WAZE: Social Location Sharing for Drivers

Like so many good ideas WAZE was born out of a frustration. Originally an idea that would allow crowdsourcing to improve the GPS maps of Israel (where it still has one of the most complete maps of the country). The producers of the GPS device that was attempting to be improved issued a cease & desist order rather than embrace the idea.

Fast forward to 2009 and WAZE arrives in the US. It is now available on all cell phone platforms and is the only free turn by turn GPS navigation software currently available. What makes it really interesting is that it is also a social network. By connecting your WAZE account to your Facebook account you can not only see other WAZE users on the map but you can see your Facebook friends on the map too. What is the significance of this? For WAZE it moves them closer to their goal of becoming “the best social network for drivers”. For users of the system it means that getting advice on local traffic conditions becomes easier because you already have a connection with the people that you are going to ask.

In an attempt to make sure that the maps stay current and accurate, WAZE users are encouraged to “munch cupcakes” on sections of road that have not been driven by WAZE users yet. This earns the user points and moves them up the leaderboard. As yet there are no real incentives built into the platform, and maybe just the ability to avoid traffic and get to your destination is incentive enough.

Here is the clever part. WAZE uses the GPS in your phone to monitor how fast you are moving. Then displays traffic conditions along your route. If you see a “red” section of road you can see if any of your friends or other WAZE users are in that section and “Ping” them for more information, is it an accident, roadworks or just heavy traffic. The ping feature is a form of “text messaging” between WAZE users. Now obviously in some cities (like Austin, Texas) texting while driving is illegal. In any situation texting while driving is never advisable. However, the idea behind the ping system is that it is used when stopped or by passengers. Whether that is how it will be used is open for debate but as a concept it certainly has appeal.

Some upcoming features include Route Sharing. Though not on the development roadmap (pun intended), the concept is that once you have decided what route you are taking between two points you can share it with other WAZE users so that you can caravan together. They are also developing a web widget that will display the movements of groups of WAZE users. One of the first uses of this is being deployed by the Austin American Statesman who have a twitter account dedicated to tweeting the WAZE updates of Austin WAZE users who are members of the group.

What will be interesting as this platform develops will be to see the marketing uses that the platform offers. Given that the tool is used in an environment where the user is already very occupied mentally (or at least should be) messaging or other interruptions will have to be in a format that doesn’t provide a distraction.

Are you a WAZE user? What is your story of using the platform?