Sleeping around. My opinion about Couch Surfing.

What is Couch Surfing I don’t need to explain, do I? OK just a quick revive to make sure we are on the same page.

Couch Surfing is an interned community driven website witch connect people around the world. So called host and guest. Basically hosts offering place to stay for guest, usually from another country, without expecting payment. Or at least payment in currency.

All started somewhere in 2004 by American student as a non-profit organization. At the beginning it was used by not so many people. Most of them wore somehow related to author of the project. It grew to a huge community. Reaching more than 3milion users in 2012 and currently having twice as that. Started as a non-profit company changed its purpose in 2011 to C type corporation.

I joined CS at the beginning of 2009. How did I found it? One day I bought myself a flight to Iceland for two weeks trip. When I started to look for accommodation, things got unpleasant. Prices of simples hostel was over the roof. I had to find the way to make this trip in reasonable price. After all, I didn’t want to cancel it just because my lack of researcher before purchasing ticker. And that how I end up on CS discovering profiles of different people living in Iceland. Soon I got some replies and arranged all my trip. And it was amazing. I’m not saying that sleeping around for free makes thing so much beater but meeting those people that I would not have a chance to meet any other way. Since that time I made many trips with CS, meeting people around the whole world and discovering whole other side of human relationships.

But what I think about it? Probable reading paragraph above you can deduct that I’m in love with the whole idea. But it’s not that simple. Things are changing. Couch Surfing is changing. Service and people who you meet by it changed so dramatically that I can’t recognize it. And I’m just a CS for 4 years.

It all started with changing from non-profit organization to just another revenue driven company. From there it all went downhill. You might say: wait a minute, isn’t this time of increased interest in service? After all it doubled number of users in just a year reaching astonishing 6 million people around the world.

Increased popularity it’s one of the reasons why CS isn’t like it was before. In theory its making thing easier. More user’s equals easier way to find a host. And probably it’s right in the way. But it wasn’t just about free accommodation. It was about sharing the adventure, culture and ideas.  Quantity doesn't mean quality. Now after company took as a target income, seems like users are into savings those few pennies on hostel as well.

It’s not helping that interface started to be not as user-friendly as in the past. There are signs that one of the reasons for that is newest plan to make whole platform subscription based. For me it’s just another step down. Whole those changes are driving people out in visible ways. For example using CS build in groups become so insufficient that so many groups swathed to Facebook that it’s unbelievable. CS groups use to be really legit place to get newest information what is happening not only in the society but in whole particular city for example. All the sub groups and different topics made it so easy and efficient to use. Again new changes brought draw backs in this field. Now some of those groups are very hard to reach and finding your old post became almost impossible. Therefore most of the CS-errs swap to FB as a communication platform.

Of course there are many CS like website that everybody can use instead or together with CS. I didn’t been son keen on them yet. But if the things will go in this strange direction with CS, I will be force to change my favorite social platform.