🇵🇹 Lisbon-based initiative — combining Google Maps & Telegram

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Subject: :portugal: Lisbon-based initiative — combining Google Maps & Telegram for a stronger Local Guides community

Hello everyone!

My name is Alex, I’m a Local Guide based in Lisbon, and I’d love to share an idea that’s been growing in me for a while — and check if there’s interest and support from fellow Guides and the Google Maps team.

I’m exploring the possibility of launching a community platform that connects Google Maps enthusiasts through Telegram — a space where Local Guides can share experiences, support one another, co-create content, exchange feedback, and suggest new features in a more casual, real-time format.

Here in Lisbon, I haven’t seen any past in-person meetups listed, but I’d be very happy to organize one if there’s enough interest. I can take care of:

The venue

Format and schedule

Registration

Any technical setup required

It would be a great opportunity to meet fellow mappers, learn from each other, and build a small but motivated Lisbon hub of Local Guides.

I’d also love to hear from the official Google Maps team. If this idea — combining the energy of Telegram with the creativity of Local Guides — seems worth exploring, I’m happy to invest my own time and resources. All I’d need is a little support and a green light from the team to get started.

Even if it begins in Lisbon, this could easily scale to other cities where Guides want to connect and make a difference.

Let me know your thoughts :raising_hands:

Warm greetings from sunny Portugal :portugal:

— Alex Miller

Local Guide, Lisbon

7 Likes
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Hello @915

Nice to E-meet you here on connect and a hearty welcome to you.

It’s interesting that you noticed that there haven’t been physical meet-ups organised in Portugal before now. Well I’ll say just go ahead and organise one like you rightly suggested. Have you had a look on the meet-up category of connect to see how to organise a meet up of local guides? If not please do so.

Regarding your project is it a group chat you’re talking about? actually that’s ok. Is it an app like another platform for interactions or something like that? My feeling is that connect forum is the main and official platform for all local guides across the globe to meet and interact. Maybe another one isn’t just necessary. You can source for local guides in Portugal on other social media forum and refer them to connect. That way we can have one big community and stay together.

In general,I don’t know what kind of support or green light you mean. Nevertheless we as local guides implement our ideas and forge ahead as long as it’s not against the guidelines and policies of the local guides program and Google as an entity.

I have an initiative Called TRAC. Here is our index page!. It’s a group of local guides adding roads to improve Google maps. We have a Telegram group chat as well,but they are all unofficial. We have An event going now,Click here to see.. Just to give you an idea of what local guides do to improve the maps.

I hope this answers a few of your questions and gives you an idea of what the local guides program is and how to go about things.

Happy guiding
Cheers

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Hi Shola,

It’s a real pleasure to connect with you — and I truly appreciate your quick reply, especially on a topic that’s so important to me.

I’d be very grateful if you could share a link or invitation to any unofficial Telegram group or channel related to Local Guides. That would help a lot — I’ve tried searching manually, but haven’t had any success.

You’re absolutely right — we’re a large and diverse community, and Google Maps, due to its massive scale, has both strengths and weaknesses. Your initiative in Liberia is a great example of local leadership addressing those gaps — and I sincerely support what you’re doing there.

Let me try to explain my own idea a bit more clearly.

Here in Lisbon, I personally know dozens of Telegram groups where incredibly talented people write detailed articles and create high-quality content for their audiences. However, their interaction with Google Maps usually stops at just linking to locations or sharing collections of places.

The rich content they produce — photos, opinions, guides — rarely makes it into Google Maps. Why? Because there’s simply no real motivation to cross-post or contribute. So these “gems” end up shared only with a small Telegram audience (1–5k followers), often in a single language — Spanish, English, French, Chinese, etc.

Meanwhile, many business reviews on Google Maps are repetitive, low-effort, with a few generic photos and one-line descriptions. There’s very little that draws talented creators into contributing to Maps meaningfully — beyond just grabbing a link.

What’s missing is a bridge — a sense of structure, purpose, and community.

So when someone says, “If you have the idea — just do it,” that doesn’t quite fit.

I am building something on my own. But when the initiative is intended to benefit Google, then I believe it’s perfectly reasonable to seek visibility and support from Google — especially on their own official platforms.

Thank you again for this connection — it means a lot to me.

Warm regards, A.M.

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And as you rightly pointed out, there are only unofficial communities on Telegram — which confirms two important things for me:

Telegram is clearly in demand among Local Guides;

There is no official Google Maps presence on the platform.

My initiative is to fill that gap. Let Lisbon — my home city — be the starting point.

I truly want to support Google Maps in building this community, and I believe I can contribute meaningfully.

Now I’m just waiting to see how Google responds.

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@915

It’s a pleasure and thank you for replying. Regarding my telegram group chat. It’s exclusively for those interested in adding roads on Google maps. Unless you’re committed and agree to participate adding roads,it’s advisable not to join.

Yes it’s unofficial. Other local guides have other unofficial means of connecting with local guides outside connect like WhatsApp chat group. Well I don’t think I want an official presence of Google or the local guides team on it. We discuss alot of unofficial things particular to us as local guides. Therefore we don’t need any Google or local guides official on it.

Well good luck to you. If I were you,the first thing is to get to find local guides from Portugal and know them. You can then proceed to the next step. Another community outside connect here will not be the thing at all.

In my first comment,I shared 2 links. Please look them up and it will give you an idea of who and what we do as a sub-community of local guides.

As Regarding Google team endorsing you or your idea,not too sure you’ll get that. Have you tried reading The community guidelines? etc? Just browse around and get acquainted with the forum and the program in general.

Happy guiding
Cheers