Being a technologist I have always been a staunch supporter of the open source and the communities. I don’t think any product or company can deny that it was this open source revolution which has enabled them and us to create ever impressive products and platforms. We all can take a leaf out of the the open source and community powered projects and apply it almost all aspects of life.
Since I started contributing to the google maps local guide program I make it a point to share pictures of my travels and reviews of the places I have visited apart from fact checking. I have moved three different cities in the last 6-7 years and it was made so much easier with the help of google maps/local guides. Moving to a different city altogether can be a daunting task and pretty unnerving to begin with. With the power of google maps always in my pocket it made my life so much easier whether it was navigating unknown roads or trying to find local information.
In addition I undertook lot of road trips in the last few years (many times solo) and having google maps gave me so much peace of mind. I never had to worry about finding the route or not knowing the city at all. I have lost count how many times it helped me find the right information in a jiffy.
A few years back I moved back to my home city and it is then I started sharing/updating information about my own city. I will ever be thankful to this unseen group of complete strangers who helped me make my life easier whenever I traveled.
I now use google maps even to find information about my home city and keep discovering hidden gems in a city that I have lived for over 20+ years.