What is the most interesting thing I’ve done as a Local Guide? I had the opportunity to drive across the United States, and while I was doing so, I was able to capture pictures and write reviews on Google Maps. I live in Utah, and we were helping my brother move to Florida, which is roughly 2,400 miles away! We stopped at so many small businesses, as well as large ones, and I was able to contribute so much to the Local Guides program to help these companies out.
I started writing reviews and uploading pictures on Google Maps while I was living in Peace River, Alberta (1300 miles from my home state of Utah). It was in the fall of 2018, and I was a volunteer missionary for my church. I had the opportunity to travel all across Alberta, and to help people know more about locations from my pictures and reviews. Because I was only a volunteer living off of funds I had saved prior to the trip, I had a tight budget. Because I had a tight budget, it meant I ate at McDonald’s a lot. I would travel to various McDonald’s locations across Alberta, and always try to get my photo featured. I even visited the lowest rated McDonald’s, just to see if it was accurate. It was. I wrote a detailed review about why it was only 2 stars and how it lived up to every single review it had. It became a hobby of mine to write reviews or take pictures, and see how many views I could get on them.
I love when I go to “My Contributions” and see that my review or photo has thousands of views. It helps me feel good to know that I’ve helped people out and that my picture was able to have some benefit to them. I always have my camera with me, and whenever I visit a restaurant or gas station, I’m always snapping pictures to upload. Recently I have moved back to my hometown, and I started taking pictures of the local businesses there. I know it means a lot to small businesses when they get good reviews on maps, so I always try to look out for them and give them a good review.
I always want people to be informed of great places, and I’m happy to contribute to the Local Guides program.
The restaurant that got me started with Google Reviews: