My Schengen (Europe) visa was expiring in a month’s time and I wanted to take one more trip to Europe before that. I looked up a budget airline site for the cheapest tickets at that time of the year. I got options of a couple of cities – Valencia in Spain and one city in Italy. I looked-up the tourist spots, budget hotels, local commute and other aspects for both cities. Finally with help from Google Maps reviews I was able to finalize my itinerary for Valencia. During and after my trip I started actively contributing on Google maps and soon realized the power of Local Guides. This was a few years ago and since then I have started appreciating the Local Guides program even more. Below are the key aspects of this program that make me a big fan:
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Responsible community service and goodwill creation – As responsible citizens of our local communities it is essential to provide unbiased feedback about places of interest. This is movement, which gathers momentum as more people contribute. We create an atmosphere of goodwill, strangers helping strangers online. We may never see or talk to people we help, however it is always a great feeling to see the number of views on our reviews and photos.
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Democratization and experiences sharing – When we provide insight into places and things, this is invaluable feedback. A professional reviewer may be able to do justice to a limited number of places. With the crowd sourcing approach, each local guide has the power to share their personal experience making it easier for the end user to make informed decisions.
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Pay it forward – The local guide platform is so wonderfully designed, it allows us to be both guides and users. I call it pay-it-forward for places I am visiting and which have very less number of reviews/photos/feedback. For other places I am using the same platform as a user and gain vital information and insights of other local guides and reviewers
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Interesting activity – I am really excited when sharing reviews of new places. The adrenaline rush to make difference for a newer place (like a local coffee shop) is much greater than contributing a popular place (like Niagra Falls). This is also supported by data – my photos/reviews of less known places get higher views than those for famous destinations. After a while it has become a part of life.
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Make Friends – When I work as a local guide, I have the opportunity to connect with other guides from the area. There is a camaraderie that builds up. I had the good opportunity to live in three continents (Europe, Asia, North America) in last four years. This helps to connect with people with similar interests – through meetups – locally and gobally.
As Local Guides program is constantly improving, I am sure there will be more to add in a few months from now.If I had to choose a punch line for Local Guides, it would be on the lines of ‘the world is my home’. I know it is not very original. If you have any better ones, please share here 