Waze, the crowd-sourced traffic mapping app, is one of our favorite tools for successfully navigating the morass that is Bay Area traffic. Today the app one-ups itself with the ability for trusted community members to update maps in real time, helping others avoid congestion and delays the moment they occur. More than that, though, Waze is among the first big examples of how social media can effect positive, immediate change in our daily lives.
"Maps change really slowly. Some providers update every quarter, others every year," CEO Noam Bardin told Wired. "But the trend with mobile is moving closer and closer to real time. And the only way to enact these real-time changes is by engaging people."
Waze was built upon that concept from the beginning, but now adds more immediacy through real-time road closure updates. Now, when drivers encounter a hitch in their route like a closed exit or flooded road, they can report the problem to the community and say how long they anticipate it lasting. It doesn't do the poor guy stuck in the mess much good, but it does allow others to avoid the problem.
Intelligent algorithms ensure there aren't false positives -- like someone deciding to shut down half the roads in Chicago just for kicks. Waze only "closes" a road when the evidence supports it. For instance, map editors who've been a part of the community for years will see their road closure updates affect maps in real time, while reports from n00bs are first confirmed against reports from other users before they affect maps.
Bardim says Waze drivers have a strong emotional connection to the app -- as opposed to other mapping apps that are purely utilities -- and he loves seeing how, through our mutual hatred of traffic, users work together toward a common goal. It's a refreshing way to see how social media and crowdsourced data can be used for something more than sharing filtered photos or silly six second videos.
"People are committed. You’re part of the community. That gives us a high level of confidence that this is something that can effect change," said Waze spokesman Michal Habdank-Kolaczkowski. With more than 40 million users and 500 million map edits during the past year, Waze is arguably the most up-to-the-minute traffic and map routing app out there. FEMA even reached out to Waze for the company to help Hurricane Sandy victims locate and navigate to open, supplied gas stations.
Waze is free from the App Store and Google Play.
