Hi @Flypinguim 
I enjoyed reading your introduction, especially your passion for exploring new places and sharing them through Google Maps. It’s always inspiring to meet fellow Local Guides who love helping others through their contributions.
Thanks for sharing your story, and welcome to Connect! 
1 Like
🎉 Celebrating our newest contributors who recently joined Local Guides Connect and are already making an impact by earning their first badge!😊
Hi @Abby_1, @AungMyintKyaw, @Bangjamil, @BunjyGuM_BoY, @CampiPierrine, @Cugcvang, @David777, @DemiOcean, @ElviraRivera, @Hardi, @kamalgne, @konrad1984, @limitlessmarkjack88, @lMaaxh, @Lorna, @maheshparmar056, @Nicola, @oinarisan, @PravinVerma, @ranrumedia, @anon22745057, @Relics_of_the_Past, @stoki, @Trenpatrimonio, and @Yasir18163 — Congratulations on earning your Badge! 
A warm welcome to all of you who recently joined Local Guides Connect! — a vibrant space to learn, share your experiences, and grow together as a community.
I’m excited to see your upcoming contributions and connect with each one of you!
You’ve Started Strong — Keep Going!
- Start Your Journey on Connect: Read, Share Your Story & Join Meetups
A simple guide to help you write your first post, share your story, and participate in meetups - Whenever you get time, explore the Community Guidelines section and read any topic that interests you.
- Introduce Yourself — June 2026
If you want to be featured in the monthly Introduce Yourself post, share your introduction in the comments with a horizontal photo (landscape mode), following the five prompts mentioned in this post
Explore & Get Involved
- 2026: Local Guides Events & Experiences
A must-read if you’re interested in attending Local Guides events - Forthcoming Meet-ups
Join in-person, virtual, or hybrid meetups to connect, learn, and grow with the community
Have you created your first topic on Connect yet? (Select any one option)
- Yes, I have already created a topic
- Not yet, but I will soon
- I prefer reading topics for now
- I didn’t know about creating topics before this
0
voters
Mapping Local, Creating Global 🌍
Welcome Back & Congratulations!
Hello @anon35612474, @JackFirst, @Ayman2000, @mradamwhittaker, @Sickboy @JackFirst!
A big shoutout to all of you for recently earning the ‘New Friend’ badge on Local Guides Connect—congratulations! 
Even if you’ve been part of Connect before, it’s always a joy to see you engaging again—starting with your first like. Every small interaction helps make our community stronger! 
Whether you’re returning after a break or exploring Connect more actively now, we’re thrilled to have you back. Connect isn’t just a platform—it’s a community, and every interaction counts.
I’m excited to see your upcoming contributions and connect with each one of you!
Continue Your Journey on Connect
• Whenever you have time, explore the Community Guidelines section and read topics that interest you.
• Introduce Yourself — June 2026
If you’d like to be featured in the monthly Introduce Yourself post, share your introduction in the comments along with a horizontal (landscape) photo, following the five prompts mentioned in the post.
• Start Your Journey on Connect: Read, Share Your Story & Join Meetups
A simple guide to help you write your first post, share your story, and participate in meetups.
Explore & Get Involved
• 2026: Local Guides Events & Experiences
A must-read if you’re interested in attending Local Guides events.
• Forthcoming Meet-ups
Join in-person, virtual, or hybrid meetups to connect, learn, and grow with the community.
Question for you:
How have you contributed to sustainability on Google Maps?
Select all that apply. If any option isn’t clear, please read “6 Ways I Support Sustainability on Google Maps.”
- Writing reviews that highlight sustainable practices
- Updating sustainability attributes
- Mapping green initiatives
- Answering quick questions
- Adding photos and videos related to sustainability
- Creating and sharing lists
0
voters
Mapping Local, Creating Global 🌍
1 Like
Hi! I’m a local Mongolian who wants to practice English and meet people from around the world. I offer a free walking or car tour around Ulaanbaatar. In return, I’d love to hear about your country and culture.
1 Like
A warm welcome to Local Guides Connect! @munkhsaikhan
We’re so happy to have you here. To get started, check out:
Please share a bit about yourself and get to know other fellows in Connect. You can visit our monthly section, where I will merge your post.
1 Like
Hi @ajithkarunaratne, welcome back to Local Guides Connect!
I’m very happy to see that you have added over 6,000 roads to Google Maps! Congratulations on reaching this milestone! Keep up the great work!
Wishing you all the best!
مرشد مستوى 5
١٤٠٠نقطه
1 Like
A warm welcome to Local Guides Connect! @Wadee
We’re so happy to have you here. To get started, check out:
Please share a bit about yourself and get to know other fellows in Connect. You can visit our monthly section, where I will merge your post.
