Could map editing be a new go-to hobby for the mainstream? We certainly hope so.

In August alone, a record 15,000 new map editors joined the Waze map editing community, part of a consistent increase that marks a 43% month-over-month rise and a 94% increase from those joining in April.

Our map editing community is growing fast, and this increase is likely attributed to our new and improved map editor, a higher growth rate in drivers using Waze and increased efforts on our part to make map-editing a more user-friendly experience.

Many of the newly-joined map editors are logging in to fix simple map problems: whether it be a road problem in their neighborhood, the desire to add a gas station or mark a toll road, or any number of smaller editing tasks.

Gratification for editors may come in that these fixes can be seen quickly in the app itself, and each map edit has an immediate effect on map quality!

The number of individual edits being logged in the map editor has risen tremendously, with 52.5 million monthly edits being carried out in August 2012, compared to 38.7 million edits in July.

The increase comes at a time of record growth for us – with new drivers signing up at a rate of 2.5 million monthly downloads. It’s probably no coincidence that more map editors (and therefore more accurate maps) coincides with more drivers signing up.

So what’s driving people to map edit?

A recent survey of our US-based users found that the vast majority of editors (more than 77%) sign up after encountering a map problem where they drive regularly.

23% said they signed up to improve or update the maps in the areas they frequently drive.

18% signed up to earn more points and move up the map-editing ranks.

What do these new editors look like?

Our survey indicates the dominant age group for new editors is 40-50 (38%), followed by 30-40 (30%), and 50-60 (18%).

Approximately 81% of new editors are male, while nearly 18% are women.