As you may already be aware, the Geocaching website has recently been updated with a few extra features. I will cover some of these at a later date but the one that really interest me is 'Souvenirs'
When first released there was a lot of speculation as to what they are for with a lot of people complaining that the feature hadn't been explained properly. Now although there is still no formal explanation, all became a bit clearer on 10/10/10.
As the worlds army of Geocachers headed out on their adventures, many of them would have found their first Souvenir within minutes, as did Zartog, Ferdiv6 and I, as 10/10/10 was the day we all tried to break the record of most cachers signed in on one day.
To help us celebrate (or comiserate), any cacher who found a cache (or searched for one on a mobile app) was awarded the '10/10/10 Souvenir' for taking part in the challenge. For me, it flashed up on my iPhone when i conducted a search, for the non-paperless I would imagine it showed up on their profile once they posted their logs.
So whats the point of them?
Well to me, it seems like an extra little bonus to encourage people to get out caching in new areas/counties/districts and from what i understand, if you are in an area where a Souvenir is enabled (GC Headquaters for example) and you find a cache or search for one using a mobile app you will gain the relevant souvenir. Ideal for stat fiends and those who may have had a day of DNF's as at least you will have something to show for your efforts!!!
Two things remain unclear though.
Firstly, are we going to be informed of where these souvenirs are so we can hunt for them, or are they going to be kept secret and remain a surprise whenever you find one?
Secondly, is there going to be the opportunity for the community to create their own? I would love to create one myself but fear that the feature may be abused and for areas to become saturated. Perhaps a distance rule similar to that of when placing a cache should be inforced?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. How many have you found so far? Did you cache on 10/10/10? Do you want to create your own Souvenir? Sound off in the comments!
I don’t have a problem with souvenirs – it was nice to get our 10/10/10 one when we logged our event and cache find on Sunday – kind of like when we got a special icon for attending one of the 10th birthday events in May – but I think they should only be awarded for a legitimate find, not just a 2-second smartphone search.
ReplyDeleteI agree that ideally it should only really count for a legit find, but also see it as a good way of rewarding people even if they have had a bad day out.
ReplyDeleteAs for searching on a smartphone, I am hoping they are using the GPS from the phone to actually prove that you are in the area you say you are. Although this doesnt stop people from doing 'drive-bys', it will at least stop people from armchair logging. I myself found the caches in the area i said i was, but i know there are some people who arent like me!