On July 15, 2016, we launched Connect to give Local Guides like you a single, official place to communicate with each other. We hoped that Connect would be a place where you could literally connect with others just like you and those not-so-much like you to make new friendships that would help you in your Local Guides experience.
As we shared earlier this week, new and exciting features are coming to Connect. We can’t wait to share them with you because we know these features will help to connect even more Local Guides with one another — and with us Googlers, too.
This July 15, we’re celebrating two years of Local Guides Connect — and you — so I wanted to take a look at what we’ve done together in this time:
700,000+ Local Guides are registered on Connect (and many of those log in at least monthly!)
300,000+ discussions have been started
500,000+ replies have been posted
15,000+ solutions have been accepted
14 people have become Connect Moderators (though we currently have 13)
1,000,000+ kudos have been given
Note: The above numbers include activity from across our community including private boards so they may differ from what you see in the community.
Here are a few of my favorite things since we launched Connect:
Seeing everyone communicate no matter where they live, the language they speak, or the type of Local Guide they are
Interacting with so many of you and learning what makes you the great Local Guides you are
Finding out that many of you have such strong passions that you’ve found a way to highlight with Google Maps and through the Local Guides program. For example, helping to rebuild your city after an earthquake and working with underserved populations in your community
Connect Moderators: You have a special place in my heart because meeting other Local Guides like me who are passionate about keeping Connect a warm and welcoming place for everyone just feeds my soul
Thank you all for making Connect such a wonderful place to visit each day. Now tell me, what’s YOUR favorite thing about Connect?
I know I can speak for all of us when I say that we could not have a better class of Googlers and Moderators supporting our efforts and ecouraging us to be the best we can be.
Hi all, I feel lucky to be a part of local guide since one year. Here I can communicate, understand each one of LG throughout the globe even the language they speak is different. Thank you “Local Guides connect” for giving me such a good community. Thanks and happy local guides day. Jafar pasha
Wow already two years old. Such a journey of both Local Guides and Connect.
@TraciC you and your team of Googlers, Connect Moderators, and the regular big contributors to Connect have made this a great place to hang out. I’m proud of my tiny part in Connect. Connect is so much better than disparate communities on social networks.
It’s amazing just how pervasive Local Guides has become in just a few years, just yesterday I was told by a person “I know you, you’re a Local Guide. You’ve helped me find good dog parks.” It’s really cool to be recognised as useful to this person in some small way and great to be thanked. That’s why we do this stuff to make our community grow and support each other.
Que hermoso es ver como esta Connect, dos años parece tan poco, pero en edad digital es muchísimo, su crecimiento fue siempre sostenido en el tiempo, nada de esos saltos tipo burbuja, sino que constante. Mi sueño es que a fin de año llegue a un millón de usuarios, ya veremos estamos un poco más de la mitad del año, quizás seguro a los 800.000, pero hoy festejamos con toda esta gran familia que es Connect, diversa, poliglota, como me gusta decir en ocasiones una gran Babel moderna, donde se hablan miles de lenguas pero con una base bien sólida y sin pretensiones, donde todos aportamos conocimientos, vivencias, historias y amistad, esto último es lo que más resalto de Connect, me permitió conocer a grandes personas, que generosamente me brindaron sus puntos de vista, me mostraron lugares increíbles, de los cuales nunca supe que existían. Todo esto es Local Guides Connect, un lugar cálido para pasar un rato, estoy seguro que vendrán muchos más años, y que estaremos festejando más momentos importantes en la vida de Connect, como el que está comenzando a desplegarse en estos momentos con el Connect 2.0, gracias @TraciC a ti y a todo el equipo de Conenct que le ponen tanto esfuerzo y ganas, aplausos para todos ustedes.
Muchas felicidades y ahora a soplar las velitas de la torta, Farid.
Tu preguntas por nuestra parte favorita de Connect y debo decir que extrañaria venir aqui y no encontrar tus publicaciones!
Valoro muchisimo encontrar en cada publicacion los 5 valores de Connect, es muy humano para mi sentir esto y especial, quiza no se entienda bien lo que digo, pero es genial.
Genial es tambien conocernos , hablar diariamente como Local Guides , como compañeros, varios somos amigos y vernos aqui y en distintos idiomas. Geniales estos dos años en que conoci y decidi ser Local Guides.
Lo quiero celebrar con mis dos perfiles… estas dos fotos por primera vez juntas. En mi pais se suele decir, te alegraras o decepcionaras pero ambas soy yo…
A celebrar LG es un honor y orgullo. Alguien me enseño que…es un mundo sin fronteras.
Bien, si logro subir estas dos fotos, ya hace dos horas que estoy con esto @ErmesT , tendre que publicar luces como las suyas! y ya que estamos tan cerca, un saludo enorme.
Gracias por ser parte de mi vida , de una forma u otra , a LG y Connect.
Happy 2nd Birthday Local Guides Connect. We are so glad to be a party of Local Guides family and get Connect as a platform to share and learn our experiences and meet local guides around the globe.
@TraciC Happy big 2yrs birthday to Local Guides Connect. How time flies. It’s been an awesome experience so far. The beautiful thing about the Connect Family is that I have at least one friend in every country of the world world courtesy of the Local Guudes program. Isn’t that something? And they’re all inviting me to to visit. I must be the coolest guy on planet earth
It’s just wonderful that Local Guides Connect is created!.
Previously, all Local Guides were scattered… Now we are together!!! Now we are a huge family!!!
Local Guides Connect gives me the opportunity to communicate with like-minded people from around the world, with people who like me love traveling and socializing. Here we can share our experience and impressions.
I found new friends here. They are from different countries, they have an interesting Local Guides experience. Really, we are nice and helpful to communicate here.
Happy Birthday Connect 
