Hi, I don’t remember when I became a local guide. I remember, I had purchased a good smartphone in Feb 2017 after my US and Canada trip. Then I visited Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Turkey, Ukraine and I remember posting a few photographs in local guide as per Google email, where Google used to give me some points on sharing them. I was not very serious about it at that time. But when Google sent me an email saying your photo is making a difference it got me motivated and I began to contribute more pictures.
This year I was on a two months Europe trip, when I received an email from Google informing me I am Level 6 guide and I can participate in Local guide meeting at California. I was happily surprised and thought we can really make a difference if we seriously worked at it.
I also realized on my travels abroad, not being conversant with the local language and where Google maps is our only companion, lots of information is still missing. Then I realized how important the contribution of the local guide is to bridge this information gap and make it a useful and enjoyable experience for everyone.
