When I started the LetsGuide Podcast - almost 4 years ago now - I never thought I would reach 40 episodes. I had compiled a list with +/- 15 topics that could be turned into an episode each, just to make sure it would not “bleed to death” after a few episodes. But strangely enough, the more episodes I created, the longer my list with possible topics was becoming - with inspiration coming both from the research I did myself and of course feedback from the local guides community (thanks again to all of you ).
One of the topics on the list has been there for ages and I have kept postponing it for a very long time. But today, I have finally released my episode about… Views - that is the views you get for the pictures you upload on Google Maps. It has become one of the longest epsiodes (almost 50 minutes), but nevertheless quite a good one (as I have been told by some of the early listeners). It’s a mixture of stuff I have researched and 3 interviews with fellow local guides: @AdamGT , @TerryPG and @MortenCopenhagen .
And if that doesn’t make you curious enough yet, there’s one more thing you need to know: I’m doing something very surprising that is seriously impacting my own view count “live on air” (well, I did it while I was recording the episode).
Great episode, @JanVanHaver . Thanks for all the work you put into the podcast. Much appreciated.
One aspect you/we did not cover is the fact that some of our best pics get promoted to also represent the city district, the city, or even the country. This can boost the view counts pretty well also. Especially, if your photo becomes the cover photo of a famous city or a big country.
And when the places with our cover photos get included in popular lists examples include gourmet restaurants and knitting shops. This can also boost the photo view counts in unexpected ways.
I liked how @AdamGT explained that we should take photos that Google likes and not what we ourselves like. Spot on.
Let me elaborate a bit on how you can check if some of your pics got promoted to also represent the city district, the city, or even a country.
Search for your country or city name on Google Maps using text search. Then click/tap on the photo. Then to the right, you will see the “By you” tab if any of your photos got promoted.
Here you can study which of your photos the selection AI picked. It is very interesting to get such personal feedback on your photos. I just went over my photos representing Denmark and Copenhagen, and my primary reflection is that the photo selection AI really likes blue skies and tons of bright colors. Actually more colorful and bright than I would consider looking natural. So bright sunshine is good as long as you keep the sun behind you which makes the sky really really blue.
Please try. And let me know what your reflections are.
Great addition @MortenCopenhagen and indeed a source of views I had not considered. When checking the “By you” tab for some places here in Belgium, I indeed see some of m pics there too. However - as you mentioned - to make sure your pictures will be shown here, I get the impression that instead of being primarily ‘useful’, they need to be primarily ‘beautfiul’. That photo section seems to favour more tourist/artistic pictures (beautiful skies, reflections in water, taken from a height, etc).
And come to think of it, there ia also another sourtce for views that I did not mention (and which might be an important source for some local guides): your own views! Every time you check you own pics, those are views as well of course
Viewing your own pics might not be a sustainable strategy for getting more views as they will be pulled from your local cache and not the server in the long run. I suspect the counting is done on the photo server end. But I could be wrong.
Indeed @MortenCopenhagen I also think that is a different algorithm, whick makes sense if you take into account that those ‘city pics’ serve another purpose.
It looks like I might have to make some additional content on this topic in an upcoming episode
Great advice @MortenCopenhagen It’s interesting that AI likes super blue skies and bright colors.
I noticed that too. The pictures of buildings where I take it in sunny conditions around 10 am or in the early afternoon- less shadows and sun shining correctly on the building so all the colors pop- seem to get more views. Also, when I take photos in less than good lighting (because Mother Nature can be unpredictable), I use the pop edit tool on my phone to correct the lighting so that the building stands out from the background.
@JanVanHaver Great article. I just finished listening to the whole podcast today. It was so insightful and I was so happy when it came out. Your podcast is the only one that I have notifications turned on for in Spotify. I rated it a 5 stars. Hopefully, other LG’s will give some more 5 stars ratings for it.
@TerryPG Congrats on being featured. Love to hear your passion for tracking and getting down and dirty with the numbers. It’s great to see how your detail-oriented mindset paid off and you were able to find the 90 degree rule. I have tried it with some of my photos. I love learning from the Photo View wizard.
@AdamGT Yay for you being featured. Much deserved as you are on this forum almost 24 hours and helping everyone and doing all the leaderboards. I’m glad you got recognition, and I love what you shared that it’s about what Google Maps likes. The Google Maps AI reminds me of a funny story of a nagging wife in a relationship; it’s sometimes not about what you think is good but rather doing what she thinks is good.
Woohoo @AZ_2021 5 star ratings are always a pleasure to receive, no matter what platform (unless it has a rating system with a 10 point star scale of course )
Hello my friend @JanVanHaver Yay, 5 out of 5 for you!
In your podcast too, I heard that Google AI likes blue skies and you worded it as “unnaturally blue.”
I found something funny as I was editing photo on Google Map (below screenshot to show you). They actually have an edit button that just increases the blue in a photo to make their AI more happy with the photos. I laughed out loud as I was thinking Jan was just talking about it.
Wieder einmal hat mich deine Folge 40 begeistert! Die Ratschläge zu guten Fotos die du hier zusammengetragen hast sind erstaunlich und deine Gäste hervorragend!
Ich habe es geliebt deiner und ihren Stimmen zu lauschen und mir zu vergegenwärtigen, welche ich befolgt haben könnte (unbewusst) und dass ich all diese Punkte ausprobieren MUSS!
Weil ich dich bereits so lange höre, musste ich schnell einmal nachsehen, ob ich auch bereits 5 Sterne vergeben hatte
Deine Beitrag auf Connect zu der Balance von Innen- und Außenbeleuchtung fand ich super! Schön, dich nun auch gehört zu haben! Ich liebe es durch dich zu lernen!
@TerryPG deine Begeisterung für Zahlen, Daten und Fakten auf PAPIER zu sehen war erstaunlich, wie lange du dich bereits mit der Beobachtung deiner Fotos beschäftigst ebenfalls!
@AZ_2021 Natürlich warst du bereits hier und hast geantwortet happy wife, happy life… Ja, wir können Einiges lernen wenn wir diesen Kontext auf Google und die Art wie wir Fotos machen sollten übernehmen
Und… Spannend mit der Bearbeitungsmöglichkeit die bereits hinterlegt ist… Kommt auch auf meine: Probiere-ich-aus-Liste
@AdamGT @ es war wie immer ein Vergnügen deinen Ausführungen zu folgen, egal ob schriftlich oder jetzt im Podcast
Vielen Dank für die freundlichen Worte. @Stephanie_OWL I have been tracking my numbers since a couple of months after I became a Local Guide, almost 4 years now.
When scheduling a meeting a few months ago, I noticed an image in the header. I typically do my calendar work on my desktop, and this image option isn’t there. So, it wasn’t until I worked in the app that it came up.
It only seems to work when the POI is included in the event, not just a street address. The featured photo is pulled from the POI, so this is more incentive to get the top photo on destinations where people schedule appointments. Get out there and photograph some Dentist Offices!
Well, I do have the face for radio, but I’m not looking for fame (though I’d be happy to chat about it over a beer). It just stood out to me when one of my photos popped up on my calendar, and I’d never thought about whether it’d count toward views until your show.
).
It’s interesting that AI likes super blue skies and bright colors.
I have tried it with some of my photos. I love learning from the Photo View wizard. 
