Hello, my name is Olga. I recently joined Local Experts community and I can call myself a novice here.
My way in the Local Experts Program began from a plain interest. I have noticed it in Google Maps and thought: What’s this?
Once I began sharing information I have discovered that some information is wrong and some is absent at all.
One of the surprising things was to find the nearby monument which I knew from my childhood having the name The Non-Drinking Soldier Monument (Памятник непьющему солдату) on the Google maps. It was not entirely wrong name, but it was the joky name which the locals use during conversation, and of cause this name can’t exist in official maps (at least it can’t be the unique name).
Moreover there was one more point on the maps called The Soldier with a Sword (Солдат с мечом) next to the first monument and it contained the photos of the first monument. But the soldier on photo doesn’t have a sword, it has a rifle! And the monument for the soldier with a sword exists too, but it’s in the different place not so far from the marked place. It’s very beautiful monument but there wasn’t any photoes of it and the location on the maps was wrong!
But when I wanted to rename these two monuments I was surprised by the fact I didn’t know the right names of them. From my childhood I heard only The Soldier (Солдат) or The Non-Drinking Soldier (Непьющий солдат) for the first one and The Guardsman (Гвардеец) for the second one and there no any signboards on them.
I began to ask my relatives, seach in internet, asked in forums, visited the nearby War History Museum, read the memoirs of Vladimir Broudo on the history of our district Uručča (the part of Minsk I live). I have got a lot of interesting information I didn’t know before, but with respect to the question under consideration my catch was insignificant. Contrary to my expectations I haven’t found any official information about the desired names. The first one was called The Liberator Soldier Monument (Памятник Воину-Освободителю) by the most of sources, but the second one wasn’t named at all. So all I can is to propose to call it The Guardsman (Гвардеец) as I remember from my childhood.
So the confusion with the monuments makes me understand that:
- There are a lot of things which should be corrected on the maps to avoid misunderstanding and unpleasant situations and it’s very exiting to find them, it’s like the mistake hunting or the detective game with the one difference: this game not only brings the pleasure for you, but benefits a lot for the others.
- There are a lot of photos of the main tourist attractions and there no need to add some more thought it’s very simple and almost everybody who visits some famous place has a lot of beautiful photos of it. But when you want to find some particular clinic or small shop or bank you can find no photos at all and you can pass by this place and don’t find it.
- You should know a lot and work hard to share the right information with others not to make a mess in the maps. And of course you should be very accurate correcting the information because some wrong actions can be the cause of the larger mistake. The such situation was with two monuments described above. Instead of renaming the monument somebody deleted it from the maps at all and there are only wrong The Soldier with a Sword on the maps now and I haven’t any possibility to rename it in this moment.
- It’s a pity but sometimes we pass by a lot of things and don’t notice them. We are sure we know everything about something, but we know nothing. Looking for missing or incorrect information you can find some astonishing things nearby you haven’t notice before. So I think the program helps us to be more attentive to the surrounding and to the people around us and to study more about the native places.
- There are a lot of details you don’t think about, but they may be necessary for somebody, for example, disabled entrance, parking, card payment or working hours.
- It’s so easy to plan your trips or simple unfamiliar cafe visiting with google maps. You can see photos, read the reviews and decide if the place is worth of your attention. And to have the current information somebody should update it regularly.
- Leaving the positive reviews you help local business get more clients which results in the prosperity of your country, and if you leave negative review, you stimulate the company to become better.
- You can even travel around the world with the help of google photos! You can remember the places you have visited earlier or imagine you are in the country of your dreams.
