In the last week I’ve written a few posts on Garmin’s opencaching.com initiative. While doing some research I thought it would be interesting to post a couple of caches on the existing opencaching.us website. The opencaching.TLD community is a little split on whether it is a good idea for Garmin to launch a commercial site that uses a variation of that community’s domain name.
The process of adding the cache was pretty straight forward. Unlike at geocaching.com it is the cache owner’s job to activate a cache. The reviewer simply approves the cache for listing. The owner has to flip the switch to make it active. I think I like this approach. By going this route the cache owner can decide to turn on a cache so that it coincides with something else they are doing.
For now I cross posted a couple of caches. I think I’ll have to create an opencaching only cache and see how that works out. I have an idea for a neat urban nano that I might make an opencaching only cache.
There are very few caches listed on the opencaching.us site. It is this lack of listings that many feel will lead to the failure of the Garmin project. Content is how Sony won the blu-ray war. Perhaps that is how Groundspeak will win the opencaching war.
teamvoyagr
I have been writing the cachemania blog since 2008. I'm interested in the development of geocaching and the many ways that people play the game.
Follow Me:
9 Comments until now
The Opencaching.US site launched on August 18, 2010 and word of mouth about the site is spreading. As it does, cache listings will increase. Once more people realize there is a free, viable alternative to GroundSpeak, the more caches will be listed with Opencaching.US.
GS has been around for 10 years so they have quite a head start on other listing sites. As for the the Garmin initiative using the OC name, we’ll have to wait and see what they are up to. So far they seem to be doing nothing but sowing discontent among the opencaching community.
more info over the new site: http://www.geocaching-dessau.de/wp/?p=558
The blog posting is a little confusing. Opencaching.US is NOT the same as Garmin’s opencaching.COM and is not associated with any one device. Opencaching.us has only been in existence since August and is slowing growing. In its beginning, geocacing.com didn’t have much either, I’m sure. Garmin’s site only has a logo for now, so it’ll be interested to see what is going on there.
Opencaching.us allows virtuals, guest book caches, moving caches, mp3 caches and more that GC doesn’t offer. It’s a great concept (and they listen to the users’ requests) and a great site and I hope more people will try it out and add to it as well as GC.com.
@NativTxn, what did you find confusing about the post? Perhaps I can clarify it for you and others that may also be confused.
Geocaching.com absolutely forbids cross-listing OCUS caches on Geocaching.com cache listings. I found about this first hand. I added a link to one of my cache listings that the cache was also listed on OCUS. Not long afterwards, I received a nasty gram telling me to remove all links, graphics, recommendations, etc. from the cache listing. I didn’t see the harm in it, but I guess other folks don’t share my same sentiments.
@Doyle, I have to disagree with your assertion that Groundspeak forbids cross posting. For starters what you are reporting here is that you were told to remove anything that pointed to the OCUS listing. You don’t say that they made you take your listing down only that you can’t point to another site. From a business perspective that makes sense. Additional, last week I spoke with a senior executive at Groundspeak and he made it clear that the cacher placing the cache owns the data. The cacher can do what they want with that information. The opencaching.TLD sites allow for but discourage cross posting. Those sites continue to point to geocaching.com for additional caches to augment their list.
@TeamVoyagr, the part that was confusing was that you began talking about the Garmin site which is opencaching.COM. At the time of the blog post, that site only contained a logo and no other info.
Then you said you placed caches on opencaching.US and that there were not many caches listed on it which would make the Garmin project fail. The .US and .COM sites are two totally different sites and are not associated with each other. The .US site not a Garmin project.
I feel for the folks at opencaching.us. Garmin’s opencaching.com is going to dominate searches for opencaching in the US. In one sense I don’t think there will be much confusion going forward as Garmin is going to have a larger share of voice.
I just got in to geocaching… I love it and agree with garmin, geo caching should be free for all. I haven’t hidden a cache due to the membership fees associated with “—caching.com”. I would appriciate and encourage any geocachers to load their cache spots on to opencache.com
Add your Comment!