarks in a 10 mile radius on city center. If you want to go to a 50 mile radius there is 30,000. So I'm not sure where you are getting your info from.

Almost all are vacuous McDonalds marks.

I’m not sure what your interests are, but waymarks can be filtered from any of the 15 major Waymarking departments. Let me suggest these subsets in your area:

 

History Waymarks near Pleasanton

 

Cultural Waymarks near Pleasanton

 

Monument Waymarks near Pleasanton

I want to sincerely thank you for this list. It's really great that you've taken such an interest in me, and I think these categories do a good job of giving me a good look at waymarking in my area. (I've been through lists like this before, but that's besides the point, and I did go just now an look at the lists you've linked to.) I appreciate your enthusiasm, I'm glad you enjoy waymarking, and I like the way you've chosen to spread the word. I do not mean to insult you or waymarking, I have nothing against waymarking, and I hope you continue enjoying your hobby.

 

But here's the thing:

 

The vast majority of waymarks in those lists have never been visited. Of the handful that have been visited, most were visited once a couple days after being posted (often by the person posting them) and then never again. I looked at the first 3 or so pages of each category, so a couple hundred listings, and there are literally a handful -- i.e., about five -- visits posted in the last 5 years.

 

So I'm not sure what you were trying to demonstrate, but if it's that there are interesting waymarks in my area or that waymarking is popular in my area, I'm afraid you've failed. And by "interesting", I'm not referring to my personal interests, but, instead, the objective measure of interest shown by other people.

 

Just about the first thing that I said in this thread was that waymarking is about marking, not about finding. I already understood from the get-go that visits weren't the point, so I'm not using my observations some kind of "waymarking is dumb" point, I'm just saying that I can't imagine what you thought you'd prove by having me look at those lists. I could have produced those lists to make my point.

 

I'm really glad you did point, though, and I'm glad I went to take a look, because it confirmed what I suspected: nothing has changed since the last time I looked at waymarking a year or two ago. And I mean nothing has changed, not that the same things are happening. In that couple of hundred marks in the lists you pointed me to, there were exactly 2 changes -- 2 visits posted, both by the same person on two marks at the same location -- in the last year. Now admittedly, that turned out to because the lists you sent were sorted by distance. When I switched to sort by newest, the picture was slightly different: the guy that posted the lion share of the marks in the area for the last 10 years is still posting marks as fast as he ever did. There are a couple other people that threw in a couple marks in the monuments category, but it's still not what you could call a vibrant community.

 

And the vibrant community is what I get out of geocaching. If I write a log, it's because I know many people will read it. In waymarking, there's no one to read anything.

 

But, again, I'm just explaining why I'm not interested in it. I think it's great that you enjoy it.

 

I am curious, though: are my observations a surprise? Or is this pretty much the same thing I'd find if I looked at those lists in any area?

Posted (edited)

All I am going to say....

 

I saw this coming.

 

I think I'll go out and post some McDonald's restaurants.

 

In the words of Ricky Nelson -

"You can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself".

Edited by jhuoni
Posted

And the vibrant community is what I get out of geocaching. If I write a log, it's because I know many people will read it. In waymarking, there's no one to read anything.

 

But, again, I'm just explaining why I'm not interested in it. I think it's great that you enjoy it.

 

 

Now I see where you're coming from. And I get it. I enjoy Waymaking but that reason is for me one of the biggest turn offs. You put all this work into creating waymark listings and they are for the most part ignored.

 

Here's my advice. You want an audience. So write Wikipedia articles. They be read by thousands, many tens of thousands. You want feedback. Write reviews for trip advisor. You'll get both readers and feedback. I have a handful of waymarks that I've also put in reviews for on trip advisor. Those reviews have thousands of readers and dozens of "Thumbs Up" - they are read and appreciated and I know it (an email from 3 days ago tells me I have over 26,000 readers and 25 "Helpful votes"). And the corresponding waymarks ... have maybe one or two page views, never mind ever being logged!

