Hi ,
I’m Gerasimos and I’m from Greece. Basically, the reason that I wanted to get involved with ‘’Local Guides’’ was a talk that I had with a friend regarding that about a year ago. He was describing me his experience of being a Google ‘’Local Guide’’. I was very curious to understand what was about. So he was trying to explain me what was about. At some point of the conversation he says, that he was invited to participate to Connect Live Event by Google. To be honest I thought he was joking me. And continued with the following phrase” Makis, everything is fully paid by google ’’ He meant all the expenses. I started laughing at him!
The next day, I searched a bit what are these local guides about. Also I saw some photos of previous Connect Live events. I was really excited!!! I liked the fact that people from different nationalities and cultures gathered all together at Google Headquarters in the USA in order to share their experiences,with all their expenses covered. So, I say ‘’Let’s do it’’. It was a big incentive for me
Travelling for me gives me the opportunity to live, to share, to think, to dream, to taste, to believe and to help. I believe that each culture is a little secret, a little paradise, a little escape from our ordinary life. Travelling, gives me unique unforgettable experiences for my whole life. For some reason, I cannot explain, travelling makes me feel more calm and better. If a had the chance, I would have travelled all the countries of the world, bigger and smaller, rich and poor.
So, I began to share my experiences (through my photos and my comments) from all the places that I have visited either as a guest or a customer. I liked the fact that I was giving a sense of reality to my viewers. In addition, I have to notice that I tried more just like a hobby with a few photos. However, day by day I wanted to see how popular was my photo or my reviews. So, I started to upload more photos and this time not only from holiday places, but also from restaurant, cafes, shopping centres. I liked the fact that I had ‘’interactivity’’ with people from all over the world.
My milestone is a photo that I uploaded from Ioannina Lake. It had about 4.884 views. I also made comments regarding to a local cafeteria which has a fantastic view in the lake. At some point, I say to myself that I’m starting doing a good job. (I’m kidding:) Also the fact that I help to promote local sights of interest of my country (Greece) as well as local businesses (just like cafeterias, restaurants etc) gives me a sense of personal fulfillment because I believe that I contribute in a way to the local and national economy.
To summarize, I strongly believe that local guides is giving me the opportunity to make my experiences more authentic, more realistic, and more unique to google’s global audience. Also, the fact that Google recognizes my contribution through badges and points gives me more encouragement to continue my sharing effort!!!
I look forward to hearing from you!!!
See you in the US!!!