TED Talk Tuesday #45 – A precise, three-word address for every place on Earth

Watching TED Talks is a popular pastime at CN&CO. We visit TED.com regularly to clear our heads, have a laugh or get inspired. TED Talks open our minds, spark new ways of thinking and can lead to some very interesting conversations. Each week we pick a favourite and publish it on a Tuesday, because we like how “TED Talk Tuesday” sounds. This week’s talk was selected by CN&CO word nerd Colin Ford. Here’s why he chose it:

Imagine being able to communicate your exact location, anywhere in the world, using just three words. With what3words, Chris Sheldrick and his team have divided the entire planet into millions of 3m x 3m squares and assigned each a unique, three-word identifier, like famous.splice.writers or blocks.evenly.breed, giving a precise address to the billions of people worldwide who don’t have one.

In this quick talk about a big idea, Sheldrick explains the economic and political implications of giving everyone an accurate address – from building infrastructure, to sending aid to disaster zones, to delivering hot pizza.

Our three-word address at CN&CO is feel.broom.rentals. Find yours on the what3words website.

 

Colin is our resident wordsmith. He can write absolutely anything and loves to read, too. He even has his own book club.