The Rising Africa on Steem-atlas || Tips to Becoming a Confident African Reviewer

It feels good to see this project of spotlighting Africa as a whole, and the focus is just there. When I start pinning places, I'll categorise them in such a way that will keep me consistent. I think covering certain geographical areas would be a big shot. For example, I'll cover street A today, reviewing shops and salons. Next week, I'll cover street B.

I think this will help me a lot in achieving a target. I created this post to share a few tips with Nigerians on how they can support this project without encountering problems. Why is this important? In Nigeria as a whole, a person's business place is his/her privacy. They protect it with all they have and don't release information to anybody to avoid theft, kidnapping and blackmailing.

Most businessmen run businesses; they won't want to be visible on social media platforms. I can recall a content creator who was once accused of robbery. Why? Because he took pictures and videos of a particular place secretly without direct notice.

That same day, the shop he reviewed got robbed, and from their CCTV footage, they couldn't get the faces of the robbers, but they caught the content creator taking photos in secret and accused him of the robbery. So when reviewing an African home, it's safe if you take permission, as most business owners don't permit photographs.

This is what scares some Nigerians into carrying out reviews. How can you overcome this fear and support this project wholeheartedly like a content creator? Here are a few tips.

• Avoid capturing people's businesses in secret. You can do so with a public space or general establishment for all. Always try and meet the person in charge of the shop and seek permission. This will help a lot in making you free and having this peace of mind that comes from not getting caught in the process. This is exclusively in business places, oh. You can capture markets, playgrounds and other public establishments the way you like. No one would hinder you or question you.

• There are some business owners that would want to make enquiries before taking photographs. Don't tell them you're posting their shop or business on social media. This would be a 'no' to many business owners. Just tell them you're trying to create awareness by pinning their location on a map where people can locate it easily and make purchases. This would trigger them to give you a head go.

• Wondering how to start the conversation? Just walk up to a business owner and tell him or her that you're trying to create awareness and that many in other regions or localities don't know that such a place exists. They go far places to make their purchases because of lack of information. You also tell them that you'll need a couple of pictures to serve as a review for these ones who'll be shopping here to see the quality of service and product and may eventually make this place their haven of purchase.

• Remember, be careful of secret pictures. Someone is watching you. This is exclusively applied to businesses owned by people. If they don't accept your proposal to take photographs, you leave. No big deal.

• Try giving them an informal setting, and also dress in such a way that doesn't make you formal. It scares some people into thinking you're an official, and you may close their shop for not meeting up with certain requirements.

• You can also start by commending them, saying, 'Someone told me this is one of the best supermarkets in Uyo, so I decided to do my shopping here and also do photo content of my shopping activities and things you have so I can refer others to come here as well.' I think this tip can work perfectly.

With these tips in mind, you can support the project every week. You don't need to travel far. You can review business places in your locality and extend to places you've not been to. If you're a newcomer, check out these tips to make a good post. These tips will help you know what to include in your review when writing.

Are they Benefits?

Most of us must have purchased one or two things during the mapping process to be an authentic mapper. In the aspect of benefits, I can say there are a lot of personal benefits attached. You get to know places you didn't know before, and you get to see locations in your locality, their prices and the like before visiting them. You also stand a chance to get votes from the bigger curators and from booming accounts selected to support Steem-Atlas posts. Thanks for reading......