Is Geocaching Australia worth pursuing?
Posted: 29 June 15 12:39 pm
Geocaching Australia finds over time and a discussion.
First chart is a percentage of all cache finds. To be technical, it would be a percentage of all cache finds which have been loaded into the GCA database. It's highly possible that GCA is missing some cache logs, but I suspect it won't impact the overall look of the data / trend. To get the data we calculated the total number of GCA finds as a percentage of all finds for a given month of the year. This will track the "popularity" of GCA caches as a whole vs. GC.com.
From start 2006 to end 2009, the find rate was around 1.5%. From the start of 2010 through to the end of 2012 there was a rate of finds on GCA caches between about 1.5-3.0 percent. This coincides with the moving cache races at GCA. From beginning 2013 through to mid 2015 the rate is around 0.5% of all cache finds being on GCA caches.
Second chart is a count of all cache finds. This one is a bit tougher to drawn long term conclusions about as the game of geocaching (whether it be GCA or GC) has grown over time. From the start of GCA becoming a listing site, up until start 2010 the number of finds per month seems to be from 0 through about 400 per month to peak up at about 1,500. From the start of 2010 through to the end of 2012 there were bout 2,000 finds per month on GCA caches. From start 2013 to now he find rate at the moment is around 1,000 finds on GCA caches per month.
Regardless of the trendline which accompanies the graph it seems clear that the trend on GCA is down.
GCA belongs to the folks who use it. GCA has some senators and some developers who are more or less quite passionate about the site and the free and open nature of the listings. GCA has a number of members who vary from quite passionate through "gave it a try" to "will avoid at all costs". That's the nature of people.
What we're finding is that as more and more people join geocaching and geocaching becomes more mainstream the niche opportunities that GCA offered when is started as a listing service are being sidelined by the mass appeal of other focus.
GCA is the only site that has true movable caches. GCA offers locationless caches to those in Australia who are not in cache rich areas which still enable them to play the game. GCA offers virtuals for sensitive areas. GCA offers TrigPoints which are a unique cache listing type around the world. TrigPoints also help those in cache poor areas get out and find geocaches. These niche points don't seem to be helping GCA to grow.
It seems that numbers are the name of the game nowadays rather the journey. The metropolitan areas of Australia's major cities are starting to overflow with geocaches, but the overflow is GC focused. The number of power trails both in, around and far from almost every geocacher in the country is staggering. The number of caches being hidden, "just because I can" is also rather staggering. The quality of caches (very subjective) seems to be heading in the wrong direction, but as long as I can make a milestone out of it, I'll find it. There are undoubtedly a great number of extremely good caches being hidden, but there are many, many more caches of poor quality being done, it would seem, just for the numbers.
Whether they be the newbies who hear of the biggest fish in the pond (GC) and have never heard of GCA; whether they be power trail fanatics who will hide / find a series of 100+ caches in a day "just for the numbers"; whether they be folks who harbor a long term grudge against GCA (and/or those involved) for being a break-away group; whether they be the folks who like to keep all their stats in one place for ease; regardless of who they are GCA is not growing but dwindling at the hand of the growth of the monopoly geocache listing site.
GCA belongs to the folks who use it. If you don't use it it will stagnate and die. If you use it they will come.
Should GCA persist as a niche provider or should we give it in?
Should we just give it away?
Should we let the biggest fish in the sea be the true monopoly?
Should we accept our game is to be controlled by overseas interests?
Do we want GCA to continue to provide an alternative or not?
The time is drawing close to where the continued existence of GCA may be not be sustainable. If you would like GCA to continue, then hide a cache, find a cache, log a cache, return a movable cache from your boot / car / garage / bag. If you dream it would just die, then do nothing, it seems to be happening already and a lack of contribution to the site and the game will make that dream come true.
BTW, this is not a pity party by the developers or the admins or the senators. This is a serious discussion about whether GCA as a site, as a function, as a service should continue. People will always come and go, but once your site goes, it probably won't come back.
