I have been using Waze on my Droid for the past few days and I have to say that it is a great application.  The developer’s of Waze describe it as “Real-time maps and traffic information based on the wisdom of the crowd” and that’s exactly what it is.  I have enjoyed seeing updates from folks around the DC metro area about traffic issues: slow areas, jams and accidents.  Apparently DC hasn’t reached critical mass yet according to the notice displayed on Waze when I first launched it.  However, I can definitely see the potential.

In addition to “social traffic,” Waze will share your location and destination to everyone in your area.  It defaults to sharing this data anonymously, but you have the option of turning it off all together or showing your nickname.  There is also a game aspect to Waze that I haven’t explored yet.  Much like Foursquare, you get points by using directions through Waze and bonus points for going to locations set by Waze.  Personally, I’d rather Waze award points towards solely to increase the credibility of users, rather than for playing the game, but I understand why it is there.

I think a great enhancement to tool like this would be the ability to dymically change your route based on traffic conditions.  Waze would probably have to wait until an area reached critical mass, but once all of that data is available, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.  If that were a feature, I could see using Waze every day for my commute.