Invitation Link vs Real Community – My Experience Hosting Local Guides Meet-ups in Cambodia

[SophatCHY]

Over the past few hours, I’ve been organising Local Guides meet-ups in Takeo and Phnom Penh.

• [In-Person] Cambodia, February 21, #1-2026: Mastering Google Maps – Community Sharing in Takeo
• [In-Person] Cambodia, February 21, #2-2026: Mastering Google Maps – Community Sharing in Phnom Penh

We welcomed new people, including @MinVirak, @PHANNNORIN, @Sovanna, @norencheakhy, and others who had never joined Local Guides Connect before. Some came from Telegram groups. Some were completely new to the program. Some just wanted to learn how Google Maps works.

But I noticed something confusing.

Sometimes I see notifications for “accepted your invitation.” Sometimes I forget about the invitation link. Sometimes people attend the meet-up but never click on anything online. And sometimes they are not new members, they have been in Local Guides Connect for a long time, but it still shows “accepted your invitation.”

This makes me wonder — does it mean they can accept anytime if they click the link again? Even if they already joined Local Guides Connect long ago?

It feels confusing, especially when we are trying to understand how the invitation system really works.

Do we really need invitation links to build a community?

In Cambodia, many Local Guides are shy. Some don’t use Connect often. Some don’t understand how invitation systems work. But they show up. They walk with us. They learn how to edit the map. They ask questions. They care.

For me, the real meet-up is not about clicking “Accept Invitation.”

It is about:

• Walking together to explore places
• Fixing wrong map data
• Teaching new members how to add missing places
• Helping businesses understand Google Maps
• Making our digital space stronger

At the same time, I believe if there is an official invitation link system, there should also be a clear badge connected to it. If members accept through the link and join the event, it would be fair to recognize that activity with a proper badge or system acknowledgment.

I will continue organizing meet-ups — with or without invitation links — because what matters most is building active Local Guides in Cambodia, not just online acceptance notifications.

[tony_b]

@SophatCHY

But I noticed something confusing.

Sometimes I see notifications for “accepted your invitation.” Sometimes I forget about the invitation link. Sometimes people attend the meet-up but never click on anything online. And sometimes they are not new members, they have been in Local Guides Connect for a long time, but it still shows “accepted your invitation.”

I think you may be confusing two things @SophatCHY. If you create a Meet-Up and someone clicks “accepted”, they’re accepting an invitation to your meet-up, not an invitation to the Connect platform. I’ve been on Connect for a few years, and I see many meet-ups arranged by different members, but only some I choose to attend. On those ones I click “accepted” so that the organizer knows I plan to attend.

[SophatCHY]

Hi @tony_b,

Thank you for your explanation. I understand the difference between accepting a meet-up invitation and accepting an invitation to join Connect.

What I’m referring to is the Connect invitation link (the one under Profile → Invites, where we generate a URL to invite someone to join Local Guides Connect).

When I host a physical meet-up, many people don’t have Local Guides Connect accounts. During or after the event, I share my invitation link with them, sometimes directly, and sometimes in a big Telegram group.

Even though they already have an account, when they click the link, it still shows “accepted your invitation.”

That’s the part that confuses me.

If they’ve already joined Connect, what exactly are they accepting when they click my link? Is it just linking them to me as the inviter? Or is it counted as a new referral?

Also, at the moment, this feature doesn’t seem to provide any recognition or badge. I feel that if Google provides an official invitation system, it would make sense to have some kind of acknowledgment or badge for members who actively invite others to join Connect and grow the community.

Right now, the feature exists, but it doesn’t clearly show its purpose or impact.

Just sharing my experience as someone trying to grow the Local Guides community in Cambodia.