There was one time when I just walked out of a seafood restaurant, and I noticed a person who was about to dine in staring at a photo review on Google Maps. I glimpsed at her phone and almost went over to tap on her shoulder and shout at her, “Hey, I am the person who took that photo you’re looking at. I am here by your side!”
This kind of incidents happened from time to time, which I don’t really consider it as a coincidence. And there was another time when a friend mentioned that she wants to try some milk tea at a newly opened bar. I asked her, “Why would you wanna have milk tea at a bar?” “Well, I saw someone reviewed on Google Maps that highly recommend people to give it a try……the bar actually has decent milk tea.” “Do you know that I am the exact person who wrote the review?” I couldn’t be more delighted when telling her the truth and saw her surprised face. These experiences truly make me feel close to people as if I were just right by their side sharing all good things with them.
The local guide program perfectly combines two of my favorite things: try new things out and take photos for record, which allow me to share my sincere feelings straightaway.
Basically, we visit restaurants based on recommendations from bloggers or appealing ad contents like others do, but the food quality and overall experience may not be as satisfying as they claimed. That is the reason why I start posting my reviews on Google maps, and put my true feelings into words.
Moreover, I find out that uploading authentic reviews also sets up a connection between those restaurants and me. If the places I visited has something to be improved, I will also write them in my reviews to give detailed recommendations, and this builds an interactive channel for the store owner to see my feedback and reply directly. I’m always more than happy to modify my previous reviews based on the store’s response and follow-up actions. Thanks to Google Maps, which is a platform that I can share all these genuine reviews.
I’m not a professional blogger, so I’m only motivated to share things that I truly desire. Looking at all the photo reviews I’ve uploaded in the past few months, I couldn’t believe that I reached 3.5 million views! The most exciting moment came when my picture became the featured cover of a restaurant with a 650,000 click-through rate.
Cosmopolitan Taiwan also shared one of the hot pot photos I took on their official Instagram account. These numbers are so real that they truly bring me a sense of achievement and fulfillment because it means people not only like how I tell the story through photography and writing, but also appreciate my recommendations. With this motivation, I always introduce this platform to my friends by sharing my lists whenever they ask me where to go.
Comparing to other image sharing social media platforms, Google Maps has always been my daily usage because of its comprehensive feature and the diligent reviews. It combines the map with a list feature that allows me to share with others easily. I can mark the exact location of a restaurant and take engaging pictures to share my dining experience all at once. I even curate my own gourmet map based on different countries and cites to let others know. By doing this, I thrive on inspiring more people to experience things they never had before to spread out their feelings too. Last but not least, to me, it is the most meaningful, encouraging and worthwhile to be a local guide. And this is what I meant by “I am here by your side”.