Geocaching! - Theresa wrote a great article all about this activity that meshes the online world with reality

After reading Robyn’s interesting blog post about the UK company who wants to bring gaming back outside, I thought instantly of sharing a family activity I have come to enjoy over the years (one my father is VERY active in) … Geocaching! There is so much information out there on Geocaching that its been difficult for me to narrow it down, so I have included a bunch of interesting links for those of you who want to learn more about it.

I read that “more than 750,000 people are hiding and searching out caches (a hidden item can be as large as a box to as small as a mint tin… there are also “travel bugs” which travel from cache to cache with a goal of making it to a far off place) from Finland to Fresno, and clubs of geocachers are cropping up around the world. Most people post their caches and finds (i.e. things they hid, and things they found) online at the website www.geocaching.com. Through word of mouth, press articles, and even accidental cache discoveries, more and more people have become involved in geocaching. First started by technology and GPS enthusiasts, the ranks of geocachers now include couples, families, and groups from all walks of life. The excitement of the hunt appeals to both the inner (and outer) child. Today you can do a search on just about anywhere in the world and be able to walk, bike, or drive to a nearby hidden cache.”

Anyone can search for a listing of geocaches hidden anywhere in the world on the official website (I suggest taking a minute to see what’s around you! Or even check out what’s hidden in Iraq!). Most geocachers create profiles (and some pay for a premium membership which offers additional features), it seems very similar to a social networking site for people who play this fun online/outdoor game!

Geocaching official website- http://www.geocaching.com/

RANKINGS Who has the most finds? http://www.cacherstats.com/Rank1-125.html

The Documentary (award winning) from USC- (my dad Steve O’Gara a.k.a. “Ventura Kids” is in it J the “bad guy”, but he’s really not bad!)

Official website- http://www.geocachingthemovie.com/ IMDB Listing- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0818650/

“This documentary explores the emerging world of high-tech hide-and-seek called geocaching. Meet TRUROKR, family man; his rivals, the Ventura Kids, and lovable geek Aerospacecase. A humorous and poignant portrayal of four fascinating people and their feelings about competition, community, and the quest for the elusive Tupperware container.”

A News Article or Two…

USA Today Article- http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-01-22-geocaching_x.htm

ABC News Video on Geocaching- http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0208/494576_video.html?ref=newsstory

BBC- http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northeast/series3/geocaching_treasurehunt.shtml

Some Companies involved in geocaching….

Jeep Sponsors Geocaching Events/Prizes- http://jeep.geocaching.com/

Jeep computer game for geocaching- http://www.jeep.com/games/geocaching.html

Unite for Diabetes (Travel Bugs & Contests)- http://unite.geocaching.com/

Magellen- http://www.magellangps.com/news/releases/viewRelease.asp?id=361

Garmen- http://www8.garmin.com/outdoor/geocaching/

Innovative Adventures (Sponsored by Nissan)- http://outside.away.com/nissan/microsite_04/geocaching/overview.html

Market Research, Creative, & Viral Networking (Thanks Regan for contributing this article)

Regan sent me a link to a most interesting article:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3icc586a5d1a4f3c60803eb84167aec807?pn=1


The article discusses the as yet unreleased movie 'Fanboys'. It was originally written and filmed as a dramatic comedy but then the producer decided to remove the drama and just make it a comedy, testing which version would do better - a simple case of market research? Then a group of fans emerged to back the original dramatic comedy version, which banded together virally through the Internet. The movie now has a ton of free press and should do very well, but what does this say about movie making, market research, and viral networks?

Locomatrix: Bringing Gaming Back Outside (Contributed by Robyn - Thank you!)

Mixing videogames with physical, outdoor games, Locomatrix is designed to get kids off the couch, without making them leave their virtual worlds. Based in the UK, Locomatrix offers games that kids play in both the virtual and real worlds. Using a GPS-enabled device like a cell phone, kids (and I suspect adults) can play games like “Treasure Hunt”, in which users must visit real locations based on picture clues that appear on their device. A thermometer on the screen informs the gamers whether they are getting hotter or colder, relative to the destination. Fruit Farmer is another game where participants run around trying to collect fruit that appears in the virtual world, while avoiding virtual obstacles and being captured by killer wasps.

Locomatrix is all about being active and socializing. Although they currently only offer two games, Locomatrix invites gamers to create their own levels and share them with their friends and the Locomatrix community. There is also a forum. On the message board, gamers invite others to try a game they created, troubleshoot their GPS devices, and brag about past wins. Not to mention, when games are played, they are also uploaded to the Locomatrix website, so others can see the date and time of past games.

What if gamers wanted to setup a game in their hood for all the uber-hardcore Treasure Hunters or a slower-paced Fruit Farmer game? Could Locomatrix benefit from "HUSH HUSH SECRET PROJECT"?

http://www.locomatrix.com/

Is the future of gaming on the PC? (Thank you Dino for contributing this one)

Note St. John's comment in the article below: “… if the low end of the PC market, the mass market PCs that everybody buys did not come with these crappy graphics chips on them and was not burdened with a fat OS, then the PC would be a larger contiguous gaming platform than all the next-generation consoles combined."

http://pc.ign.com/articles/861/861239p1.html

Gameasure data suggests that the PC, despite this, is still more preferred than any of the current gen consoles.

Trends in Casual Gaming & Advertising

This article is an interesting interview with Dave Williams, Senior VP of MTV Networks' Shockwave.com and Addicting Games:

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006068&src=article2_newsltr

Mr. Williams argues that advertising in video games is increasingly moving towards in-game casual, borne out by eMarketer's projections of where in-game advertising will be spent over the next 4 years. They predict that growth will be concentrated in web-based video games (many of which are casual). Intriguingly, eMarketer's figures show that video game advertising will total $1B by 2012 (in today's dollars, not the greatly devalued dollars to come - but that is an economics not a market research story).

Who we should hire to make a movie for Interpret ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC0sR5_NTFo

Double Fusion's Thoughts on In-Game Advertising - Appear to be heavily influenced by our Casual Gaming White Paper

Double Fusion (DF) is a good client of ours, and intriguingly the CEO of DF has just been interviewed by GameDaily on the subject of in-game advertising:

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/my-turn-the-second-wave-of-ingame-advertising/?biz=1

In it he argues that in-game advertising is about to begin phase two of leading the way in the casual gaming space. Perhaps he was inspired by our recent casual gaming white paper? Advertising will have a greater impact in casual gaming because it is increasingly essential to the business model of giving such games away for free. Seen in this way, in-game advertising is 'an entirely new opportunity to build the gaming audience'.

More signs of Hollywood moving towards Video Games (contributed by Dino)

Genius Products Moves Into Game Publishing

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/genius-products-moves-into-game-publishing/?biz=1

Pirates of the Caribbean Director Gets Game

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/pirates-of-the-caribbean-director-gets-game/?biz=1