This week i checked out the couch surfing community which can be reached by going to http://www.couchsurfing.org. Once here you have access to a community of people who all share the common interest of travel whether this be providing a couch and meeting new people or going to new places and experienceing the life in that community through staying with a kind local found on this website. This is reflected by the sites mission statement "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."
To become part of this comunity you first need to create a profile and become a member. Once you have completed this process members are able to contribute to the community through offering a couch ( or even just a coffee) to be slept on or if you are travelling make arrangements to stay with someone whos couch is being offered. This site provides a link for communication between couch surfers and couch owners around the globe but really its up to the individual how they make use of the site.
People place postings on the site such as the following ,about someones personal view and experience of couch surfing.
"Couchsurfing is the best thing that happened in my life, I could meet, host and be hosted by great people, some even bacame friends, I have now found the best way to travel and wil always try avoid staying in a boring hotel, and if I do go to hostels/hotels I'm sure I'll get to meet some cool people to hang out with. So far (after 2 years) my experience has been wonderful and I'm sure other wonderful experiences are waiting for me..."
Cecile Benedic (Czech Republic)Jul 20, 2008
Safety is a big issue surrounding this community. People are putting themselves into a vulnerable situation by staying with people who are still random strangers in an unfamiliar environment. The site understands that there are many safety considerations and provides the best safety measures available (verification, references and vouching, safety advice) however even with these in place couch surfing still poses a lot of risk and really it is up to the individual to look out for themselves and use their common sense.
When looking at this comunity in comparison to traditional communities they are very much related and compared to many other online communities this one has much greater links really.
with other online communites people communicate and learn about each other through a computer screen however for couch surfers the computer screen is just the beginning. the computer screen links people from vast communities accross the globe and brings them together. it provides the opportunity for people to leave their own community and get to stay with locals where they can experience first hand how locals from other communities live. From reading the entries on the site i can see that after couch surfing some people feel really connected to the communtiy they have visitied and continue to keep in touch with them. That is the reason i chose to look at this site........it offers more than a computer screen relationship.
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