Google Maps offers so many features and ways for a local guide to contribute to the community. Here are my favorite things to do as a local guide-
1. Reviews, ratings and photos: sharing my perspective of a place
No two people can view a place in exactly the same way. I believe that a picture speaks a thousand words! Sharing vivid and unique pictures of a place gives me the opportunity to enable millions of people to relive some of the beautiful moments that I experienced at that place. I am personally one of those people who checks ratings and reviews of a place on Google Maps before deciding to visit it. By sharing my ratings and detailed reviews, I can help others do the same.
Here is a Connect post reviewing Kayak Boy.
2. Meet-ups: enabling others to experience what I experienced
Living in south-Bengaluru all my life, I have been going around a lot and discovering what I believe are âhidden gemsâ. Being a passionate foodie and a champion of street food(you can watch this video to find out why), I made a list of places in south Bengaluru that are a must-visit for any foodie- Skip fancy restaurants, go the street way. This was not enough for me, and I wanted to do something more so that others can experience what I do, when I visit these places. Hence, I conducted a meet-up to review these places.(You can find the recap here).
I was so happy that the attendees of the meet-up could experience what I did, and to know that they felt the same way about these places as I did was so enthralling!
Meet-ups are a wonderful way to enable others experience a place in a similar way that you do.
3. Lists: helping people plan their itineraries
I love the âlistsâ feature on Maps so much! It helps me discover new places in my own city that even I didnât know of! Also, I believe lists are super useful to plan itineraries of trips. Local guides discover amazing and different things to do in their region, and anyone visiting that place can browse through these lists and narrow down on the experiences they would like to take. Descriptions and reviews of those places go a long way in helping someone make that âAdd to itineraryâ or not decision.
Planning a trip to Goa? Here is a list I made after interacting with many locals, taking many trips there and doing lots of online research- Goa:what you wonât find in must-do lists
4. Save a life: adding and reviewing businesses that are tiny, but vital
Three years ago, my grandfather had a stroke. While other members of my family were frantically rushing between hospitals, with all in vain, I decided to see if anything on Maps could help me. I googled- âPlaces to treat paralysisâ. I found an interesting place- Marati C. Ranoji Rao Paralaysis Vydam. People had written reviews claiming their near and dear ones had been saved from the wrath of a paralysis attack by this very less known doctor and his unusual techniques. I told my parents about this, and since my father had heard about him before, we decided to give this a shot. Miracles of miracles, my grandfather was cured! He was back to normal and went on his morning walks again!
If it wasnât for Maps, I probably would not have discovered this place. Being a local guide, I want to give back to the community by adding all such tiny, but vital businesses that might help save another life some day.
The Google Local Guides program means these four things and a whole lot more to me. It gives me the superpower to show everyone the world, through my eyes.
Good job