The socially driven navigation app Waze released an update this week that introduces a new feature called Places, which allows drivers to share information about local buildings with other Waze users.
 

The update is an incremental bump, nudging Waze from version 3.8 to 3.9.  The Waze team wrote in a blog post that users will be provided with a new preview screen that will show them all information added by other users in the Places section. The company added that the information is intended to make sure that users are traveling to the right place and that they will recognize their destination before they reach it.

To make sure that people will actively use Places, Waze has incorporated a sort of gaming-like incentive with a leaderboard system that encourages users to share information to the map as a community.  Just add a photo or information on any local building to receive points.  When other Waze users travel to that location, they will be able to see the information you've provided and have the ability to fill in any additional details that you may have left out, such as where to park or other helpful tips.
 

In addition to the new update, Waze also announced that it will partner with local governments worldwide in a program called Connected Citizens, which will provide government officials with anonymous, crowd-sourced traffic data in real time in exchange for public project and construction plans handled by state and local governments.
 

Google (News - Alert) purchased Waze in June 2013 for $966 million, and since the purchase Google has been incorporating data generated from the Waze community into its Google Maps application - for example, accidents reported in the Waze app are displayed when using Maps' real time navigation. It is not known if any of Waze's new features will make their way into Maps, but don't be too surprised if they do.
 

Waze 3.9 is available now for free on both iOS and Android (News - Alert).