When it comes to helping the community and people around us, Maps has some amazing features which we can use to make the lives of women more manageable and stress-free, be it for solo-travelling , travelling with babies or kids, travelling with elderly people , knowing the location of their family, knowing women-friendly places, enjoying an experience, etc.
Now, let us look at some awesome Maps features that can help her multi-task or plan with an additional grace :
- Photos, ratings and detailed reviews with highlights on useful features
- Getting directions and Traffic updates
- Location sharing
- ‘Explore tab’ ( to know more places , get latest updates , offers, etc in that area).
- ‘Save’ places feature that helps finding places easily where one often visits or wishes to go.
- Lists( existing or or creating a customized one).
- Accessibility features
- Places offering virtual classes or book an experience
- Order food or products online from a local store
- Support women-owned businesses or add/update own business listing on Maps.
The first and the foremost thing that we, as Local Guides, can do is identify places on Maps that are :
- Women-friendly
- Elderly friendly
- Kid friendly
- Have special facilities like diaper changing rooms, feeding rooms , etc.
- Have Accessibility features like accessible toilets ; accessible entrance not only for specially-abled women but also women with babies need them so that strollers, prams, etc. can easily come in.
- Have discount offers for women / mothers on their products or purchases .
- Offer virtual classes like yoga , fitness classes , etc. for women.
- Women-owned businesses.
Once you identify places useful to mother/ mother-like figures on Maps (some of which are mentioned above!), here are a few tips to make your Maps contributions useful and also be a really helpful Local Guide to them :
- Not all the women are tech savvy , so if you see any mother or mother-like figure around you who is unaware of useful Maps features like location sharing, knowing more about a place or putting her business on Maps , etc which can make her less dependent on others and carry out her day to day life hassle free, please help her out by explaining how to do so.
- Add/ Update Photos showing the useful features the store or place supports
- Give an apt rating and a detailed review focusing on useful features mentioned above.
- Use the Contribute Tab : Check the facts , Answer questions. This helps Maps have the latest and the most updated information.
- Do Map edits : Mark a place closed or move , update location, re-open business,etc. To save that extra trip of hers !
- Add pending /update details to the business like category, hours, contact #,etc. So that it helps them plan ahead or even place hassle free online orders
- Create useful Lists. Here are few of the Lists I prepared to help the women around me : Accessible friendly fun kids day out in Sunderland , Virtual Fitness Studios in London , Women-owned businesses in/around Mumbai
- Help women-owned businesses using Maps.
- Update and help out not only local but also virtual businesses on Maps so that moms or mother-like figures can be enjoyed from the comfort of their homes !
If you have any more tips, which can help out a mother or a mother-like figure near you using Maps , feel free to share in the comments section below !