The company's reach and potential as a social mapping tool is so huge-50 million downloads and counting-that in 2013 Google bought the company for almost $1 billion.ĭespite suspicions that Google would merge the company with its own Google Maps, Waze operates independently and maintains its own mapping technology, with Google Maps pulling only traffic and emergency data.
World map editor drivers#
The premise is simple: By tracking users' phones when the app is open and also allowing drivers to leave live traffic updates on the map, Waze provides real-time route guidance that often embarrasses the most sophisticated predictive navigation software. Building a communityįounded in 2008, Waze is an Israeli-based startup that is growing at a rapid pace. For the most part, this volunteer workforce is entirely self-sufficient. Internationally, there are almost 300,000 editors working behind the scenes. Zahn is just one of roughly 6,000 active editors throughout the U.S. That's because he doesn't get paid for any of his time. Zahn has recently had to scale back because he is enrolled in graduate school, but he still puts in at least 16 hours a week working for Waze, which is "more than my wife would like," he says. Zahn's responsibilities are numerous enough that the 27-year-old also puts in time over the weekends and for about two hours each night as he and his wife watch TV- Bones or The Big Bang Theory, usually.
World map editor update#
It's his job to update the map accordingly. "I'll log on and kind of check my area, see if anything has popped up or check in on a couple of problems I've been watching," says Zahn, who is an area manager for Baltimore City and its surrounding territory.Īccording to Zahn, the things that pop up can include Waze users reporting that a one-way street is now two-way or even a surprise road closure. Once in, Zahn accesses the Waze Map Editor, which allows him and other editors to make updates and changes to the map that tens of millions of drivers across the globe use on a daily basis.
Every day at lunch, geologist Nick Zahn grabs his MacBook Air and heads to the cafeteria at the Maryland Department of the Environment, where he connects to the building's Wi-Fi and logs in to the website for Waze, the hugely popular smartphone navigation app that relies on crowdsourced data.
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