It’s 2019, technology is booming. The internet has evolved into a powerful social tool, allowing independent startups to obtain funding, instant worldwide availability of news and media and even same day grocery deliveries to your door. It’s a wonderful thing that connects people to businesses and to each other. For a while it meant people disconnecting from the world around them, disconnecting from the natural environment that is our home. Faces buried in their phones, headphones in their ears, they are oblivious but hardware is evolving too. Smart devices that can communicate more effectively and organically with people are becoming commonplace. They can collect information about what we want to see through our speech, the pictures we take and the locations we visit, but without people to input data about these locations all the technology in the world couldn’t tell us where to go. That’s where Local Guides come in to the equation.
Let’s Connect
For each local guide this means something different. We each bring something unique to the table, whether it’s a good knowledge which shop carries the best sneakers in town or an off-menu specialty dish that’s absolutely to die for. My name is André and as an outdoorsman, being a local guide is an opportunity for me to share my insider knowledge of the trails, lakes and mountains I frequent. The more people contribute, the more prepared one can be when setting out on a new adventure. Knowledge of the challenges that you will face on a trip can not only help make the decision of where to explore next, it gives you the reassurance to feel confident in your decision. It also makes more places, more accessible to more people.
With Nature
To some this is a drawback. No one wants to share their secluded hideaway with the masses because they worry people will flock to it and leave it devastated. However, publicity and tourism are usually beneficial for the small communities that lack the resources to upkeep these attractions. When more people support them, more jobs are created and improvements are made to the trails to make them even more enjoyable! Plus, part of the fun of adventuring to a secluded spot is finding it and there will always be new hidden gems to be discovered, and shared.