First chart is a percentage of all cache finds. To be technical, it would be a percentage of all cache finds which have been loaded into the GCA database. It's highly possible that GCA is missing some cache logs, but I suspect it won't impact the overall look of the data / trend. To get the data we calculated the total number of GCA finds as a percentage of all finds for a given month of the year. This will track the "popularity" of GCA caches as a whole vs. GC.com.
From start 2006 to end 2009, the find rate was around 1.5%. From the start of 2010 through to the end of 2012 there was a rate of finds on GCA caches between about 1.5-3.0 percent. This coincides with the moving cache races at GCA. From beginning 2013 through to mid 2015 the rate is around 0.5% of all cache finds being on GCA caches.
Second chart is a count of all cache finds. This one is a bit tougher to drawn long term conclusions about as the game of geocaching (whether it be GCA or GC) has grown over time. From the start of GCA becoming a listing site, up until start 2010 the number of finds per month seems to be from 0 through about 400 per month to peak up at about 1,500. From the start of 2010 through to the end of 2012 there were bout 2,000 finds per month on GCA caches. From start 2013 to now he find rate at the moment is around 1,000 finds on GCA caches per month.
Regardless of the trendline which accompanies the graph it seems clear that the trend on GCA is down.
GCA belongs to the folks who use it. GCA has some senators and some developers who are more or less quite passionate about the site and the free and open nature of the listings. GCA has a number of members who vary from quite passionate through "gave it a try" to "will avoid at all costs". That's the nature of people.
What we're finding is that as more and more people join geocaching and geocaching becomes more mainstream the niche opportunities that GCA offered when is started as a listing service are being sidelined by the mass appeal of other focus.
GCA is the only site that has true movable caches. GCA offers locationless caches to those in Australia who are not in cache rich areas which still enable them to play the game. GCA offers virtuals for sensitive areas. GCA offers TrigPoints which are a unique cache listing type around the world. TrigPoints also help those in cache poor areas get out and find geocaches. These niche points don't seem to be helping GCA to grow.
It seems that numbers are the name of the game nowadays rather the journey. The metropolitan areas of Australia's major cities are starting to overflow with geocaches, but the overflow is GC focused. The number of power trails both in, around and far from almost every geocacher in the country is staggering. The number of caches being hidden, "just because I can" is also rather staggering. The quality of caches (very subjective) seems to be heading in the wrong direction, but as long as I can make a milestone out of it, I'll find it. There are undoubtedly a great number of extremely good caches being hidden, but there are many, many more caches of poor quality being done, it would seem, just for the numbers.
Whether they be the newbies who hear of the biggest fish in the pond (GC) and have never heard of GCA; whether they be power trail fanatics who will hide / find a series of 100+ caches in a day "just for the numbers"; whether they be folks who harbor a long term grudge against GCA (and/or those involved) for being a break-away group; whether they be the folks who like to keep all their stats in one place for ease; regardless of who they are GCA is not growing but dwindling at the hand of the growth of the monopoly geocache listing site.
GCA belongs to the folks who use it. If you don't use it it will stagnate and die. If you use it they will come.
Should GCA persist as a niche provider or should we give it in?
Should we just give it away?
Should we let the biggest fish in the sea be the true monopoly?
Should we accept our game is to be controlled by overseas interests?
Do we want GCA to continue to provide an alternative or not?
The time is drawing close to where the continued existence of GCA may be not be sustainable. If you would like GCA to continue, then hide a cache, find a cache, log a cache, return a movable cache from your boot / car / garage / bag. If you dream it would just die, then do nothing, it seems to be happening already and a lack of contribution to the site and the game will make that dream come true.
BTW, this is not a pity party by the developers or the admins or the senators. This is a serious discussion about whether GCA as a site, as a function, as a service should continue. People will always come and go, but once your site goes, it probably won't come back.