Waze is a prime example of how crowdsourcing over social media can be used to solve a problem and promote efficiency. Everyone who is a part of the Waze community is working together and engaged to reach the common goal of getting to their destinations quicker. The number of users is growing and unlimited only making the app stronger and more reliable for all thanks to the constant flood of real time data made available by drivers.
It’s an app that allows users to report traffic jams and automatically gives directions for the best route to take. Waze crowd sources information by measuring drivers speed to determine traffic jams and by asking users to report road closures. It’s a great app that proves a dedicated crowd is sometimes all a company needs.
If traffic is bad, Waze automatically alters your route so you can avoid the slowdown. Because it helps you avoid congestion in real time, Waze can also give you a fairly accurate estimate of your arrival time that you can communicate to friends or colleagues who may be waiting for you.
What is crowdsourcing and how does it work?
Crowdsourcing is a method for bringing people together to inspire, create and solve problems. Though it can take a lot of moderation and feedback, there’s a ton of benefits that far outweigh the negatives when it comes to crowdsourcing.
How does waze make money?
Waze makes money via advertising, service fees from its carpooling product, Bluetooth beacon installations, referral fees, as well as by selling access to aggregated data. Let’s take a closer look at each of these revenue streams in the section below.
What is the primary source of revenue for Waze?
The primary source of revenue for Waze is advertisements. Let’s give you some insights into the revenue stream of the company. Businesses who are looking forward to advertising their brand and finding new customers can use the Waze advertisement feature.
In the year 2013 when the Waze app accounted for over 36 million users, Google bought Waze for a whopping $1.3 billion. At present, Waze has over 110 million monthly active users and its estimated annual revenue is over $37.7M.
Why do Waze’s collaborators continue to participate for free?
Although the track record of success since its creation, concerns still remain that echo those of of Panneta an Lahkani, around the reasons these collaborators would continue to participate for free in helping Waze build better maps for its users.
Businesses who are looking forward to advertising their brand and finding new customers can use the Waze advertisement feature. The drivers can see various restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, gas stations, and similar infrastructures along their way to their destination.
Waze itself doesn’t have to monetize because it belongs to Google. Just like Gmail, Google Maps and Google Earth it’s a service that’s provided for free by the tons of money Google makes from their advertising business.