The speed of information in today’s age is almost invariably at the expense of its credibility.
Almost because Local Guides offers a much needed exception. You will have lightning live information, with the trust and credibility that you need, to use the information to make decisions.
I chanced upon the Local Guides program, when I saw a score/ point balance being allotted to me as I contributed. I decided to use it especially in the context of sharing live information, made credible by none other than Google Maps.
Lemme give you an example: I happened to walk into a recently opened restaurant in Gurugram, India. It was not yet listed. Casually chatting up the owners, I learnt that their listing request was still under process. Owing to my level 5+ experience of using Maps as a Local Guide, I checked all boxes needed for the listing: photos of the menu, the food, a review, and the exact location together with its opening hours and even a mobile number! To the owner’s pleasant surprise, Maps pretty much immediately listed the place, and voila: it has clocked over SIXTY THOUSAND views! I guess that is pretty much the most large scale helpful thing I happened to do using Local Guides program.
There are other businesses though, which tend to take the customers for granted. I decided to show them the strength of community, and posted pictures of the service quality (or the lack of it) they were offering. Clocking thousands of views again, the picture showed the power a single person had, without having to match up to the bullying the owner had prepared to do!
All in all, I think coming across the Local Guides program, hooking on to it with seriousness, and contributing to it continually has enabled me to make an impact that is exceptionally rare these days: adding credibility to real time information!
What’s more is that its power cannot be overestimated. It has enabled me to contribute to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (clean India campaign) through pinpointing locations of toilets, garbage that needed cleaning, and accessible toilets etc. It also enabled me to help save commute time by reporting a road closure, a diversion, or a newly made one-way or lane direction change. All that, and I regularly answer questions on places: further being able to help the seekers of information.
I believe that this unique feature of Local Guides has generally made me a more helpful person, without having to worry about the usual repercussions of being helpful! Thanks Local Guides!