WME is Gearing Up For 3.9

Version 3.9 is almost here and the editor team is getting ready for launch!

Aside from that we had the first ever meetup in Sweden (apparently the food was excellent) and the spotlight this time is on the doctor himslef: Hungary's own Dr. Nagy Marcell AKA marcedli.

Getting Ready For Places

3.9 is just around the corner, with the full blown places features waiting to be unleashed. One of the important aspects we're looking into is moderating, or rather giving editors the right tools to moderate.

The WME team have been hard at work testing the entire process, from approving pictures to every other detail, so that editors can easily and smoothly go over the data and make sure it's accurate and positive. We can't wait to see how it works, and to get your feedback.

The Swedes Get Together

Sweden, the leading community in the cold region of Scandinavia and northern Europe, had it's first ever meetup (and a special thanks to SverkerN for his part in this)!

What do you mean, "Soon"?

Aside from eating amazing food our guys discussed issues such as eco-friendly driving, and lots of ways to improve the editor - Ohad was in attendance so they had the right man for the job there. The Swedes are doing a great job, using all the tools they can (check out their Facebook page). We're looking forward for the next meetup already.

Wazer Spotlight:

What's up Doc?

marcedli, Hungarian champ and global champ

What do you do when not editing maps?

I am a physician, my daily job covers all fields of preventive medicine in the military. I find my job very close to my hobby - Waze provides drivers with prevention measures on the road, doesn't it?

Which car do you drive?

I have two cars, a blue Toyota Yaris II. (1.0 Benzine 2005) for daily commuting and a blue Toyota Hi-Ace (2.5 D4D Diesel 2002) for the family. Of course there are some stickers on the back for easy identification! ;)

How long have you been a Wazer?

I've registered in 2011, I loved the concept of crowdsourcing, however Cartouche was too painful for me. Kudos for those who could use it for hundreds of hours creating their country's map.

How did you get hooked on Waze?

Working with Papyrus (WME) made me addicted to map-editing. You can see only a blank area on the map, then after some minutes/hours you'll see a village or town with it's roads and places, and in some days you can navigate there without any problem. There's no other application which can give you the feeling that you created such a useful thing for other people.

What's your favorite part about the community?

I'm dealing with every aspect of Waze now (managing the community, the forum, our Facebook and Twitter pages, handling client/WME beta testing, Mega Events etc.) but the greatest thing is when someone thanks a road report I have sent. I'm also working on projects as part of being a community leader and every success feels great.

...And the worst part.

Doc-mobile

Dealing with those who think that communication means simply expressing their (mostly bad) opinion. We try to encourage people to discuss any problem on Facebook or on the forum, however a dialog requires at least two parties. I don't like one-way communication.

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

Some of us used to show our car type in the username (e.g. marcedli@blue_yaris) and once I spotted a user in front of me on the same route. At a railway cross I could "catch" him and knocked on the windscreen while he was in a middle of a phone call. He pulled down the window and I gave him a Waze sticker and a car magnet without saying a word. You should have seen his face! :D

What's your best Waze tip for newcomers?

Communicate, use the available channels (community forums, Facebook pages, etc.). There is no silly question, once upon a time everyone was a baby Wazer.

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

My all-time favourite is Dream Theater, I listen to progressive rock, hard rock and metal music in my car. One of the most powerful guitar riffs I've ever heard is in the track "Rite Of Passage", that's a perfect treat for guitar-lovers!

That's it for now!