Geocaching statistics updated - 08/29/01

[Guest Moun10Bike]

(Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

 

[This message has been edited by Moun10Bike (edited 29 August 2001).]

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

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Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

I've updated the charts and statistics on my cache site

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Great! I see that Myotis is rushing up the number hidden table (19 placed in the previous 9 days; look out cache_ninja), but it's not a race. I'm happy with 28 hidden, I've got my hands full maintaining those so I'm beginning to slow down a bit. Maybe I'll put out one or two more soon.

 

Thanks for adding the extreme caches. I was surprised to see that I currently have the most southern cache in the world. I'm sure that geocachers in Chile, Argentina, or Antarctica will soon better it.

 

Cheers,

Donovan.

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

I've updated the charts and statistics on my cache site

---

 

Great! I see that Myotis is rushing up the number hidden table (19 placed in the previous 9 days; look out cache_ninja), but it's not a race. I'm happy with 28 hidden, I've got my hands full maintaining those so I'm beginning to slow down a bit. Maybe I'll put out one or two more soon.

 

Thanks for adding the extreme caches. I was surprised to see that I currently have the most southern cache in the world. I'm sure that geocachers in Chile, Argentina, or Antarctica will soon better it.

 

Cheers,

Donovan.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nemesis:

I see that Myotis is rushing up the number hidden table (19 placed in the previous 9 days; look out cache_ninja)

---

 

I noticed that! That's amazing! At that rate his hide numbers are soon going to rival the top finder numbers!

 

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Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest leskowitz]

I can't seem to catch up. I was coming up to #10 then bam the lowest number is now 12. I might as well give up now.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

quote:

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Originally posted by leskowitz:

I might as well give up now.

---

 

It's important to remember that it's not a competition! It's just a fun look at some of the geocaching activity taking place.

 

Also, it's not hard to jump back in -- as noted above, Myotis has placed 19 caches in 9 days (that still amazes me)!

 

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Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest Moun10Bike]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nemesis:

Thanks for adding the extreme caches.

---

 

In a similar vein, does anyone know what the highest cache might be (as well as the lowest)? I'd like to add that, but it's not as easy to search for as the northernmost and southernmost caches.

 

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Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest Kobdalis]

Interesting statistics!

 

Is it possible for you to add the growth rate, as an addition to the growth, of number of caches per month and/or per week. It will show if there is a sesonality in the number of hidden caches (It probably increases during summer). It may also serve as an indicator if there are certain dates that have been of special importance for the growth of Geocaching (like interviews with geocachers on tv, radio etc).

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kobdalis:

Is it possible for you to add the growth rate...of number of caches per month and/or per week.

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Now that is a good idea!

 

While your at it, is there any way you could magnify the first six or seven months of the growth of geocaching graph (up to the end of 2000?). With so many caches now, it's really difficult to read off the numbers at the beginning. Maybe you could do the rate of change for this period too (to magnify important dates in geocaching). A cure for cancer would be good to, if you can find the time.

 

Thanks,

Donovan.

 

 

[This message has been edited by Nemesis (edited 30 August 2001).]

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kobdalis:

Is it possible for you to add the growth rate...of number of caches per month and/or per week.

---

 

Now that is a good idea!

 

While your at it, is there any way you could magnify the first six or seven months of the growth of geocaching graph (up to the end of 2000?). With so many caches now, it's really difficult to read off the numbers at the beginning. Maybe you could do the rate of change for this period too (to magnify important dates in geocaching). A cure for cancer would be good to, if you can find the time.

 

Thanks,

Donovan.

 

 

[This message has been edited by Nemesis (edited 30 August 2001).]

[Guest Moun10Bike]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kobdalis:

Is it possible for you to add the growth rate, as an addition to the growth, of number of caches per month and/or per week. It will show if there is a sesonality in the number of hidden caches (It probably increases during summer).

---

 

I'll look into doing that. I'm interested in seeing if the growth rate will tail off in the next few weeks/months due to summer coming to a close in the northern hemisphere!

 

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Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest Moun10Bike]

ted by Nemesis:

While your at it, is there any way you could magnify the first six or seven months of the growth of geocaching graph (up to the end of 2000?).

---

 

I could create a static chart that shows just the first X amount of time. Would it be better to show the growth during 2000 (i.e. end on December 31), or the first year of geocaching (ending on 5/2/2001)?

 

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Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest Lone Ranger]

Just scanning the forum for fun, saw your site. Didn't know there was a list--and that we were on it!! Lone Ranger & Tonto

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

Would it be better to show the growth during 2000 (i.e. end on December 31), or the first year of geocaching

---

 

That's a tricky one... It depends on if in future you want to produce static charts at the end of the actual year or at the end of each year of geocaching. It would be slightly more conventional to do it to the end of each actual year (to Dec 31), so you could have charts fo geocaching growth in 2000, 2001, 2002, etc. However, It would also be neat to see the growth throughout the first year of geocaching and the second and the third (you can safely ignore years BC (Before caching) )... Whatever you decide will be great.

 

Cheers,

Donovan.

 

 

[This message has been edited by Nemesis (edited 30 August 2001).]

