Jump to content

What Does Groundspeak Do?


Camo-crazed

Recommended Posts

Groundspeak started as Grounded, Inc., and a way to separate Jeremy Irish from the Geocaching.com web site. This was in the era in the dot com bubble burst, so the connotation of having a dot com in the name was repugnant (and still is).

 

Also at the start of the web site we felt that there was an underlying current that would eventually take us outdoors instead of sticking us in our homes in front of the boob toob. As a former hardcore gamer (now softcore) the thought of using technology (tech-head) and the outdoors (granola) really attracted me to geocaching in the first place. I was a MUD owner converting a D&D style setup to a Star Wars model, a Ultima Online charter member, and an Evercrack slug, so I definitely saw the attraction in MMORPG, but as my legs and arms began to atrophy, I was thankful this activity introduced itself to me.

 

So Groundspeak came as an idea. Groundspeak is like techspeak but references the belief that every inch of earth on the planet contains stories but remains untapped in so many ways. Through geocaching people tell their own stories, whether by creating an adventure or telling a story of one. And this is an ongoing theme.

 

Geocaching.com is currently our only publicly known idea at this time, but our goal is to build the toolset for creating engaging adventures in the real world through the combination of GPS and handheld devices. I call it geolocational entertainment. When we have something more concrete to show you we'll let you know.

Link to comment
...So Groundspeak came as an idea. Groundspeak is like techspeak but references the belief that every inch of earth on the planet contains stories but remains untapped in so many ways...

That's some pretty heavy stuff. Did you write that spontaneously or is that something you've been saving for a time just like this? :anicute:

Link to comment
So in other words it makes money for Jeremy.

No! :anicute:

 

What was stated above is that it separates geocaching.com from Jeremy's other on-line ventures which currently are nil. Whether it makes him money or not has little to do with it. It is separate, like AOL and CNN are both different entities under the AOL Time Warner. Groundspeak is currently a small umbrella which controls geocaching.com. For all we know Jeremy could be loosing money or making bucket-loads regardless of the separation between the entities. . . but, try to sue geocaching.com and the separation might or might not help Jeremy et al. excape unscathed.

Link to comment
So in other words it makes money for Jeremy.

No! :anicute:

 

What was stated above is that it separates geocaching.com from Jeremy's other on-line ventures which currently are nil. Whether it makes him money or not has little to do with it. It is separate, like AOL and CNN are both different entities under the AOL Time Warner. Groundspeak is currently a small umbrella which controls geocaching.com. For all we know Jeremy could be loosing money or making bucket-loads regardless of the separation between the entities. . . but, try to sue geocaching.com and the separation might or might not help Jeremy et al. excape unscathed.

Sue Geocaching.com????? No way Jose, I know their lawyer. I would not want to go up against him in any courtroom.

Link to comment
I was a MUD owner converting a D&D style setup to a Star Wars model, a Ultima Online charter member, and an Evercrack slug, so I definitely saw the attraction in MMORPG,

 

:blink:

Hey.....Im an old lady, and I understood most of that..... :anicute:

 

MUDs.....multi use dungeons

 

D&D.....Dungeons and Dragons

 

MMORPG.....Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game

 

Ultima and Evercrack are role playing games

 

Evercrack being very addictive I have been told......

 

Hope that helped..... :lol:

Edited by woof n lulu
Link to comment

 

our goal is to build the toolset for creating engaging adventures in the real world through the combination of GPS and handheld devices. I call it geolocational entertainment.

That sounds like a "mission statement" in the finest tradition of corporate America. Dilbert's pointy haired boss would be proud. :anicute:

Link to comment

I'm still feeling my way around here, but if Jeremy is making money or will get into the black eventually due to geocaching, I say more power to him. All I could think when I discovered this place was wow, somebody had a great idea and it has really taken off. I just wish I would have thought of something like this 8 years ago when I was carrying my then new Magellan 2000 around with me on business trips just to play with it, see how fast I was going and how far away I was from home. I missed the bus and a lot of other people most likely did as well. :anicute:

Link to comment

The current top cacher in Ottawa is in Australia.

Alright, Now to sum up what I have absorbed from this thread:

 

-Groundspeak was created for geocaching and at some point in the future some other gps/internet game.

 

-Jeremy used to play addictive online roleplaying games but now spends time HTMLing and plays Halo2.

Link to comment
So in other words it makes money for Jeremy.

Yep, pretty cool, huh?

Hope it makes boatloads, all it's costing me is $3 a month! (well, $6, I made my 9yo a premium member, too) And if it is profitable, I won't have to worry about loggin' on someday to find a note that says "Sorry, it's not supporting itself, so we're shutting down!" Yippee! Now I can have fun finding the ONE Navicache within 100 miles of my home coordinates!

Link to comment

I didn't say that making money was a bad thing. That's what corporations are set up for.

A corporation exists as its own entity.
Well, not exactly. A corporation has owners, who get the profits the corporation generates. The number of layers of incorporation can vary a lot, with corporations owning corporations which own corporations, but ultimately some humans get the profits.
Link to comment
In the meantime, does Jeremy still MMORPG?  If so, where?  Clan?

 

DAoC...all of the fun of EQ without the addiction.

I don't have any time to do it anymore. I do play Halo2 a few times a week. My name there is Stakesauce.

I'm gettin' my X-Box Live service on Tuesday. Prepare to resemble your Halo2 handle. :unsure: :unsure:

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...