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Web site encourages new kind of surfing |
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
by ALISON MEANEY
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
Want to find a free place to stay, and get a local’s travel advice in Mexico, Hawaii, or Antarctica?
Couchsurfing.com is a global network of 451,923 users worldwide, which connects travelers to hosts online.
“Why stay in a hotel room when you can go meet someone new, experience someone else’s life, shine
light onto them…maybe give them a part of who you are and not have to buy a hotel room?” junior
appropriate technology major Jared J. McQueen said.
 Jared J. McQueen sits on the couch that has hosted three couch surfers through couchsurfing.com. Photo by Alison Meaney
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Couchsurfing.com is a network created to link travelers with a free place to stay, and to aid people in making connections world wide.
The Web site’s mission statement said it strives to “raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance
and facilitate cultural understanding.”
McQueen has traveled to many places, “surfing on a couch” himself.
He said his best experience was during this year’s winter break in Denver, Colo.
McQueen met some musicians while having coffee with his host during an open mic night, and ended
up playing and recording music with them all night.
McQueen said he has never had a bad experience with couch surfing, and attributes the positive
atmosphere to generosity and openness.
“[Couch surfers] are not afraid to share themselves with others and they are open to new experiences,”
he said. “Life is a matter of opening or closing and when you start opening up you will meet so many
amazing people.”
It is the voluntary opening of heart and home that has hospitality and tourism management professor
Dr. Mike Evans worried about consequences of negative interactions.
He noted most mainstream American businesses would be wary of legal issues and potential
problems.
“Even though the positive experience numbers are impressive, there will be problems - takes only one
bad news story to stop the whole thing,” Evans said.
However, the couch surfing network is taking steps to keep the community reliable.
When a new surfer signs up on the network, they receive an e-mail from couchsurfing.com’s greeter.
Profiles have valuable information such as photos, comments made by former hosts, and the general
interests of the surfer.
Phone calls, e-mails and investigating your potential couch surfer’s profiles are encouraged.
Boone’s online group has 12 hosts, including McQueen.
McQueen said the best way to make a surfer feel at home is to be yourself, be hospitable, and maybe
send them off with a gift.
“There are billions of people in the world and I guarantee you that you are super compatible with a
million of them,” McQueen said. “It’s impossible to meet all of your best friends, but they are all out
there… I would have never met those awesome people if it wasn’t for the site.”
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bad news story to stop the whole thing,”
- this is simply not true. In a network with 450.000 people bad things happen. The percentage of these problems is ridiculously low however, and there is a professional security team in place to handle the problems that do occur. I think that by now (I joined when there were 90.000 users) this network is unstoppable, and it really makes the world a better place. It restores your faith in mankind by showing you how many nice and generous people still exist in this world.
Whoever wants to read about couchsurfing experiences, check out my blog at www.walterheck.com for a a travelblog of my trip around the world using couchsurfing. Oh, and sign up for couchsurfing already!