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When most people think of treasure hunting, familiar characterizations come to mind: pirates, old maps written on ancient scrolls, chests full of gold coins buried where “X marks the spot.” Well, this concept has been taken into the 21st century…with some high technology updates. It is called Geocaching, and since its launch in 2000, this net community has gained over 500,000 members worldwide. Basically, the idea is a modern day treasure hunt, but instead of pirates, scrolls, and chests of gold, Geocaching is done with regular people, a GPS system, and caches. The popular website’s FAQ sums up the experience:

“Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a GPS unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.”

Intrigued by this idea, and to further investigate this concept, I created a free account for myself on the website. So, for all of the aspiring treasure hunters out there, here are the basics of how the site works:

• Search a desired area. You can do this either by entering a specific address or a zip code and designating a radius.
• A list of all of the designated caches in your area will pop up. You can scroll through all of them and read the entertaining descriptions.
• Each description provides you with the coordinates of the location of the cache. You enter the coordinates into your GPS system and, presumably, let it guide you there.

The user forum points out that most of these caches contain a log book, which hunters are encouraged to sign, and trinkets to trade (the general courtesy being that if you take something, you leave something). Users may also choose to leave hints for some of the harder finds.

Web communities such as this one are becoming more and more prevalent in the “wireless age.” Ideally, they serve as a means of bringing average people together through technology. The content of the website, like the content of hidden caches, is generated by users who want to contribute to the community. Practically, however, it is necessary to be careful. This is very true with Geocaching as well. The ethics behind this type of online community/game have been called into question, as treasurer hunters could easily be lead into dangerous situations if they are not careful. The site has rules and regulations in place, but there are other concerns to be taken into consideration. For example, there have been a number of caches destroyed by bomb squads because of the suspicion generated by these plain boxes being conspicuously left out in the open. While these caches are harmless, not everybody would necessarily know this, so public safety becomes an issue when a cache is not hidden well.

Still, with the kind of global membership this web community has, Geocaching is certainly an intriguing concept. At the very least, unlike your typical internet blog, this community encourages users to explore the world outside the 10-foot radius of their desks. Using technology to encourage activity certainly seems like a radical idea in an age where social life is increasingly virtual (internet surfing, social networking, virtual worlds, video games, etc.). As long as you exercise good judgment and caution, Geocaching is an entertaining way to keep busy. After all…who knows what you’ll find on your next “caching” adventure?

Thursday, March 6th, 2008 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

By Michael Gorvin