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The Death of Couchsurfing?

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Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#21

Post by freddie_mercury »

MattGaiser wrote: post #18
peterburkimsher wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how Hacker News manages to stay so pure, given that it's run by venture capitalists, yet still remains free of ads and open to newcomers. Monetising CS is like demanding a signup fee to join HN: it will drastically change the community.

Hacker News is smaller than most major subreddits in terms of usage. 400 upvotes is considered a lot here. The site is extremely simple and something that could be replicated in a couple of days at most by most engineers. It doesn't process money or really require a lot of content moderation either.

That is all true but the real answer is that it is run as a charity project by billionaires. So it doesn't need to be monetized.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#22

Post by clairity »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #9
MattGaiser wrote: post #7

>If community powered websites like Reddit can survive Reddit is backed by venture capital and shifted heavily to be more advertiser friendly.

I don't know how Hacker News manages to stay so pure, given that it's run by venture capitalists, yet still remains free of ads and open to newcomers. Monetising CS is like demanding a signup fee to join HN: it will drastically change the community.

if you really don't know, you may want to delve more deeply into the value of HN for said venture capitalists--it's not to make a few bucks on the side. think about the community and who they need in the companies they fund.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#23

Post by mschuster91 »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #9
MattGaiser wrote: post #7

>If community powered websites like Reddit can survive Reddit is backed by venture capital and shifted heavily to be more advertiser friendly.

I don't know how Hacker News manages to stay so pure, given that it's run by venture capitalists, yet still remains free of ads and open to newcomers. Monetising CS is like demanding a signup fee to join HN: it will drastically change the community.

HN is run as a side gig, modded by iirc 2 or 3 staffers. Simple tech stack with next to zero new features, so not too capital intensive.

Plus: there are a shitload of people from all over the world here, ranging from broke devs in "third world countries" over German journalists to US VC CEOs. HN is essentially a gateway to a lot of influential people... a "soft power" in politics terms. And one with real monetary value as HN is an excellent place for new YC companies to get users, staff, or a network. An advantage that other VC funds do not have.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#24

Post by jeromegv »

aclimatt wrote: post #17

Like the article says and as applies to almost all failed startups / products, it can all be traced back to bad management. I've been a heavy CS user for over a decade, I've been to events at their (now defunct I suppose) office in SF, I met their CEO at the time (one of many) and even did a walk around the block chatting strategy with their VP of Product at the time. After building lifelong relationships through the…

It’s also possible that if the premise of your product is being free for broke people, there’s just no path to profitability or even subsistance. You always anger your base, whatever you do. And then your platform becomes irrelevant as it fails to adapt due to... lack of money.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#25

Post by samatman »

MattGaiser wrote: post #18
peterburkimsher wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how Hacker News manages to stay so pure, given that it's run by venture capitalists, yet still remains free of ads and open to newcomers. Monetising CS is like demanding a signup fee to join HN: it will drastically change the community.

Hacker News is smaller than most major subreddits in terms of usage. 400 upvotes is considered a lot here. The site is extremely simple and something that could be replicated in a couple of days at most by most engineers. It doesn't process money or really require a lot of content moderation either.

Given ycombinator's market cap, it might be the most cost-effective loss leader in history.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#26

Post by MattGaiser »

freddie_mercury wrote: post #21
MattGaiser wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hacker News is smaller than most major subreddits in terms of usage. 400 upvotes is considered a lot here. The site is extremely simple and something that could be replicated in a couple of days at most by most engineers. It doesn't process money or really require a lot of content moderation either.

That is all true but the real answer is that it is run as a charity project by billionaires. So it doesn't need to be monetized.

They probably source enough engineers on here to make it more bait rather than charity.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#27

Post by projektfu »

There seems to be a lot of anger in my local community. Probably 10:1 angry vs. supportive. It's sad because this is the end of the sharing economy that got overrun by the gig economy. I'm not sure the network will move to another site, and there's a lot of friction to redraw all the lines of connection and reviews.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#28

Post by SeeTheTruth »

willio58 wrote: post #3

An alternative will rise eventually. Couch surfing is all about experiences, friendships, and not thinking about money. Any person creating the alternative will have to understand and accept that.

It will have to come from the community then. A community has no inherent right to a service - or to the time and effort of the people who build and maintain it.

So maybe alternative won't arise - because spending hours building a product and paying to host it for people who can't or won't pay is a hard sell.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#29

Post by peterburkimsher »

MauranKilom wrote: post #15
Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> create a data import tool so people can easily transfer their C$ profiles. This has been brought up in the past (there have been multiple waves of disgruntled CS members leaving for BW), but it is pretty clear that CS would consider this web scraping that violates their terms of service. CS does not provide any authorized way to export its profiles. EDIT: Sorry, I'm wrong. I left CS and chose to use only community-…

Sounds like that runs afoul of GDPR.

There is a data export tool, as a result of GDPR.

https://www.couchsurfing.com/preferences/privacy

However, there's no data import tool yet, and that's what I'd like to build.

Re: The Death of Couchsurfing?

#30

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #20
dvtrn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never used couchsurfing. Can you elaborate a few more details for outsiders like myself who perhaps can’t read between the lines you’re drawing on the topic? It doesn’t seem that far disconnected from reality to posit that COVID has had some affect on this?

CS started because someone messaged a load of university students so he could stay on their dorm room floor. I discovered it with a dumpster-diving friend in UCSB in 2009. It stays legal by involving no money. (Airbnb's subletting issues do not affect CS). Hosts let people stay in their house: whether a couch, sleeping bag, or spare room. Guests message hosts in advance, asking whether they can stay. Reply rates vary…

BeWelcome was founded well before CS went corporate. And BW was founded by people upset at the direction Hospitality Club (an earlier community) had taken. Sure, BW absorbed some CS refugees in 2011, but many BW members were anxious about CS trends having too much influence on their own site.
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