The fact that other people can see in more details the places I visit, through 180 ° or 360 ° photos, has been the most incredible thing I have been able to share with the Google Maps community.
Since I have started sharing my experiences on the Local Guide it has been a great satisfaction to see the number of views my photos have received, which for me means that I can create an early experience of the places that someone is planning to visit. Of course, my purpose is to photograph the most important places, monuments or things in the city or in a store.
How did I start being a Local Guide?
It all started with a cultural project at high school when we went to Cuetzalan, Mexico. There I started taking photos from my cell phone, like everyone who visits a place, not knowing if I would watch them again later or just erase them after. I must remind that in that little town there was almost no internet, so I kept the photos only in my gallery.
When I returned to my city, as I started having the internet again, a very peculiar notification came to me, the notification said something like “You have new photos to share on Google Maps”. As I had nothing to do at that time, I decided see what it was about and why Google Maps had sent me that notification. So I opened the application and started uploading the photos based on the GPS location of the place where they had been taken and with very basic reviews of the place.
The definitive message…
After 1 month, an email came to my Gmail saying the following: “Your photos have broken a new record on Google”. Impressed by the email I decided to consult it in details and was surprised to see the photos which, from my point of view, were only temporary and as I did not upload them when Google sent me the notification. I thought they would have been deleted forever. From that moment I realized that I could help other people to have an advance idea of the place, so since then I started to take better photos and review the places appropriately.
Caption: Old pyramid photo located in Cuetzalan, Mexico, this is the photo of my beginning as a Local Guide
First I started with normal photos, then I discovered that Google Maps allowed to upload panoramic photos, so, from time to time I took 180 ° photos. I have recently acquired a 360 ° camera and I have taken some time to share them, in particular, this kind of photos is amazing because you can feel like you’re back in that place.
Local Guide community is amazing, I like to contribute in all aspects, from taking pictures to trying the new features added in the beta of Google Maps application. Being part of this community fills you with satisfaction for the simple fact of helping others.
