I left my hometown for the first time in my life when I was 21 years old and I was looking for a job and I shifted to Pune for the same reason. As I was new in the city and certainly it was hard for me to get to the right places without searching them on the google map.
As a marketing executive, I used to travel a lot in Pune and in outer cities for corporate meetings to new places and every time I needed google maps to reach to the destination ( I used to roam around on a bike and not with cabs so I had to find directions on my own.)
So I used to search for businesses, restaurants and petrol pumps. One fine day I received a notification saying how was your experience at ___ place? and the same time I happen to be free so I rated the place and that’s when my journey as a local guide (not officially though but yes somehow it did) started. I started rating places and then I started reviewing food places so that it could help someone who is new to the city and can help them understand if the place is worth going or not.
After reviewing a few places I got an email from google asking me to if I want to be a part of a local guide program and I thought it was cool to have a badge on your profile just for reviewing the places and helping people. Then I started receiving monthly emails about how many people viewed the photos and how many people I could help with my reviews and how it was making a difference. So it hit me that it could only take me a minute for me to go on google map, rate the place and write my experience which will help so many people like me who are new to the city and having a hard time to find good places to eat or finding directions to the places.
I am thankful to all the local guides all around the world who are doing this selflessly and unconditionally. The program means a lot to me, it means kindness it means helpfulness and it is literally helping so many people around the world with the right information about a place!
I would recommend everyone to start posting honest reviews about places and services selflessly and you will feel good when you will receive that email saying your review/photo helped thousands of people this month and it is making a change.
Thank you.