Wayne Gretzky, says: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” It is the philosophy I learned when I started taking pictures and uploading them to Google Maps. Feeling that you are important is a beautiful thing, but to feel the importance of what you are doing is more beautiful, to taste the good thing that you offer people is more than a wonderful feeling, and here was the beginning.
My passion for traveling and visiting places is part of my character. Places like historical, tourist, sports, and restaurants are my preferable. It is a hobby that I love and I possess, and if I can, I will visit all countries of the world and some regions that are subject to tribes and the rule of primitive groups. All this motivates me to take pictures and write some comments about them. My wish and hobby converged with Google Maps App. I used to see people interacting with me, the number of followers of my photos increased, people, contacting me to know more about the places I visited, the type of food and other things. It was something that made me feel happy and happy, but this feeling evolved when I began to understand the importance of this app.
In 2015, I went on a business trip to Turkey, this was the first time I visited a non-Arab country, the language is different, and no tourists’ guide, no one I can ask and the worst scenarios are starting to come to my mind. When the plane landed, I said to myself, we are in the age of technology, why am I so nervous and worried? I finished the stage of public security and received my bags, and in my mind, one idea of buying a SIM card with internet access, I will use the feature Google Translate and Google Maps. And here was the turning point.
What I have been writing comments and reviews for people, today I am reading it to see the best places and what to do. I felt the importance of what I was doing, the joy I had previously felt, became something to be proud of. The work that I shared with people unilaterally, now I share it from the other side. I read what others wrote.
Here is a funny story, I got to know an Arab young man who holds Canadian citizenship and has been studying in Istanbul, who has lived in Escudar for 4 years, and he is fluent in Turkish, Arabic and English. I asked him about the best Turkish bath we could visit, he told me the Sheikh’s bath but I don’t know where it is. With a slight smile, I told him, I will guide us to the place, and He thought I was making fun of him but I wasn’t. I was the one who brought us to the place and surprised and asked me whether I visited Turkey or this place before. I told him this first visit, but we are in the age of technology. Have you forgotten that social networking and applications are my studies?
The issue is neither difficult nor impossible, the world had become a small global village thanks to technology, thanks to what Google applications have provided us. On my return to my country, and today I am residing for a period in Saudi Arabia. I am sharing photographs and present reviews, tips, and comments when I visit anyplace. Because that has proven the importance to me and became a passion for me, the Local Guides program from Google has become not just a hobby but a lifestyle, a real addition to my ideas, my personality and my pride in myself. Commenting on what I have started with, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take, and you miss more than that if you do not help others in your reviews and contribution."
