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"Friend to Find" promotion


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Friend to Find

This blog post says the following:

All participants will receive a prestigious Friend to Find (FTF) badge to add to their Geocaching profile.

If any Lackeys are reading this, can you please clarify whether this is a souvenir or just an image that users can manually add to their profile? A past souvenir was referred to as a badge in some marketing material, so some people are wondering what this one is. Thanks!

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Good question. :)

When that duck dash was on, quite a few griped in the trackables forums that they didn't "get their souvenir", when the notice said "badge" (that huge "4 ducks in a pool" entered in their profile page, like those statgen things).

We realize that certain areas are into those things, but hope souvenirs aren't going bye-bye, to these things making profiles too busy.

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So even MORE meaningless than a souvenir. Gotcha.

 

Let's call it what it is: a promotional item made available to geocachers by GS for helping them with customer acquisition.

 

Personally, I don't think anyone should be telling others that some aspect of the game is meaningless. A souvenir is, by definition, "a token of rememberance". The Japan souvenir I have is a token of remembrance of the time I spent geocaching in Japan. Telling someone that *all* souvenirs are meaningless is like telling a mother that the photographs she has of her children are meaningless.

 

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So even MORE meaningless than a souvenir. Gotcha.

 

Let's call it what it is: a promotional item made available to geocachers by GS for helping them with customer acquisition.

 

Personally, I don't think anyone should be telling others that some aspect of the game is meaningless. A souvenir is, by definition, "a token of rememberance". The Japan souvenir I have is a token of remembrance of the time I spent geocaching in Japan. Telling someone that *all* souvenirs are meaningless is like telling a mother that the photographs she has of her children are meaningless.

 

Can't offer an opinion; I haven't seen her children.

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So even MORE meaningless than a souvenir. Gotcha.

 

Let's call it what it is: a promotional item made available to geocachers by GS for helping them with customer acquisition.

 

Personally, I don't think anyone should be telling others that some aspect of the game is meaningless. A souvenir is, by definition, "a token of rememberance". The Japan souvenir I have is a token of remembrance of the time I spent geocaching in Japan. Telling someone that *all* souvenirs are meaningless is like telling a mother that the photographs she has of her children are meaningless.

Not interesting at all for me but there's no doubt it means something to many.

 

First thing i thought when i read the letter was that it was just another gimmick to bribe people into advertising Groundspeak's product. I've introduced a few people to geocaching but it was because i thought they might enjoy the hobby. It wasn't to bring in more customers.

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Slightly on/off topic

 

It's a transparent fairly standard marketing ploy by a commercial business with no hidden agenda. We are all inundated daily; with ads, flyers, coupons, online offers, membership plans, discount books and "free" samples. Why is Groundspeak being perceived/judged any different?

 

Personally, I don't think anyone should be telling others that some aspect of the game is meaningless. A souvenir is, by definition, "a token of rememberance". The Japan souvenir I have is a token of remembrance of the time I spent geocaching in Japan. Telling someone that *all* souvenirs are meaningless is like telling a mother that the photographs she has of her children are meaningless.

A souvenir may have some intrinsic value or simply be a symbol of past experience. However without the souvenir owner's input and context the symbolic meaning and value is invisible. Via context; it's quite clear that J Grouchy was referencing Geocaching Souvenirs (and Badges) as provided by Groundspeak through members' profiles and not marginalising *all* souvenirs. It seems you are suggesting that *all* souvenirs have meaning to everyone, when that is merely the inverse perspective of what you are calling J Grouchy out for...

 

Your Japan souvenir and the mother's pictures are meaningless to me, just as my branded golf shift and anyone's FTF's are meaningless to you. Obviously, its a personal perspective and value of meaning for any souvenir, where we have to extend to others the freedom to make their own determination of meaning...

 

and in this case I have to agree with J Grouchy, the Friend to Find reward is meaningless (to me)

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Slightly on/off topic

 

It's a transparent fairly standard marketing ploy by a commercial business with no hidden agenda. We are all inundated daily; with ads, flyers, coupons, online offers, membership plans, discount books and "free" samples. Why is Groundspeak being perceived/judged any different?

GS isn't being judged differently. I complain about any company that becomes popular with a superior customer focus and then turns around to cash in on that reputation by switching their focus to ad revenue. Not that complaining helps, of course.

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GS isn't being judged differently. I complain about any company that becomes popular with a superior customer focus and then turns around to cash in on that reputation by switching their focus to ad revenue. Not that complaining helps, of course.

Fair enough, but "Let's call it what it is" and "just another gimmick to bribe people into advertising Groundspeak's product" rather implied a more than standard negative connotation/judgement to me...

 

Overall, it seems a basic (poor?) marketing attempt to encourage current customers to be proxy sellers, at least give us a free months premium time if the "friends" extend/sign up for PM...

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Overall, it seems a basic (poor?) marketing attempt to encourage current customers to be proxy sellers, at least give us a free months premium time if the "friends" extend/sign up for PM...
A new pizza delivery company opened near us recently. If you refer a friend, then both you and the friend receive a discount on your next order.

 

The local CSA produce delivery companies do the same, offering a discount to both parties when there is a referral.

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