Last year, we met Szilvia Weyer, a former Spotter, in Berlin. She told us then she was working on a thesis about Couchsurfing, and we had an interesting conversation about it

Szilvia has been so kind to share an English summary of the thesis with us yesterday.  So I hope Spotted by Locals has the scoop of this interesting thesis in the “international press”!

We did a short written interview, that summarizes her interesting thesis well.

What was the subject of your thesis?
In my thesis – written from an anthropological perspective and based on field-work (including interviews, participative observation, analysing the texts at the CS-website) – I described CS as a contribution to modern ways of travelling reflecting some typical tendencies of the zeitgeist.

Can you explain us in your words what Couchsurfing is?
Couchsurfing (CS) is an online hospitality network. The idea of getting the local point-of-view while on the road is its core. The project Couchsurfing tries to contribute to this ideal by offering shelter at private people`s houses, who are willing to share a bit of their every-day lives with their guests.The system is not based on the principle of reciprocity: it is possible to stay at somebody`s place without being a host and vice versa; and there is no financial interest included. Hosts and guests do it simply out of interest for the cultural exchange expected from the encounters. CS has more than 1 million members worldwide with a  rapidly growing membership.

In my thesis, I described CS as:

• an instrument of  intensifying the everyday-life
• an instrument of accumulating  intercultural capital
• an instrument of social distinction

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