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

Would it be better to show the growth during 2000 (i.e. end on December 31), or the first year of geocaching

---

 

That's a tricky one... It depends on if in future you want to produce static charts at the end of the actual year or at the end of each year of geocaching. It would be slightly more conventional to do it to the end of each actual year (to Dec 31), so you could have charts fo geocaching growth in 2000, 2001, 2002, etc. However, It would also be neat to see the growth throughout the first year of geocaching and the second and the third (you can safely ignore years BC (Before caching) )... Whatever you decide will be great.

 

Cheers,

Donovan.

 

 

[This message has been edited by Nemesis (edited 30 August 2001).]

[Guest Moun10Bike]

Okay, I've added some new charts. I've added a chart of the growth of geocaching in 2000 as well as one of the growth of geocaching so far in 2001. Thirdly, I've added a chart showing the growth rate by month (a chart displaying the number of caches posted per month). Check them out and let me know what you think!

 

------------------

Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

I've added some new charts

---

 

They look great as always.

 

It's amazing to see how the growth rate has taken off over the last two months!

 

Thanks,

Donovan.

[Guest Nemesis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

I've added some new charts

---

 

They look great as always.

 

It's amazing to see how the growth rate has taken off over the last two months!

 

Thanks,

Donovan.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nemesis:

It's amazing to see how the growth rate has taken off over the last two months!

---

 

It's especially amazing given how few caches were placed last summer! That little bar for August, 2000 represents a mere 8 caches! We get that in about 4 hours nowadays! We are at 1445 caches and counting for August, 2001!

 

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Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html

[Guest Kobdalis]

Ok I´m an economist and use growth rates every day in my work so I take for granted that everyone understands exactly what I mean with growth rate. Sorry about that .

 

So what do I mean? The growth rate of geocaches is the percentage change of #geocaches since last period.

 

Example: 1/1/2001 there are approx 250 caches around the world. During january about 250 new caches were placed. So the percenatge growth rate during january was 250/250 = 100 percent! So the number of geocaches doubled during this month! For february the corresponding figure is about 450/500 = 90 percent!

 

A simple formula for calculating the percentage growth rate is.

 

g = (Y - X) /X * 100

 

where g is the growth rate in percent, Y is #geocaches in the end of the current period, (say february, or week 2), X is #geocaches in the end of the previous period, (january, week 1). Moun10bike, in your diagram you show, Y - X, the absolute change in #geocaches during each month.

 

Why bother with the percentage change? Because it makes comparisons between periods and other things that grow easy. Since the geocaching community is growing the number of geocache posts will naturally increase over time since there are more people out there. A comparison between august 2000 (less than 75?) and august 2001 (more than 1400) says that more geocaches are being posted. The growth rate, august 2000: 10-20 percent, and august 2001: 30-40 percent indicates a higher degree of activity. One interpretaion of this is that geocachers of 2001 are more activly participating in the sport than the geocachers of 2000.

 

This developed into a lecture, and I can go on forever about this. Any questions, just ask!

 

BTW so far during 2001 the number of geocaches has increased with about 2500 percent!!!! Do you know of any other sport/hobby with that kind of increase? I think it´s unheard of! I just wonder about the the growth rate of number of cache logs? That would really be a good indicator of how geocaching is developing.

[Guest Kobdalis]

Ok I´m an economist and use growth rates every day in my work so I take for granted that everyone understands exactly what I mean with growth rate. Sorry about that .

 

So what do I mean? The growth rate of geocaches is the percentage change of #geocaches since last period.

 

Example: 1/1/2001 there are approx 250 caches around the world. During january about 250 new caches were placed. So the percenatge growth rate during january was 250/250 = 100 percent! So the number of geocaches doubled during this month! For february the corresponding figure is about 450/500 = 90 percent!

 

A simple formula for calculating the percentage growth rate is.

 

g = (Y - X) /X * 100

 

where g is the growth rate in percent, Y is #geocaches in the end of the current period, (say february, or week 2), X is #geocaches in the end of the previous period, (january, week 1). Moun10bike, in your diagram you show, Y - X, the absolute change in #geocaches during each month.

 

Why bother with the percentage change? Because it makes comparisons between periods and other things that grow easy. Since the geocaching community is growing the number of geocache posts will naturally increase over time since there are more people out there. A comparison between august 2000 (less than 75?) and august 2001 (more than 1400) says that more geocaches are being posted. The growth rate, august 2000: 10-20 percent, and august 2001: 30-40 percent indicates a higher degree of activity. One interpretaion of this is that geocachers of 2001 are more activly participating in the sport than the geocachers of 2000.

 

This developed into a lecture, and I can go on forever about this. Any questions, just ask!

 

BTW so far during 2001 the number of geocaches has increased with about 2500 percent!!!! Do you know of any other sport/hobby with that kind of increase? I think it´s unheard of! I just wonder about the the growth rate of number of cache logs? That would really be a good indicator of how geocaching is developing.

[Guest Moun10Bike]

ere would be a 4-month "void" of data, but still....

 

------------------

Jon (Moun10Bike)

28H/84F

N 47° 36.649', W 122° 3.616'

www.switchbacks.com/geocaching.html