I am a local guide. I have been contributing to the program for over 4 years. I have written close to 100 reviews, added over a 1000 photographs which have millions of views, and I’ve answered hundreds of questions. I have also helped people. I don’t know how many or how few, this value is not tracked or scored. A guess is that I have reached at least 1 million people, possibly more. They may have glanced at my photo or review, they might have just looked at the number of stars that a place has, or they actively follow my updates and lists. I don’t know.
I do know that I always look at photos before I select a place to visit, I read reviews, I look at ratings and comments; answers to questions as well as questions asked. I have used and will keep using all of these touchpoints every time I am looking for somewhere to eat, somewhere to shop, or which park I should visit during my 3-hour layover in a strange new city. I rely on Google maps and more than that: I rely on the local guides that have made Maps what it is today. If it was not for these local guides I would be at a loss with where to go to Paris for the best croissant, or which place has the good pizza in Rome, and I would not know which dry cleaner in my neighbourhood could be trusted with my jackets.
The local guides program is comfort. It is knowing that I have crowdsourced my decision. And, the reason that I am a local guide is that I want to pay it forward to everyone else. (I also really enjoy visiting new places just to share them with the rest of the world!) I want to continue the program that has allowed me to have comfort in my own decisions and to contribute in some way to other people’s comfort in their choices.
I am a local guide, for others and for myself.