Slovakian Rise to Fame (and andrex77)

We recently got the Slovakian community's recap of 2013 and we’re blown away! They have shown great dedication in coming up with fun and creative ideas for growing their community. We’re excited to share the details with you.

We also have a Q&A with the Argentinian coordinator and global champ andrex77

 Slovakia Rising, One Pothole at a Time 

We recently got the Slovakian community's 2013 recap, and were blown away. The creativity and dedication these guys have shown is amazing, and we felt we should share it with you guys. 

So here here's what the Slovakians did to make their community grow:

Editors contest – The community defined areas with a weaker map and set up a competition for new editors, challenging them to edit to regions in question. Veteran editors acted as judges. The result: new editors and a huge improvement in the map.

Stickers contest on Facebook – upload a picture of your car with a Waze sticker and win stuff! The result - more stickers, more awareness.

Go local – Following a harsh winter, the roads in Slovakia became full of potholes. The community created a dedicated site, mapping them, and a funny viral campaign on Facebook. The result: Media and users attention.

Relevant events – The community made sure to raise it's flag in auto shows and other events, drawing attention to itself and to Waze. The result: New users and media attention

Wazer Spotlight: 

andrex77. Coordinator / Global Champ for Argentina  

andrex77, ready to edit

What do you do when not editing maps?

I'm a system engineer and partner in a little company providing IT services.

Which car do you drive?

I drive a Peugeot 307

How long have you been a Wazer?

Since November 2011

How did you get hooked on Waze?

andrex's shiny ride

I was looking for a nice GPS software for my brand new iPhone 4, and the social aspect of Waze got me interested. But the maps on my city were awful and the routing simply was useless. After sending a few UR reports, I found out I was able to edit the map, and that was the beginning of my new hobby.

What's your favorite part about the community?

My favorite part is the chance to interact with people from other countries, meet great guys like enhket, meb001, robindlc, and others members of this awesome community.

..And the worst part.

It was a few years ago, I turned on Waze and nobody was on the map. I felt lonely.

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

I Sent a shared drive email, and discovered on arrival that the mail never left the phone's outbox

What's your best Waze tip for newcomers?

Use the play mode, read the Wiki, reach out to the community in the forums and ask if in doubt.

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

I listen to local radio, but I feel pumped when it plays songs like Nirvana's "Come as you are".

Quote of the week

This time we have a user giving us a taste of our own medicine. leocylau offered to translate a presentation designed to educate to users to Chinese. When asked about it he added: "I may start it tonight but no ETA. ut it'll be...'soon' :)"

That's it for now! 

As always, suggestions and questions are welcome!

Stay tuned & have a great year!

Safe driving!