This was by chance, one of the most engaging meetups I’ve attended this year. It was a well-thought-out opportunity to meet and interact with other Local Guides in Nigeria, sharing thoughts on how we’re staying connected during this difficult period.
No doubt, the Nigerian LG community is a very active one with meetups happening every month across the country from coast to hinterland. Recently, the country had a major issue stemming from the rise of COVID-19 situation which adversely affected how we connect and hold physical meetups. Thanks to the internet, we have a valuable platform where we can still hold meetups and stay connected while miles apart. Google Meet and Local Guides Connect have both been a magnet for mutual interactions to take place and we sought to leverage this chance to see how everyone’s doing.
We were joined by several amazing Googlers who shared in our experience and how we’re contributing to Maps whilst staying connected under lockdowns and restrictions on movement. The meeting started with introductions and afterward, two games championed by a Googler. It was much fun even as more people joined the meeting.
We also had amazing guests from India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Turkey, and London who shared valuable insights and feedback on Maps features (such as adding roads and drawing polygons shared by @deepakjhic ) and some difficulties often experienced while contributing. A number of Nigerian Local Guides also voiced out their invaluable insights into the different ways they have been contributing, challenges faced while contributing (including the delay and inability to have edits approved), and important useful features that the Nigerian community needs to be made available. For example, one feedback focused on accessibility and another on safety notice on buildings and structures with safety systems incorporated, as highlighted by @MrFreez . Other feedbacks highlighted by me, centered on perks and benefits, as a way to motivate and encourage members of the community to do more and also feel appreciated.
It was a really engaging session for about an hour, after which the Googlers needed to exit the meeting due to their tight schedule. Nevertheless, the conversation continued afterward up until 45 minutes later where all necessary feedbacks and concerns had been noted. We also had a wonderful guest from Belgium in the personality of @JanVanHaver who joined penultimate time but was a pleasure to see him.
Special regards to the 5 Googlers (Lauren, Jeff, Rajiv, Mariana, Hannah) who spearheaded this conversation and shout-out to @laurenmae whose idea for making this meetup a possibility was an absolute success. It was indeed a wonderful way to start the weekend. Thank you very much!
What was initially scheduled to be a local event turned out to an inter-regional coalition to share ideas, feedback and interact with Googlers whilst staying connected in this time.
Thank you to all the attendees and the insights from @AlphaSays on availability of Maps features, @Uchenna & @ogewuru on edits approval process and accessibility, @Shrut19 , @SalmaanN , @RosyKohli on Maps usage. I enjoyed learning from all your ideas as much as I enjoyed sharing my feedback.
I look forward to sharing how I am staying connected in this time with more Local Guides. Please see the meeting photos in the Meetup Photo Album.
