Welcome to the fifth and final week of our five-week Local Guides challenge! Did you take part in our previous challenges on the Photography, Travel, Food & Drink, and Local Stories boards? If not, now’s your chance to join.
This week, we’d love to hear about your favorite meet-up you took part in or hosted. To enter the challenge, just share a link to the meet-up below and tell us why it is your favorite. Did you make new friends? Did you learn something new? Let us know by Sunday, and we will select three of the best stories to feature on Connect.
I’ll start! We’ve seen hundreds of amazing meet-ups and series on Connect by Connect Moderators and Local Guides alike. One series that stands out to me is the monthly get-together of Portuguese-speaking Local Guides, organized by @AlexandreCampbell , @RogerOhayashi , and @SarahKa . Their first meet-up was in May 2020, but they continue to meet virtually every month! I love their recaps, which discuss the latest Local Guides and Google Maps updates, initiate new challenges and topics, and introduce new members. And this is what’s great about their series: Alexandre, Roger, and Sarah create the opportunity for Portuguese-speaking Local Guides to get familiar with new features and processes and understand them better by encouraging an open discussion. Meeting new like-minded people every month is a huge plus, too!
We caught up with the hosts to find out more about how they come up with meet-up ideas, which their favorite meet-up is, and more. Here’s what they said.
What inspired you to start the series of monthly meet-ups for Portuguese-speaking Local Guides?
@AlexandreCampbell: On March 21 [2020], we were going to have a meet-up in Rio. Due to the pandemic, we had to cancel and, on the same day, we held an online meet-up. In the following weeks, with the lockdown, we discovered that online meetings could be a lot of fun. At one of those meetings, Roger and I, who had known each other since Connect Live 2019, met Sarah and saw that we had many ideas in common. We thought that a way to bring the Brazilian community together would be to hold monthly meet-ups, which is always good for exchanging experiences and keeping up to date.
How do you choose the topics for your meet-ups?
@SarahKa: We meet to discuss new releases on Maps and Connect and ask people during the meet-ups what they would like to [learn about]. Sometimes, we decide on a theme related to a special date that month. We invite other Local Guides to speak with us, share their knowledge, and [show us] how to use it on Maps, like photography, environment, accessibility, and more.
@RogerOhayashi: Our main goal is to show people how to improve their contributions.
Which topic is your favorite so far?
@AlexandreCampbell: My favorite topic is supporting small businesses.
@RogerOhayashi: I think the best topic is not a real topic, but when we finish our comments and ask the community some trick questions. It’s amazing to see everybody interacting, learning, and teaching each other. We never wanted to be the “teachers,” that’s why we let people connect on their own.
@SarahKa: My favorite one is “O be-a-bá do Connect,” an explanation about Connect.
Do you have a favorite moment or meet-up from the series that you’d like to share with us?
@AlexandreCampbell: My favorite meet-up so far was in December, when we had a great get-together, and we talked about supporting small businesses, among other subjects. 2020 was very challenging, and having this moment of virtual celebration with Local Guides made my year.
@RogerOhayashi: My favorite meet-up was “Unindo Local Guides do Brasil,” which didn’t have the monthly name but was the first of all. This meet-up brought Alexandre, Sarah, and me [together] as a team. It was a success, and since then, we haven’t stopped.
@SarahKa: My favorite moment is when we take the screenshot in every meet-up. But [also] last year, in winter, when people in the south [wore] a lot of clothes [while] people in the northeast had shirts and shorts [on]. [And] this year, when it was dark in the north and sunny in the south at the same time. Brazil is so big, and seeing these things while talking is awesome.
Have attendees shared their impressions of the meet-ups with you? What do they say is the most helpful part of the events?
@SarahKa: Yes! They really love the meet-ups, and some people wait for them to talk about Maps, Connect, and life because we became friends. Some like to listen and learn; others like to discuss a question or something they discovered. They say the most helpful part is when we share our screens to show how to do something or when we talk about a new release that we read about on Connect.
@RogerOhayashi: [The] positive feedback is what makes us continue doing this every month.
Now is your turn! Share a link to your favorite meet-up you took part in or hosted by Sunday, March 28. We will select three of the best submissions with links for a special feature on Connect. You can also nominate your favorite entries using our nomination form.
