I remember the day I started as a Google Local Guide. I was looking for the name of a shop so I googled it and it appeared on Maps. It has not many information, just the phone number, schedule and the direction. In that moment that information was enough for me, but I started thinking in all those little details that can help people when they are looking for a place they have never visited before, for example, if they’re looking for a shop it would be great to know if it has a parking, or if they are looking for a place for a picnic, know if there are bathrooms with potable water; things as simple as know the cost of the entrance to a National Park or a zoo.
That specific day after visiting the shop I was exploring Google Maps, I have already used it, but never for searching an specific place, when I noticed that many of the information on Google Maps is shared by normal people, just like me, I became really interested in adding places, photos and descriptions, so that day I became a Google Local Guide and started to share useful information and photos.
It has passed around 2 and half years since that day, but I keep sharing info on Google Maps and now I’m not only adding details like the parking or the cost of an entrance, some months ago I started to pay attention to details like the access for people with reduced mobility, the option of charge an electric car or the schedule of the mass in a church.
My motivation for keep working in Google Maps is to bring as much information as possible to all the people that needs to go to a place and do not know anything about it, because when I need or want to go to a place, I hope to get not only the basic info, but as much information as possible to be prepared in case of an unexpected situation.
That is the reason why I share information on Google Maps and I hope to keep doing it for many many years.
Regards and pura vida, as we say in Costa Rica.