My project for this course will be about Couchsurfing, its community and its history.
I first hard about Couchsurfing last year, from a friend who wanted to visit amsterdam with us. The idea was to find a free couch for four young men, which was nearly impossible. We finally ended up booking a room in a youth hostel.
But what is Couchsurfing ? It might refer to the couchsurfing.com website. It's also a word: it means moving from one's friend's couch to another -- or any space that allows you to sleep. Actually, the word preexisted the website, but today it's more known because of the multi-million member community built around it. On the website, you can ask members to host you, or you can propose travelers to be your guests during their trip. And there is also a lot of events and meetups, with a wide range of activities proposed : soccer games, meetups in bars, cultural events ...
I've decided to choose this subject because I started hosting people a month ago, and I attended a meeting in a bar in Paris. The people I hosted and the ones I met at the bar made me more curious about Couchsurfing. Because this is not simply a free Airbnb but truly a community, with people sharing . There is members who just want to have somewhere to sleep for free -- yes, it's totally free -- during their travels. But there is also Couchsurfing-addicts who organize their social life around this website, splitting their time between work, meet-ups, travels and their guests.
I will try to investigate different aspects of this community. What is its history? Why are there Couchsurfing addicts? Does this utopic system work, is it safe?
I first hard about Couchsurfing last year, from a friend who wanted to visit amsterdam with us. The idea was to find a free couch for four young men, which was nearly impossible. We finally ended up booking a room in a youth hostel.
But what is Couchsurfing ? It might refer to the couchsurfing.com website. It's also a word: it means moving from one's friend's couch to another -- or any space that allows you to sleep. Actually, the word preexisted the website, but today it's more known because of the multi-million member community built around it. On the website, you can ask members to host you, or you can propose travelers to be your guests during their trip. And there is also a lot of events and meetups, with a wide range of activities proposed : soccer games, meetups in bars, cultural events ...
I've decided to choose this subject because I started hosting people a month ago, and I attended a meeting in a bar in Paris. The people I hosted and the ones I met at the bar made me more curious about Couchsurfing. Because this is not simply a free Airbnb but truly a community, with people sharing . There is members who just want to have somewhere to sleep for free -- yes, it's totally free -- during their travels. But there is also Couchsurfing-addicts who organize their social life around this website, splitting their time between work, meet-ups, travels and their guests.
I will try to investigate different aspects of this community. What is its history? Why are there Couchsurfing addicts? Does this utopic system work, is it safe?
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