I'm a Wazer!

I'm a Waze GrownUp and an aspirational Waze Warrior. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Waze is a GPS-based navigation app for smartphones that provides turn-by-turn finger-waggings and traffic hazard warnings, including police traps. It's five generations ahead of sliced bread. It works on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile,  Symbian, and Maemo. When Google bought the company up in 2013, the 100 or so employees at the time each got a payout of something like $1.2 million. They must be happy campers. If not happy, then at least rich campers. Hands down, it is the best navigation software out there. The maps are accurate, at least for the U.S., and it crowd sources traffic information from a strong membership, so you have a good idea what's going on for your commute.

Waze uses gaming principles to keep members engaged. You earn points for the number of miles you drive, reporting road hazards, and police sightings. You advance through "levels" as follows:

1. You're a Waze Baby until you've driven you're first 100 miles
2. Then you're a Waze GrownUp
3. When you're in the top 10% of the highest scorers in you're state, you're a Waze Warrior, and you drive around with a shield
4. Top 4%: you "fight traffic with a sword." You're a Waze Knight
5. At 1% you're Waze Royalty and you "ride in style" with a crown

As silly as it is, I'm really into it. I want that damn shield. Fortunately for me, Waze awards points based on how far you drive, and being a super-commuter, I've been racking them up quickly. I even got extra points yesterday for my first weekend road report. Yippee! Waze also rewards with "road goodies" and "candy" to gobble up on the road. More points! Hooray!

The Waze display and user interface is well designed.  The scale of the map automatically adapts to your speed. The icons indicating hazards, police presence, or points of interest, fit well into the scene. The experience becomes a sort of augmented reality. What's missing is weather: if a squall has popped up in the town you're passing through, there's no way to report that. Can't report 'tutes on the streetcorner either.

Oh well, nothing is perfect. You might want to visit your app store and try out this gizmo. See on the road.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Please leave a comment below, or you can email your comments to: myirrefutableopinion@gmail.com. I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Please share...