1.Name: Joey (Joe)
2.Location: I live in Perth, Western Australia.
3.What I love about being a Local Guide: I became level 7 back in 2022, however took many years off posting, I pleased to say I am back and have recently got back into being a local guide again. I love travel, with a lot of my postings of my travel on social platforms. I originally grew up in a small country town in a place called Tasmania, and I always loved sharing my traveling adventures with family and friends when I came home, so by being a local guide, it feels like coming back home and sharing with friends and family about all of the amazing adventures, places I’ve been and food I’ve eaten, so sharing here allows me to show the world every adventure I go on.
4.My favorite thing to explore: The world is really our oyster, and it’s when you decide to open your oyster that a shiny pearl sits inside awaiting you. With so many favourite things, from the country side, to the city, to the ocean, air and rail, I find that my favourite thing to explore is beyond my back yard.
5.Fun Fact about me: Amongst all of the cool facts I have (so please come say hello and find them all out) but interestingly I can breathe air out of my tear ducts… Odd, but true ahahah. But local guide related, I previously worked in the travel/airline industry and have been travelling the globe for the past 10 years, where I have crossed the Atlantic Ocean and Panama Canal via a cruise, I love aviation and premium travel, so I probably can’t review all cabins on an aircraft, just the ones at the front ahahah
A landscape photo of you with a brief description. A beautiful day in the Blue Mountains Australia
4 Likes
Hello everyone! I’m Muhammad Ahmad Saleem, a final-year MBBS student from Karachi and a Level 6 Google Local Guide. I enjoy exploring places, sharing honest reviews, and helping people make informed decisions through Google Maps. So far, my contributions have received over 129,000 views, showing the impact of community-driven information. I have made nearly 700 contributions and earned more than 3,300 points. I’m excited to connect with fellow Local Guides, learn from your experiences, and continue making Maps more helpful for everyone.
1 Like
Hi @anon6140054
Welcome to our connect community
As you’re a new in the connect forum, please here for the month of June 2026: Introduce Yourself — June 2026
Please read the guidelines and the Local Guides program rules. You can also visit Community Guidelines and 5 Core Values of Connect.
Hello @anon6140054
We are thrilled that you want to introduce yourself and welcome to connect forum. Could you please use the format below.
1.Name:
2.Location:
3.What I love about being a Local Guide:
4.My favorite thing to explore:
5.Fun Fact about me:
A landscape photo of you with a brief description.
May I inform you that I’ll endeavour to merge your post into our Monthly introduction. We do this to keep connect organised and tidy.
Welcome to connect and hope you feel welcome always to interact here. Here is a A welcome to connect hand. It’s a topic written with newbies in mind. Hope you like and find it useful.
Happy guiding
Cheers
1. Name:
Muhammad Ahmad Saleem
2. Location:
Karachi, Pakistan 
3. What I love about being a Local Guide:
I enjoy helping people make informed decisions by sharing honest reviews, useful photos, and accurate information about places I visit. Being a Local Guide allows me to contribute to my community while helping travelers, students, and families discover great places with confidence. It feels rewarding to know that my contributions can make someone else’s experience easier and more enjoyable.
4. My favorite thing to explore:
I love exploring local restaurants, cafés, parks, historical sites, tourist attractions, and hidden gems that many people might overlook. I also enjoy discovering places that offer unique experiences, beautiful views, or great food, and then sharing those discoveries with others through Google Maps.
5. Fun Fact about me:
I’m a final-year MBBS student who loves combining learning with exploration. Whether I’m visiting a new city, trying a local restaurant, or discovering a scenic spot, I enjoy documenting my experiences and sharing them with the community. I believe every place has a story, and I love helping others find those stories through my contributions as a Local Guide. 
1 Like
1. Name:
Muhammad Ahmad Saleem
2. Location:
Karachi, Pakistan
3. What I love about being a Local Guide:
I enjoy helping people make informed decisions by sharing honest reviews, useful photos, and accurate information about places I visit. Being a Local Guide allows me to contribute to my community while helping travelers, students, and families discover great places with confidence. It feels rewarding to know that my contributions can make someone else’s experience easier and more enjoyable.
4. My favorite thing to explore:
I love exploring local restaurants, cafés, parks, historical sites, tourist attractions, and hidden gems that many people might overlook. I also enjoy discovering places that offer unique experiences, beautiful views, or great food, and then sharing those discoveries with others through Google Maps.
5. Fun Fact about me:
I’m a final-year MBBS student who loves combining learning with exploration. Whether I’m visiting a new city, trying a local restaurant, or discovering a scenic spot, I enjoy documenting my experiences and sharing them with the community. I believe every place has a story, and I love helping others find those stories through my contributions as a Local Guide.
2 Likes
Hello, @Ahmad16m006, welcome to Local Guides Connect!
