The most interesting thing I’ve done as a Local Guide is reviewing places.
Being a Local Guide on Google maps have made me give my contributions about places I have been to, to help others who would love to visit the place. This include adding my good and bad experiences. As a Local Guide, I also love to see other Local Guides’ review about a particular place I haven’t been when I intend to visit. I love to check out prices of relaxation centres, beaches and pools to see if I will be able to afford it. Once, I wanted to book a hotel for a friend who was coming to my place. My friend had already told me the budget he made for the accommodation. I went for reviews of the hotels around to get prices as most of the prices of the business is subject to change. Reading through the reviews, I couldn’t get the prices. Since that day, I started adding the prices and quality of the goods and services rendered in a particular shop to my contributions. In that way, people can know more about the financial implications of a place and can decide to go to the place or not, considering the budget they already made.
Adding my contributions on Google maps as a Local Guide is one of the interesting thing I love doing. I love to take pictures and add to Google maps. Sometimes last year, I went to Sheraton hotel Lagos and upon taking pictures, I was met by security personnel who asked me to delete the pictures. I explained to them that it was a harmless picture that it was just meant for my contributions on Google Maps, but they insisted I delete it. I had to delete the pictures and I felt bad.
Then, I realized how engrossed I was with making contributions on the map. It was more than just posting pictures. It’s about helping others get to know more about a place they haven’t been, it’s about helping people get an idea of where they would love to visit from their home and helping them get to the place. Though I deleted the ones I took outside, it didn’t stop me from posting the ones I took inside. The above pictures is one of the pictures I took in Sheraton rest room. If they won’t allow me take exterior pictures, I should be able to take interior. That is how far I can go to take pictures for my contributions.
Making contributions is a hobby I enjoyed doing even before I got to know last week that there are benefits like the Connect Live attached to it. My friends would mock me for taking pictures at any given space for Google Maps but when they realised my excitement towards being a Local Guide, they were motivated to become Local Guides too.
Adding my contributions and reviews to Google Maps, especially of the prices of goods and services is the most interesting thing I’ve done as a Local Guide and I’m excited to be a part of the community that gives people knowledge of a far place like it’s close to them and my satisfaction comes from this message below.
