What is that one thing you wished you knew when you first became conscious of your status as a Local Guide?
- I wished I knew how to add a place and be sure that I had done it correctly
- I wished I could add places to Maps even while not physically present
You know, like many of us, I was unconscious I was a Local Guide until 2020 when I got the prompt to apply for Connect Live. Before then, I get prompted by Maps to add up places I visited and I did just that, I never knew I was helping anyone or my Photos or reviews were going to be important or make any difference.
Well, I guess that is happeningâŚ
I have created several posts on Mapping but I think my favorite has to be this Meetup I held; Best Practices for adding a place to Maps, because it addressed my two concerns stated above.
The simple rule of thumb I have employed in recent times was something I learnt from Ermes; âThe Streetview changes according to the address you inputâ.
So, the only way you can be sure you have added a place correctly is to check the Streetview. Sounds easy, right? Not at all, often times (especially in Nigeria), the numbering systems and names of the street as we have them on the streets are quite different to what we have on Maps.
For example; I remember trying to find my way to the Gilead Hill Specialist hospital (pictured in the Streetview screenshot shown below) in June,2022 before they moved to their new location (as currently shown on Maps) in August,2022. For context, I was going to see a âPain Specialist/Anesthetistâ at the hospital.
The address was;No 1 Abiodun Ogunyanwo street, off Ewusi Street, Makun, Sagamu, Nigeria which Map wrongly named; âOgunlesi Streetâ and numbered â14â 
. I circled and circled looking for No 1 Abiodun Ogunyanwo street, off Ewusi Street, Makun, Sagamu, Nigeria as Maps misdirected me before I decided to ask Humans, I mean; âwhere the help of Maps fail, Man comes to the rescueâ and I was directed to Chief Ogunyanwo Street.
Here is a collage of what I looked like before I left the house and how I looked while waiting at the hospital lobby to see the Doctor.
My smile had disappeared!
After I returned home, I tried to report a problem on Maps, attached is the photo showing the correct Street name which should be changed from Ogunlesi to Chief Abiodun Ogunyanwo but my edit remains pending till date.
- The name of the street on a sign post
- The hospital address
That brings me to the point that; "the more you perform a particular action on Map, the more likely you are to get approvals for it", I rarely use the âReport a Problemâ option to;
- Add a missing road,
- Correct road names
and other options related to roads, so, I have discovered performing any of these never gets approved. Is there a hack? If you know one, please share with meâŚ
This is why I have decided to share this post with people especially newbies who may be finding it hard to add a place to maps or who may get frustrated because their edits do not get published.
Even though this is a âHow toâ post, I have added elements to make it as interesting as possible for you, so you can learn and catch some fun at the same time.
My Photo Walks/Photo drives
When I go on my Photo walks orPhoto drives 
(yeah, cars are quite important in this mapping journey);
- I take several pictures, taking note of buildings that stand out with the hope that; they will most certainly be on Map already
- I take note of specific features on the buildings I see keeping in mind that some of the Streetview may be outdated
- I try as much as possibleto take pictures of buildings that are in âproper lightingâ
- I hold my phone steady to avoid blurred pictures
Map Edits
When I return home, it is time to use the pictures I have taken, right? So, how do I add these photos to Maps?
Before I became aware of the Power of Streetview, I use the âshareâ option from my Phone Gallery. Later, a Senior-Local-Guide advised that it is better to share pictures from Google Photos but none of this really helped in the way I wanted it to because after I became more experienced, I realized that; neither of these methods can give a foolproof result.
Now, I add places to Maps using 'Streetviewâ. How?
- I begin with the first picture, check it out on Streetview and work my way to the last
- Where a POI (Point of Interest) is missing or is wrongly placed on the Map, I take note of the time difference in pictures between the last recognized POI and the one I cannot find and begin to work my way up
- Where a Streetview has become outdated because of the change in the color of the buildings, I check the âfeaturesâ on the building
- Where a business has moved, has duplicate locations, incorrect phone numbers, appears to be permanently closed, there is a change of business, I put a call through to the business owner to confirm. Afterall, of what benefit is a business on Maps if the customers cannot locate it
Practical time, Shall we?
So, letâs put all of these points into perspective using my last Photo Walk/Drive which began on the 11th of November and ended on the 14th of November, 2022.
- The first picture (Day 1) I took was of the GTCO, Ejigbo and the last (Day 4) was Covenant of Zion Schools, Ijegun
- When I wanted to add a picture of Hotpack, Surulere, I checked the Streetview at the Location and discovered, I could not see any building that looked like it. So, I had to resort to the picture I took before (The Rose of Sharon Foundation) and the one I took after (Eminent Twins Mall) in helping me find the correct location. From the unique features on the building; âthe tilesâ, I discovered that the correct location was at 7, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, the same place Ukoh Stores is located not at 16, Adeniran Ogunsanya. I was also able to put a name to the small shop attached to the front of Hotpack, Surulere, since the name had completely wiped off the sign at the store front. My edit is yet to be approved
- From the example given above, you can see that; the building on the Streetview is blue, while the new building is white. So, while the Streetview may be outdated, certain features can correctly help you find the correct location.
- Before a place is permanently closed, sometimes, we have to put a call through. Let us look at Waterlilies, it is located in the same place Lite house 27 used to be and has a night club called Lounge 27. Before marking Lite House as permanently closed, I had to contact the Waterlilies management to be sure Lite House did not do a renovation and changed their name
I had some calls with other business owners too, I made a total of 109 (one hundred and nine) edits, which include;
- Place addition (place creation)
- Map Marker adjustment
- Marking a place as closed
- Correction of names
Out of the 109, seventy six (76) have been published.
I had a lot of fun!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the Photo walk/drive;
- The statue of St. Agnes from the St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland. It was my first time of seeing a statue of St. Agnes; my Patron Saint
- This is the front view of the St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church, Nigerian Army Cantonment, Ikeja. The last time I visited the Cantonment was when I shared this post. It was pure bliss to attend Mass on a Military barracks after 6 years! It was pure bliss to hear the women drum again.
- I love this picture! it shows just how beautiful the Lagos Skyline can be. It had a duplicate which has since been marked as such. Havana Specialist Hospital
- Ahhaha
This right here is an exceptional one! When you talk about the Yorubas and ask about their food, this is what many will most likely tell you; Amala. So, we visited; Amoke Oge to have a taste of their Amala. You see that âexcessive palm oilâ on the food is a âdelicacyâ on its own.
- The first picture taken on Day 1, the first featured photo of the Photo Walk. To go on a 4 day adventure, you need money, right? so, the journey began from the Guaranty Trust Bank, Ejigbo which has now become a subsidiary of GTCO Plc (Guaranty Trust Holding Company). Can you see the man in the Green attire? He is a Bureau de Change Merchant, they hang around the bank, looking for someone who may be looking to change their money or exchange their gold. You hear; âfine sister, dollar, gold?â
- After almost 2 years, it was good to see a 'Wheelchair-accessible parking with the icon
â in Lagos again. This is from St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland.
- After almost 2 years, it was good to see a 'Wheelchair-accessible entrance with the icon â in Lagos again. This is from St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland.
So, whatâs your favorite part of this write-up? Do you have a tip you would like to share with me or with others?
Have you taken a photo walk in recent times?
The support forum is quite different from Connect in many ways.
because this incident (of the hospital visit) happened 5 months agoâŚ