Thanks for the intro. Great to see a Local Guide from Karachi joining us.
Since we have a monthly thread for introductions, I’ll merge your post there so more community members can welcome you.
I’ll also tag my friend @KashifMisidia, who’s also from Karachi and may be a good person for you to connect with.
Happy guiding!
1 Like
1. Name: Kitipat Rerkrai (You can call me “YoyoFrog KR or Yod”)
กิติภัฏ ฤกษ์หร่าย (ยอด)
2. Location: Bangkok, Thailand
3. What I love about being a Local Guide: Initially, I just wanted to save memories of my travels. But when I noticed missing places or incorrect business phone numbers, I realized I could do more. I love helping small, local businesses get discovered and grow, especially when traveling outside Bangkok. My contribution views for edits have always outpaced my photo views! I’m so proud to create opportunities for local shops and happy to join a global community that shares this same passion.
TH: เริ่มแรกแค่อยากบันทึกเรื่องราวและรีวิวสถานที่ที่ประทับใจครับ แต่พอเจอหลายที่ที่ไม่มีชื่อบนแผนที่ หรือเบอร์โทรศัพท์ผิดจนติดต่อไม่ได้ เลยลองเริ่มสร้างและแก้ไขหมุด โดยเฉพาะเวลาออกไปต่างจังหวัด เพื่อช่วยให้กิจการท้องถิ่นขนาดเล็กเป็นที่รู้จักและขายของได้มากขึ้น ซึ่งยอดวิวของการแก้ไขข้อมูลของผมมากกว่ายอดวิวรูปภาพมาตลอด(อัพรูปยังไงก็ไล่ไม่ทันซักที ๕๕๕ๅ) ผมดีใจที่ได้สร้างโอกาสให้ชุมชน และดีใจที่ได้เจอเพื่อนๆ ทั่วโลกที่คิดและทำในแนวทางเดียวกันครับ
4. My favorite thing to explore: I love adding new local restaurants, street food stalls, and small shop that I found. Even correcting existing pin after having a little chitchat.
TH: ผมชอบเพิ่มร้านอาหาร ร้านขายของข้างทางที่ได้เจอ หรือแก้ไขข้อมูลของร้านหลักจากได้คุยกันถูกคอ
5. Fun Fact about me: Aside from being a LG Lv8 , I am a mobile gamer who roaming around map to kill monsters in MH now(killing 2 birds with one stone)
TH: นอกเหนือจากการเป็น Local Guide เลเวล 8 แล้ว ผมยังเป็นเกมเมอร์มือถือที่ชอบไล่ตีมอนสเตอร์บนเกมMH Nowด้วย(ยิงปืนนัดเดียวได้นกสองตัวของแท้)
P.S. Since my English isn’t good enough, I used Gemini to help polish my grammar and sentences based on my real stories. Hope you all enjoy it!
TH: ปล. เนื่องจากภาษาอังกฤษของผมยังไม่ค่อยแข็งแรง ผมจึงใช้ Gemini ในการช่วยขัดเกลาการใช้ภาษาอังกฤษของผมให้ดีขึ้น โดยยึดจากประสบการณ์และความคิดของผมครับ
1 Like
Congratulations @Flypinguim on being featured in Introduce Yourself – June 2026! Welcome to the Connect community, and wishing you a wonderful Local Guides journey ahead.
warm welcome @Flypinguim ! are you an fc porto fan? 
1. Name: Deepesh D R
2. Location: Google Maps
3. What led you to become a Local Guide: My motivation comes from a genuine passion for helping people. Living in a tourism hub like Kerala. I also love traveling so many places, and whenever I’m in a different places, I make sure to leave detailed reviews to help people.
4. My favorite thing to explore: Unique places for exploring and new and variety food places. Also finding different routes and places for helping people to easier the journey and exploring
5. Fun fact about me: Accidentally I became the local guide level 3 after that I put maximum efforts became in level 5.
2 Likes
Hello and thank you for allowing me to join!
1. Name: Jessica Berg
2. Location: Deltona, Florida
3. What led you to become a Local Guide:
My husband is a level 9 Local Guide and suggested a USA annual meetup, which is happening in Key West (right now). As his +1 I didn’t want to attend ignorant about what Local Guides actually do, so I started adding reviews and pictures and quickly jumped to level 5 for the meetup (yay!) 
4. My favorite thing to explore:
I enjoy traveling, so my favorite things to explore are new places and unique experiences.
5. Fun fact about me:
I love architecture and nature, and trying to get pictures that are representative and yet, also unique. So, I love looking up and looking down to find things perhaps others might miss.
(This is a recent photo from Türkiye where I got myself lost and found ruins nobody else in the group got to see 
)
7 Likes