 

But my guess is you won't bother with either, because what I really think you want is exactly what you are getting via this thread. I might be wrong (I hope I am).

Posted (edited)

... if THOSE are interesting waymarks, I am not too optimistic about the future of this whole new Waymarking-idea.

 

don't you think, that shops and restaurants should be tabu here - avoiding that Waymarking is used for advertising/merchandising purpose?

 

 

BREXIT OR NOT... and LET'S CELEBRATE LIFE as geocaching events? c'mon, guy...

 

...if THOSE are interesting geocaching events, I am not too optimistic about the future of this whole new "Geocaching" idea.

 

don't you think, that Geocaching events should be tabu here - avoiding that Geocaching is used for advertising/merchandising purpose?

 

Example: Promoting the consumption of wine and everyone required to “sing the happy-birthday-song.”

 

Score: 2 events 1 visit

 

While we are at it let us eliminate these geocaches:

… caches, that offer disgusting containers

traditionals be forbidden.

- ALL caches at any advertising/merchandising location

 

Update: Geocaching is down by 90% as suggested by bubblezone

 

Gee, it is a good thing that Geocaching and Waymarking are not left in the hands of a bobblehead.

 

No Geocaching, no Waymarking then what: Play Pokémon Go or be a couch potato and never go outside because there is nothing that is interesting to find.

Edited by BK-Hunters
Posted

Now I see where you're coming from. And I get it. I enjoy Waymaking but that reason is for me one of the biggest turn offs. You put all this work into creating waymark listings and they are for the most part ignored.

Yes, exactly. I'm glad you enjoy it anyway, but that's exactly why I've never dreamed of starting.

 

Here's my advice. You want an audience. So write Wikipedia articles.

I just geocache. Plenty of interaction there.

Posted (edited)

 

Update: Geocaching is down by 90% as suggested by bubblezone

 

Gee, it is a good thing that Geocaching and Waymarking are not left in the hands of a bobblehead.

 

No Geocaching, no Waymarking then what: Play Pokémon Go or be a couch potato and never go outside because there is nothing that is interesting to find.

 

I have been keeping up with Google trends after the release of Pokemon Go, and geocaching spiked and fell again in the last month.

 

Waymarking however is dead as ever and no chance of coming back. :(

 

Google Trends Waymarking

Edited by Manville Possum
Posted (edited)

 

Waymarking however is dead as ever and no chance of coming back. :(

Google Trends Waymarking

 

If Waymarking is so bleedin' DEAD why on earth do you spend so much time on the Waymarking forums badmouthing it?

 

That's not a rhetorical question.

 

Keith

Edited by BK-Hunters
Posted

 

Waymarking however is dead as ever and no chance of coming back. :(

Google Trends Waymarking

 

If Waymarking is so bleedin' DEAD why on earth do you spend so much time on the Waymarking forums badmouthing it?

 

That's not a rhetorical question.

 

Keith

 

I know that I'm not part of your little group here, but I'm still an active member of the Waymarking community. Like it or not. :anitongue:

Posted

Please back to the topic.

 

...don't you think, that shops and restaurants should be tabu here - avoiding that Waymarking is used for advertising/merchandising purpose?

what's your opinion?...

 

The first posts explained why commercial categories are part of Waymarking. Thanks.

Posted

It is hard for many geocachers to understand the draw. The natural allies would be those interested in history or genealogy. The activity would particularly appeal to those who like taking photos. I am impressed by how far many way markers travel around the world. World travelers might be fans as well. If we wanted to increase our numbers perhaps we could reach out to these people. I am thinking dialoging with local history groups might be very productive for us and them. We could provide documentation online, they could provide more information. We have already discussed the match with Find A Grave, a genealogy site. The local preservation people and maybe even librarians might appreciate our efforts. Once we create the waymark Google finds it and shows it on searches. Some people may be using our information without it ever showing up as a visit.

