What3Words to launch rural applications awareness campaign

[JP1]

Good app

I’m currently sat at

https://w3w.co/thick.thus.claps

Waiting for a sprayer

I've noticed the satellite library on W3W is much more recent than say the consumer public version of Google Maps too

 

[farmerm]

What is the funniest/most apt/most ironic wtw phrase you cant find...?

 

[farmerm]

thought this one would be in wales..

 

[farmerm]

 

[cjrsheldrick]

Good. It's about time more people realised the usefulness of this app.

I hope you're proud @cjrsheldrick

Certainly am @Brisel - thanks!

 

[Princess Pooper]

2 examples when it would have worked rather well....second on the scene of a fatal RTC a couple of years ago and a long way from any houses.

Reporting a verge side water leak to Severn Trent yesterday when they were trying to work from my postcode (leak was 800m away and on a different lane, also without any houses). Even without the app I just looked up the location quickly enough as I knew where it was on the map, but sadly ST calls handlers don't use the system.

Ok In both cases we coped, but would have been a lot quicker to use W3W!

 

[yellowbelly]

Enlighten me, why is it called What3Words, didn’t make any sense to me at all, but I am officially slow on the uptake

The 'like' wasn't for you being 'officially slow on the uptake' but to signify that I'm of a similar disposition

 

[davieh3350]

Did the ordinance survey not have the whole country plotted out so you could give your location to within a few feet?

 

[cosmagedon]

I've had the app for a while now and have mentioned it to others to download it, just for emergencies more than anything.

 

[TheTallGuy]

Did the ordinance survey not have the whole country plotted out so you could give your location to within a few feet?

It does, but it's easier to remember & relay three words than a set of grid references - especially in an emergency. The other plus side is that as it's a dedicated app you can look up new locations almost instantly, unlike using Google Maps or similar to find the coordinates.

I'll admit that when it first came out I thought of it being a solution looking for a problem, but the current setup looks to be quite useful - the big issue will be getting mainstream acceptance & usage. A big step forward (in my opinion) would be if the likes of Google, Bing, StreetMaps etc. were to integrate it into their mainstream mapping services.

 

[Gav]

I actively promote the app on a lot of my training courses now as I can see the advantages of it in our industry. 99% of people I have through courses have still never heard of it though.

 

[Grassman]

I found w3w a few years ago and have tried to promote it for various applications. Lots just don't understand the concept and how useful it can be.
Even just advising a contractor to go through a gate off a road then up through a few more fields to the exact point you want him to tip a trailer of stone. Even marking where there is a hidden wet spot. Etc.

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

2 examples when it would have worked rather well....second on the scene of a fatal RTC a couple of years ago and a long way from any houses.

Reporting a verge side water leak to Severn Trent yesterday when they were trying to work from my postcode (leak was 800m away and on a different lane, also without any houses). Even without the app I just looked up the location quickly enough as I knew where it was on the map, but sadly ST calls handlers don't use the system.

Ok In both cases we coped, but would have been a lot quicker to use W3W!

Most of the population (generally) now have smartphones, and with reasonably new-ish Apple and Android handsets the GPS location gets automatically transmitted to the contact centre in the background on 112 and 999 calls.

Helps massively as the user is generally not always going to be in a fit and proper state mentally / or clear concise frame of mind or necessarily physically able to be able to navigate another app or even just use the compass app in their phone which gives GPS lat/long.

BT and EE were sponsors in the UK getting it set up.

 

[JP1]

I actively promote the app on a lot of my training courses now as I can see the advantages of it in our industry. 99% of people I have through courses have still never heard of it though.

I get really irritated that I’ve used the marker post system for identifying location positions and direction of travel on motorways and A roads. 90% of folks drive but hardly anyone knows about them or reference them yet we’ve all supposedly passed a driving test . Suffolk Fire and Rescue use the (publicly provided) system , Suffolk Police don’t (and they are the roads police )

That system has been in place for 35 years plus

 

[JP1]

Most of the population (generally) now have smartphones, and with reasonably new-ish Apple and Android handsets the GPS location gets automatically transmitted to the contact centre in the background on 112 and 999 calls.

Helps massively as the user is generally not always going to be in a fit and proper state mentally / or clear concise frame of mind or necessarily physically able to be able to navigate another app or even just use the compass app in their phone which gives GPS lat/long.

BT and EE were sponsors in the UK getting it set up.

Now describe where the incident is not where you’re calling from

 

[Clive]

I've noticed the satellite library on W3W is much more recent than say the consumer public version of Google Maps too

Yes that image is less than 12 months old, there is x2 big fert tanks a spray store and a water tank there now

In that image you can just se the water tank delivered and ready for installation

The sat image data must be via a 3rd party like google or bing etc though I would imagine ?

 

[DaveGrohl]

I use it quite often just to note the location of drains etc. You can tell an employee or contractor the exact location of something they need to look at or avoid.

I also have it for emergencies just in case. I have a friend whose son had an alarming experience not so long ago. Without going into details it involved being drunk and getting lost in the middle of nowhere. It would've been perfect in that case as he couldn't describe where he was over the phone.

 

[primmiemoo]

If the vehicle rescue organisations use this new system instead of google maps - that are no better than sticking a pin in an old commercial yellow pages book - they could save their customers a great deal of time, upset, and annoyance when they need assistance in rural areas.

 

[JP1]

Yes that image is less than 12 months old, there is x2 big fert tanks a spray store and a water tank there now

In that image you can just se the water tank delivered and ready for installation

The sat image data must be via a 3rd party like google or bing etc though I would imagine ?

I was told the other day, I think they use a panel of providers.

For work I generally find Bing more up to date than Google

 

[JP1]

If the vehicle rescue organisations use this new system instead of google maps - that are no better than sticking a pin in an old commercial yellow pages book - they could save their customers a great deal of time, upset, and annoyance when they need assistance in rural areas.

I believe I’m right in being told last week during filming that the Mercedes “telematics” system has W3W built in now