Treasure London now has it’s own Facebook Group. Hopefully we’ll use it to update you on important and exciting news 
Thanks for supporting us,
Ronald - Treasure London
Archive for November, 2007
I’ve been cycling a lot more through London recently - to keep fit and get a better sense of the city. I much prefer cycling to sweating it out with everyone else on the tube, and it’s invariably quicker (if I don’t get lost).
Taking the tube today made me realise that I no longer have the opportunity to read the free newspapers (Metro, London Lite, thelondonpaper, City AM). I guess the BBC News covers all the same news but I feel like I’m missing some shared information with other Londoners (Nemi?). Even though the guys will still try to shove a paper in your hands while you’re riding past them, it’s quite difficult to read while cycling across Tower Bridge…
Happy travelling,
Ronald - Treasure London
I have been doing some pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on Facebook. Should be a good opportunity to target adult Londoners who are interested in running a treasure hunt as a team-building or social event.
I’ve read that Facebook has a particularly low click-through rate… because people are too busy concentrating on their social networking to be bothered with adverts.
Indeed, I’ve only received one click in 60,000 views so far (luckily I’m paying per click!).
I figured that advertising on Scrabulous - Facebook’s Scrabble application - would be more valuable, as it catches people who are interested in puzzles and spend a bit more time exploring each page while they try to come up with a word. I did get a higher click-through rate but I only got visitors from the US and Hong Kong. Not as highly targeted as I was hoping.
So far Treasure London is not getting through to as many people on Facebook as I’d hoped. I guess if I can’t distract people from what they’re doing on Facebook, I can make Treasure London what they’re doing on Facebook. I’ve started work on a Treasure London application, and a Facebook group will follow shortly.
See you on Facebook,
Ronald - Treasure London
This weekend, we walked a section of the New River Path (from Angel to Manor House). A good way to see interesting parts of North London - recommended places of note: Mucky Pup Pub, Get Stuffed taxidermist in Canonbury, Orwellian bleakness of the Stoke Newington reservoirs, views leading up to Alexandra Palace. All in all it’s a great walk - maybe I’ll continue to follow it up to Hertfordshire…
Ronald - Treasure London
Sometimes I think of a clue which is simply too hard to use during a treasure hunt. Here’s an example of a clue which was rejected. You have been warned: this is super-tough.
Each word is clued as a sequence of numbers.
First the letters are converted into numbers by alphabetical order (A=1, B=2, C=3,…, Z=26)
Then the first letter is added to the last letter to give the first number in the clue sequence
The second letter is added to the second last letter to give the second number in the clue sequence
And so on, until you get to the middle letter(s) - there might be one or two - which gives you the last number in the clue sequence
e.g. KLM = 11-12-13 is clued as 24-12
ABACAB = 1-2-1-3-1-2 is clued as 3-3-4
Here are the three puzzles then, they refer to London locations:
10-12-21-12
44-16-22
4-30-25-16-16
Good luck!
Ronald - treasurelondon.com
I am always fascinated by how activities in London seem to overlap and intertwine.
I’m currently learning Dutch with classes at UCL, so I’m always looking out for English texts with Dutch translations - surprisingly difficult to find.
But, a friend invited me to the opening of St Pancras International station last week. The Eurostar terminal has moved to this beautiful refurbished station. While there, I absently picked up some pamphlets advertising the new service - translated both into French and Dutch (thanks to the Brussels service)! No train announcements in Dutch though, unlike at Gare Du Nord in Paris.
Sinterklaas has arrived in the Netherlands from Spain, by the way. Make sure you leave your shoes out on December 5th and you may be rewarded!
Ronald - treasurelondon.com
The weather has been bad today so I’ve postponed my clue-finding trip around Covent Garden.
We’ve had to look at how we handle bad weather events. I ask people to wear appropriate clothing so that our specially organised treasure hunts can go ahead - but what if (like today) the weather turns in the middle of the day? I’m looking to find some rain ponchos for just such emergency situations.
We’re also working on emergency treasure hunt clues that would take place predominantely indoors - in case of icy or otherwise extreme weather conditions. If we’re expecting bad weather then we design the hunt so there are more weather-proof clues anyway, but we need a few extra options for unexpected April snow showers!
Ronald - treasurelondon.com
I recently found out about Odyssey Marine Exploration - another company of treasure hunters. While we’re travelling around London looking for curiosities, these guys are travelling around the world looking for shipwreck booty.
They’ve found an unnamed wreck which they claim is in international waters in the Atlantic (the Black Swan Project) - 17 tonnes of silver coins, running into hundreds of millions of dollars of value. An incredible find - except that the British and Spanish governments may want to claim their share, they’ve been attacked by leading archaeological foundations, and I do wonder about the cost of running several international salvage operations.
I prefer my job in London.
Ronald - treasurelondon.com
