Creating a better world...

I would like to use this blog entry to make a commercial for the social network site of Couchsurfing. This is probably the webpage I adore the most on the internet, and one of the most important pages for me - a world without this page would for me simply mean another personal history and a poor world.

For the people who do not know this webpage I will briefly explain. Couchsurfing is an internet community for people who like to travel and meet new people - it connects the traveller with the local communities, as they write on their webpage. The thought is that everyone always have a spare couch/bed in their house/flat - and therefore can offer this to travellers visiting their local community. In this way the traveller lives for free and both the host and 'the surfer' of the couch meet new people and get a real cultural experience that can not be found in a hostel or a hotel. Furthermore Couchsurfing offers social groups where people can arrange meeting for a beer, going on trips together, arranging parties, ask about sightseeing, bond over common interests etc.

I have been a member of this webpage since 2008 and have travelled many places using this community... so far only with good experience. The page is different than a social network page like facebook. On couchsurfing it is about meeting new people - not keeping in contact with 'old' friends.



The slogan for this community is that couchsuring is creating a better world one couch at the time - and I really think that this is the case. My travels have never been the same after joining couchsurfing. I always feel like I get to know the culture much better, and I get friends all over the world, which is not a bad thing either (the map on the right shows the couchsurfers of this world). At the same time I get to reflect on my own identity and nationality quite a lot since Im being confronted with this all the time when meeting people from other countries or showing them my city or my country.

I am very happy that I live in a time where it is possible to travel in this manner - and Im not sure what I would do without this webpage. Being a foreigner in Slovenia this page is also quite helpfull for getting friends and keeping updated on what is going on in the city and the country.


Off course this community also has it flaws. First of all the webpage is not that user friendly, the design is ugly, and it takes some time to figure out how to navigate around it - also it often 'crashes'.


Second of all some people do not get the idea of couchsurfing - and therefore write 'dating-requests' to you... which you can off course just choose to ignore. It ruins the idea.
Finally I think that the architecture of the page also affects the behaviour of people using the webpage. It is quite specified what you can write about yourself and on top of this you also have to think a lot about what photos to post on your profile. Photos you put on facebook is different because people know you and will link your pictures to your actual identity... while people that do not know you will 'judge' you on your picture (or on what you write about yourself). Therefore there are a lot of thoughts about creating your profile and the 'identity' you think people would like to surf with or host.

What is left to say is - try it! Make the world a greater place by opening up your house and experiencing a new culture !