Your three words

Recently, I became aware of a project that has divided the entire world into 3 meter squares using words. Its called “What Three Words?” The project notes that not everyone in the world has a physical address and GPS doesn’t work well everywhere either. What the project does is mark the world using words instead of coordinates, allowing those with no addresses and no internet access or GPS to tell other people where they are. Because the amount of data needed to download the information for the map is such a small amount that it can be made available offline.

For instance,if you were meeting a friend at Maggie Daley Park, you could message them you were waiting at “useful.stump.shells.” And they would know your exact location. If you were headed into the Appalachians to visit your relatives and your GPS went out, you could use the map to plot your path.

The system works based on the ideas of map coordinates but is easier to remember and share locations. Its a cataloging system for geographic space. I like the idea that we can use satellite topography to create a democratic division of space that believes all areas of the globe have a findable value. For as long as people have documented space in maps, knowing the land has been a manifestation of power. This division has a more democratic air.