What does the Local Guides program mean to Me?

I have relied on Google Maps to navigate unfamiliar places for some years. I would type a new destination on the search pane in the app and then I would get the directions. Then I later realized that when I also made Google searches about specific locations or places or venues that I was planning to go to for the first time, I would see along with the direction on how to get there some further description of the place with ratings and comments on how good or bad it was. I found myself relying on this useful information that I initially didn’t pay much thought to how they got there.

It wasn’t until about two years ago that I started getting prompts to provide some information on the places I was visiting that I put things together. It became obvious that there were people like me behind the valuable and detailed location information I had come to rely on over the years. That was an exciting revelation. So I opted in for the Google Local Guide program. It turns out I can provide location and venue information that many other people would find useful too, just the way I have found hundreds of such to be.

Also, by being on the program, I believe I have been able to write reviews and create positive perceptions about some places that people ordinarily have negative outlooks towards. Two of such places I have visited in the past year are Maiduguri, Borno State in North-East Nigeria and Juba in South Sudan. Maiduguri is projected in local and international media as both an inhabitable place and the hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. However, my 2-day visit to the city revealed a different picture. Students are attending the university there. Banks work with long ATM queues. There is even active nightlife. I was able to buy the famous traditional cap of Northern Nigeria at a fraction of the price I would have gotten it in Lagos. I saw the most beautifully built and designed government primary school that I have ever seen in Nigeria right there in Maiduguri. I was able to share some of these views via the guide.

I also visited South Sudan in January this year. Before the trip, friends and colleagues that knew I was travelling there were worried and even attempted to dissuade me. However, going exposed me to very interesting people in the country. I ate some really lovely meals, made some new friends and got enlightened about the South Sudanese culture and people.

I am happy to be a part of the program and to serve as a virtual guide of some sort to travellers and commuters around Lagos, Nigeria and all the places I get to visit.

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Hello @DavekFreud ,

Welcome to Connect!

Keep in mind that one of the requirements for Connect Live 2020 was to share your post on the Local Stories board. Just to let you know, I’ve moved your post there.

Weldone @DavekFreud