Posted

It is hard for many geocachers to understand the draw. The natural allies would be those interested in history or genealogy. The activity would particularly appeal to those who like taking photos. I am impressed by how far many way markers travel around the world. World travelers might be fans as well. If we wanted to increase our numbers perhaps we could reach out to these people. I am thinking dialoging with local history groups might be very productive for us and them. We could provide documentation online, they could provide more information. We have already discussed the match with Find A Grave, a genealogy site. The local preservation people and maybe even librarians might appreciate our efforts. Once we create the waymark Google finds it and shows it on searches. Some people may be using our information without it ever showing up as a visit.

 

I did just that, but once. I came across a website http://sumoflam.biz/ontario.htm and to me it seem abundantly clear that this person would like Waymarking - the way he provides not just random pictures but also context (both geographically and also context of the subjects). I sent him a message to tell him about Waymarking. He sent a nice reply, letting me know that he already knew about Waymarking and appreciated the website. But he was happy to keep doing his own thing.

 

Getting back on topic...

I've never waymarked a McDonald's. Probably never will. I have posted visited to several. Why? Because I was sitting in them, waiting for kids to finish eating, and there was free wifi. So why not? Because I was traveling across a dozen states and wanted some way to help track my trip, so why not. I once posted an Arby's restaurant. Why? Because I was staying at the hotel next store and had a few minutes while waiting for kids to fall asleep, so why not? A lot of Fast Food places that have been waymarked in my area were posted by a player who, due to the nature of his work, is often spending his lunch time at fast food places. So he waymarked a bunch of them. Why not? It appealed to him. Doesn't appeal to me, so I don't post them. I post what appeals to me.

It's very easy to look in and see all those places already waymarked and say 'who wastes their time on that' and 'what's the point'? You don't necessarily know all the reasons and situations to be able to make those conclusions.

 

avoiding that Waymarking is used for advertising/merchandising purpose

really? Have you not visited geocaching.com lately? Talk about being used for advertising/merchandising purposes! Even if I pay to access the site, I still have to put up with ads for all sorts of Groundspeak merchandise and countless things to remind me of the benefits of being a paying member. On Waymarking (surprisingly) I don't see any ads or any advertising/merchandising purpose - just locations neatly cataloged and categorized according to a set of criteria.

Posted

I have found/visited three times as many waymarks as I have created/posted.

Wow, Waymarking must be more fun in your area. In my area, over 99% of the waymarks have never been visited, so it's hard to even imagine a waymarker that visits more than he creates.

 

I recently reached a milestone of 300 WM's and 600 visits, and I don't post those lame visits to my own WM's as soon as they publish. I'm sure that someone will chime in that it's acceptable to post visits to your own WM, but it's still lame to most of us.

 

I don't expect any of my WM's to ever get any visits, and only a very few have. Waymarking is something that I do while on vacation, and I use the phone app. It's useful to see what is in the area, once you have set up your filters to ignore BK's, McD's and the hundreds of crap categories that are of no interest to the user.

 

Waymarking on vacation is fun because I don't have to get out of my car to visit most WM's, and most of them are Pokemon GO stops or gyms now too. :laughing:

Posted

The local preservation people and maybe even librarians might appreciate our efforts. Once we create the waymark Google finds it and shows it on searches. Some people may be using our information without it ever showing up as a visit.

 

Ripraff makes a cogent point here. We have been contacted by several non Waymarkers, asking if they could use pix we have posted with a Waymark. The requests generally come from historians and writers local to the site of the Waymark, the intent being to use the pix in brochures and pamphlets they're putting together, such as historical accounts and tour brochures.

Posted

The local preservation people and maybe even librarians might appreciate our efforts. Once we create the waymark Google finds it and shows it on searches. Some people may be using our information without it ever showing up as a visit.

 

Ripraff makes a cogent point here. We have been contacted by several non Waymarkers, asking if they could use pix we have posted with a Waymark. The requests generally come from historians and writers local to the site of the Waymark, the intent being to use the pix in brochures and pamphlets they're putting together, such as historical accounts and tour brochures.

 

I too have had requests from one day old accounts here asking to use my content elsewhere. :rolleyes:

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