While Growing up in a small town, which was a pitstop for many long destinations, I would come across a ton of travelers often who would need help with directions. As the digital products in mapping evolved these little moments of interactions reduced.
But then with products like google map, we have this arena which still fosters those human interactions while traveling. And the best part about contributing to maps is that you can reach 1000s of people with a review or photograph you contributed with your 5 minutes.
I started off with documenting the unexplored locations around my home town. Like the beautiful spot in the woods right next to the lake or that little temple on the hilltop where I spend my time meditating. But as I got to travel around the world more, It feels like leaving beacons around for fellow travelers, who are going to follow the same trail. Over the last couple of years, it has become a religious routine to document all the restaurants, hotels and places I have traveled on google maps. The weekly emails that bring the metrics of how many people viewed your review/ photograph bring such immense joy.
I am really proud of being a tiny part of this effort, to document every nook and cranny in the world. and make it all more accessible to us and our future generations.
This post was written as a part of my application for google connect live 2019