Ever gone somewhere with someone and gotten separated? How do you find them? Call, ask where they are, walk towards them until you see each other, most likely. But coherently.orangey.worries - 3 words, changes all that. That’s where I am right now, literally.
I was reading the letters to the editor in The Economist and someone wrote that the archaic address system used in rural France could be replaced by what3words. I had heard of this before, but didn’t look into it at all, I didn’t understand the potential usefulness.
What is it? An app that’s mapped every place on the Earth into unique, 3 x 3 meter squares. The uniqueness is that every three meter square, in the world, is identified by 3 words. Where I am right now is coherently.orangey.worries. There are some useful components to this - when we lived in Arlington, VA, our apartment had an entrance that was separate from the actual address. 1220 N. Fillmore takes you to a side of the building where there is no entrance. But wipes.metals.flies takes you right to the entrance, where we could buzz you up. When we lived on Saipan, there were no street addresses. You used landmarks to give directions. One of my favorites was the breadfruit tree in the middle of the street - and yes, they built a street that branched out on either side of a breadfruit tree. To get to where we lived in As-teo? strung.outshines.predictive would take you right to our front door. Get lost from family or friends in a large event? What3words will tell them where you are. They can put the three words in the app, tap on navigate to and they’ll find you. My daughter could have used this when she got lost on Khao San Road in Bangkok to find the Internet cafe I was in way back in Internet cafe days. What3words is used in Mongolia for postal deliveries because they have such a nomadic population. Delivery drivers use it in Nigeria. Technology. I’m a fan. What are your 3 words?
What is it? An app that’s mapped every place on the Earth into unique, 3 x 3 meter squares. The uniqueness is that every three meter square, in the world, is identified by 3 words. Where I am right now is coherently.orangey.worries. There are some useful components to this - when we lived in Arlington, VA, our apartment had an entrance that was separate from the actual address. 1220 N. Fillmore takes you to a side of the building where there is no entrance. But wipes.metals.flies takes you right to the entrance, where we could buzz you up. When we lived on Saipan, there were no street addresses. You used landmarks to give directions. One of my favorites was the breadfruit tree in the middle of the street - and yes, they built a street that branched out on either side of a breadfruit tree. To get to where we lived in As-teo? strung.outshines.predictive would take you right to our front door. Get lost from family or friends in a large event? What3words will tell them where you are. They can put the three words in the app, tap on navigate to and they’ll find you. My daughter could have used this when she got lost on Khao San Road in Bangkok to find the Internet cafe I was in way back in Internet cafe days. What3words is used in Mongolia for postal deliveries because they have such a nomadic population. Delivery drivers use it in Nigeria. Technology. I’m a fan. What are your 3 words?
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