OP
OP
Lovacott
Über Member
They actually are.
What3Words Going Mainstream?
- Thread starter Lovacott
- Start date
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[Citation needed]
newfhouse
Resolutely on topic
What’s the algorithm?
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Surprisingly similar to w3w, involving looking them up in a proprietary bible, but without as much calculation.
Profpointy
Legendary Member
You'll probably get two words: foxtrot oscar
You guessed the first two correctly, the third I had in mind was the surname of a German philosopher named Immanuel
matticus
Guru
I do get this, truly I do; but consider, there will be a heck of a lot of people in the UK who misspell one of
logo
mermaid
cemented
I recently had a B&B owner try to give me directions over the phone; I wrote down all the w3w sets he gave me - the first two turned out to be wrong, because I probably wrote them down wrong.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Many map apps have a "share my location" command (try longpressing your location marker, or looking on the menus). There is also a system to make many phones text your location to the emergency services when you call them, no app needed. Here is Google explaining how it works on Android: https://crisisresponse.google/emergencylocationservice/how-it-works/
Pretty much the only problems that w3w solves that aren't already solved by "share my location", QR codes and emergency location services are: 1. verbally giving locations out (but there are alternatives for most uses, some debatably better like plus codes); and 2. how w3w's investors will ever make their money back!
Bonefish Blues
Banging donk
- Location
- 52 Festive Road
... and that they can work with any other location format. The OS ref is the 'gold standard'. W3W may well become the layman's standard. That's the point I and others have been making, and both will get you rescued.
Amazonian
Regular
Absolutely, but it's also clear there are issues with W3W. My view is that it's great idea, and I 100% see all the benefits to it. But I also think they're lacking slightly in the execution and their marketing/business strategy makes me very uncomfortable.
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I remember when it emerged - it won a competition of some sort that was reported in the New Scientist. It may be a bit late emerging because it needs an environment without competition to flourish, and that's not the case in the UK, as there are easier and well established alternatives. Other countries may be more fertile ground.
I think their main plan / hope may well be to be bought up by one of the big players. If Amazon, say, decided to use it as an addressing standard or something like that. Otherwise I think it may be likely remain as a very cute ingenious idea with some enthusiastic fans.
According to wiki Mercedes Benz have invested but I think they may need someone bigger if they want broader uptake.
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OP
OP
Lovacott
Über Member
I've just got back from a few days camping at Worthy Farm Pilton, which is the site of the Glastonbury Festival.
It was basically the "Glastonbury" experience without the bands.
I used W3W to mark our tent location and then used it's compass tool to take us back there after six pints of Moons Cider in the site bar.
Worked really well.
I also had a chat with Michael Eavis and played air guitar on the skeleton of the Pyramid stage.
