The beauty of traveling is that you accumulate experiences. The beauty of being a writer is that you can put your experiences in words. And the beauty of being a Local Guide is that you have a community to belong to - to write for everyone out there in the world about your travel experiences.
For me being a Local Guide has been just that: when I traveled to Meghalaya I had a tough time finding places - specially restaurants - and that became my singular motivation to add as many places to Google Maps as possible. I must have added a dozen water falls with long reviews. Come to think of it now thousands have benefitted from my reviews about these remote places - in net saving so much time for people who usually go to Meghalaya on a tight schedule. My chest swells in pride that in strangers’ travels am a part of their journey - reliving the original experience over and over again everytime someone would say: “Hey that Google Local Guide wrote that we should totally visit Tyrshi Falls!”
Google Maps has no alternative and it is an integral part of people’s lives - people trust it blindly - and to be able to help others - is my way of giving back to the community.