Waze, the popular mapping application for smartphones, has attracted the interest of several industry giants recently, including Facebook and Google.  Its takeover negotiations with Facebook recently collapsed, but Waze is still launching its Facebook Events feature, integrating Events into its route-mapping services.

Waze was created in Israel, and is unique in two important ways.  First, it creates its own maps, something Apple failed at earlier this year, proving how difficult that can actually be.  Second, it integrates user-generated content, making it part GPS, part social network.  The user content includes both data automatically transmitted from a user’s smartphone to the Waze tower while the user is operating the app, and data manually input by the user.  The former helps Waze monitor and report on the flow of traffic by tracking how fast the user’s vehicle is moving, while the latter lets other users know about important hazards, such as accidents and speed traps.  Users can also chat with one another.

Waze got a boost earlier this year when Apple’s own mapping app failed.  Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized to customers and encouraged them to use other tried-and-true mapping apps, naming Waze as a good option.

Reportedly, Facebook offered the company $1 billion, but talks fell apart over geography; Facebook wanted to relocate Waze’s R&D center to California, while Waze insisted it remain in Israel.  Reports also suggest that Google has offered even more than Facebook.  But, says Waze co-founder Uri Levine, “Newspaper[s] have sold us six or seven times in the last six month[s] or so, and we are still here… …newspapers are not the buyers.”

The rumors, of course, have only served to bolster Waze’s popularity.  Says Di-Ann Eisnor, vice president of platforms and partnerships for Waze, “ I think what the rumors have done is underscore the importance of what we’re building.”  The app has over 47 million uses across four continents.