The French-American Initiative is a Go!

After a little break the Bi-weekly is back! We've got news about the French meetup and their American inspiration, and about the Mexican community and their new projects.

And don't miss Canada's Kris B' musical choice, it's a classy one.

French Mentoring, USA Style

The French meetup took place in Euro Disney (!) and it was lovely. The atmosphere was great, and Waze staff and the community members discussed many important issues - and one of them was the mentoring program.

We're going to Euro Disney!

It's no secret mentoring is catching in communities all over the world. It helps the community, making sure new members quickly learn the ropes and creates a bond between them and the senior editors. The French decided they want it too, and are using the US model.

Several French champs are even now hard at work, translating the US program doc for use in the local community. We're sure this will help new members taking the French community to new heights.

Improving the Mexican Map

Another meetup took place in Mexico, another community working on implementing the mentoring program. But that's not all they're up to.

The Mexicans are working on two major projects: they're connecting all major cities in the country, making sure map connectivity is top notch especially between important urban centers.

Aside from that they're dividing the country into regions, having each one "managed" by a veteran editor. This way editors have a clear local contact person for every issue that bugs them. A great model for big countries.

Wazer Spotlight:

Kris B AKA doctorkb, Canadian coordinator and global Champ

What do you do when not editing maps?

Wazing under water

IT Manager at a public university

Which car do you drive?

2003 VW Jetta Wagon 1.8T ("Dubbie"). Soon to be a 2015 VW Golf Wagon TDI (as soon as they're available in Canada)

How long have you been a Wazer?

I first signed up before the basemaps were in Canada - late 2009. Because of the lack of maps (and 100 mile driving required to get editing rights so as to start building maps), I virtually gave up on it until Sep 2012 when I had moved to a big city and could get the driving in (and there were basemaps).

I've tried to use this previous experience as motivation to tackle some untouched areas of the country -- realising there could be frustrated would-be Wazers there, if only their maps worked!

Since then, I've not looked back -- the Edmonton map quickly evolved (and I advanced in my editing abilities), and I've since become Country Manager for Canada and a Global Champ.

How did you get hooked on Waze?

It started getting me to work earlier! Not to mention, when there was an error with the map, I could fix it easily and quickly. The maps up here are notoriously bad on most systems -- Waze has an awesome one now!

What's your favorite part about the community?

That everyone is working together to make for a better experience for others. Meeting other NA Champs at the meetup has also been a highlight.

..And the worst part.

That some people don't want to make it better for others - only themselves - and don't take kindly to correction.

What's the funniest Waze story that happened to you?

This is how we roll

I think the funniest story is telling a coworker about how Waze takes us on a route that is much faster than the direct path, he insisted on just knowing the route, then the next day there was a major collision there - Waze routed us around it for the commute, but the coworker got caught in traffic. It was a good time to say "you should have just used Waze!"

What's your best Waze tip for newcomers?

Drive, preferably while using the Waze navigation feature to route you! When something doesn't work right, report an error and PLEASE converse with the editors (but not while driving) - we need to hear your side of the story!

What do you listen to when driving your car (aside from the Waze app messages, of course)

Well, it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing! Usually my driving music is either swing or blues -- "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone is always a good one!