{"id":5661,"date":"2021-03-13T18:28:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T01:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/?p=5661"},"modified":"2021-03-13T18:28:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T01:28:06","slug":"what-3-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/2021\/03\/13\/what-3-words\/","title":{"rendered":"What 3 Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignleft columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"611\" height=\"696\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/w3w_AlignedLogo_RGB_Fullcolour_ENG-1.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"5663\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/w3w_AlignedLogo_RGB_Fullcolour_ENG-1.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/?attachment_id=5663\" class=\"wp-image-5663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/w3w_AlignedLogo_RGB_Fullcolour_ENG-1.png 611w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/w3w_AlignedLogo_RGB_Fullcolour_ENG-1-263x300.png 263w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/what3words.com\/products\/what3words-app\/\">What 3 Words<\/a> (W3W) is a free app that uses your smartphone\u2019s GPS signal to locate you anywhere in the world, on land or water. The entire surface of the globe is divided into 3 metre by 3 metre squares, each with a unique 3-word locator. W3W is available in 48 languages and is becoming popular as a way to find difficult addresses, pinpoint exact locations, and locate lost outdoor adventurers. W3W has partnerships with Google Maps, Tom-Tom, and some car manufacturers that are pairing it with their in-car navigation systems. When I first encountered this app, I thought it sounded brilliant and immediately downloaded and tried it, thinking it could be an added safety tool on backcountry trips. It\u2019s a simple app that works as advertised, but sometimes it gives a different set of 3 words for the same location, depending on how much you are moving around. After playing around with it for a while and perusing a few blogs and social media threads about W3W, I have started to think about how people tend to gravitate toward new apps and technology solely because of the hype surrounding them, when they might already have the tools to do the same job. <em>All of the different apps I have used in the MET program for group communication and collaboration come to mind<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Reasons NOT to depend on W3W in the backcountry:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>If you have a smartphone with GPS and have a phone signal, you don\u2019t need W3W to relay your location.\u00a0 Android phones and iPhones come standard with features (such as Apple Maps, GPS, and Find My Phone) \u00a0which can pinpoint your location and share with friends or emergency services. \u00a0As Marlis pointed out in her <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/2021\/03\/06\/life-360-convenient-or-intrusive\/\">Life360<\/a> post, it is fairly simple to track someone\u2019s smartphone, as long as the GPS is turned on. <\/li><li>W3W doesn\u2019t need a data connection for using the GPS locator, but does require you to have cell service in order to communicate your 3-word location, and many back-country locations are far from any reliable cell service.<\/li><li>Using a smartphone in remote locations depletes the battery, as does cold weather. Many outdoor adventurers and workers carry portable battery packs to charge smartphones, but these add weight to a backpack.\u00a0<\/li><li>Smartphone signals interfere with transceiver (avalanche beacon) signals and are therefore detrimental during an emergency search.<\/li><li>There are better mobile devices available that are designed to keep people safe in remote locations.\u00a0 These are not free, but many have reasonable monthly and\/or yearly rates for people serious about getting far away from civilization. I use an older SPOT satellite device with a yearly membership that sends messages to predetermined contacts and allows close-to real time tracking on the SPOT website. \u00a0The SPOT has paid for itself in peace of mind as my family\u2019s emergency contacts are able to track our progress on back-country trips and receive daily check-in notices. \u00a0My husband used it when he cycled across Canada, which I linked to Facebook, making it fun for all our friends and family to watch and debate how far he would manage to ride each day. \u00a0Many newer satellite devices allow real-time messaging by connecting to your smartphone and have flexible payment plans. The following is a comparison of satellite tracking devices for when you\u2019re adventuring or working out of cell service range.  When I eventually replace my older SPOT, which one do you think I should get? \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outdoorgearlab.com\/topics\/camping-and-hiking\/best-personal-locator-beacon\">Best Satellite Messengers of 2021<\/a><\/li><li>No technology replaces common sense and the foresight of preparing well for your adventure and leaving a detailed plan with your emergency contact(s). \u00a0If something goes wrong on your trip and technology fails you, a rescue can still be mounted in time.\u00a0 That being said, I have switched from a paper-based plan left with my in-laws to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adventuresmart.ca\/\">AdventureSmart<\/a> app when we go into the back-country. \u00a0You can use the app to plan your adventure and send it to your emergency contacts, who are sent \u00a0a notification if you don\u2019t report in by your expected return time.  You do not need to be connected to this app at all times.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/457EB47B-920D-4011-B26E-AF452C5B6907_1_201_a.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5664\" width=\"262\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/457EB47B-920D-4011-B26E-AF452C5B6907_1_201_a.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/457EB47B-920D-4011-B26E-AF452C5B6907_1_201_a-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/files\/2021\/03\/457EB47B-920D-4011-B26E-AF452C5B6907_1_201_a-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px\" \/><figcaption>1st page of my outdoor apps<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Footnote<\/em> \u2013 I was mostly interested in the practical aspects of navigation and location using technology in the back-country, but I came across this interesting blog that gets into the issues of open-source information and the proprietary nature of W3W\u2019s database \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/shkspr.mobi\/blog\/2019\/03\/why-bother-with-what-three-words\/\">Why Bother with What 3 Words?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What 3 Words (W3W) is a free app that uses your smartphone\u2019s GPS signal to locate you anywhere in the world, on land or water.&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/2021\/03\/13\/what-3-words\/\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What 3 Words<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":67020,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[170,171],"class_list":["post-5661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mobiletechnologies","tag-navigation","tag-outdoors","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67020"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5661"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5667,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5661\/revisions\/5667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}