Meet a Connect Moderator: Ilankovan Thushyantha

Google Maps contribution stories
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Editor’s Note: This post was written previously and the featured Local Guide is not currently an active Connect Moderator.

Connect Moderators are Local Guides just like you and me, moderating Connect side-by-side with Googlers to help improve the experience for everyone. You may see them welcoming newcomers, explaining the program, answering questions, and sharing their knowledge with others.

Each month, we share some personal insights from our Connect Moderators. This month, meet @IlankovanT from Sri Lanka.

Name: Ilankovan Thushyantha

Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

What I love about being a Local Guide____: Being a Local Guide is so much fun for me. I enjoy capturing 360 photographs of the places I travel and creating virtual tours for people who cannot travel as I do. I have been a photography enthusiast from my childhood. Writing genuine reviews of the places I visit also gives me soulful contentment. Overall, being a Local Guide completes me.

Why I’m a Connect Moderator: I want to help others who have questions on Google Maps and want to make Connect a better platform for everyone to ask and clarify their questions regarding the practical use of Google Maps. This keeps me more involved and always keeps me busy replying to threads and responding to people on Connect. I think this is what made me a moderator.

My favorite place to explore: I love exploring nature, especially rainforests, and also I enjoy snorkeling/diving in the ocean enjoying the beauty of the marine life. The blue ocean makes my mind and body relax, forgetting the outer world.

My favorite type of contribution(s) to make on Google Maps: My all-time favorite aspect is adding my 360 photos to Google Maps, also I enjoy creating virtual tours and writing reviews on visited places. Also, I love sharing the message of being a Local Guide with the community. I’ve hosted quite a lot of meet-ups so far gathering youth, differently abled and other members of the society. Through this, I am sure I have influenced many other people from my community to contribute to Google Maps in a genuine manner.

Languages I read/write/speak fluently: English, Tamil

Places I’d like to visit: Mount Everest will be my next dream destination to visit.

One thing I’d like everyone to know about me: I am a nature lover who has photographic eyes which captures whatever I see then and there. I love sharing the message of sustainable resource utilization and accessibility. I have hosted many meet-ups such as beach cleaning, mapping green for free rain and the use of Google Maps for differently abled people. In essence, I am a social animal who loves to contribute to Google Maps.

A photo of Local Guide Ilankovan taking a 360 photo in Anuradhapura. Meet-up in Anuradhapura with no participants - but Ilankovan held a 360 walk alone around the Dagoba and “meet-up” with great Street View for Google maps
A photo of Local Guide Ilankovan taking a 360 photo in Anuradhapura. Meet-up in Anuradhapura with no participants - but Ilankovan held a 360 walk alone around the Dagoba and “meet-up” with great Street View for Google maps768×1024 204 KB

(Reference: [RECAP] Anuradhapura Photo Walk)

A photo of Local Guide Ilankovan standing in front of a Google Cloud Advanced Solutions Lab sign
A photo of Local Guide Ilankovan standing in front of a Google Cloud Advanced Solutions Lab sign1280×960 255 KB

We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know @IlankovanT. Say hi or ask him a question below as he has a lot to share about Google Maps and maps in general.

Interested in becoming a Connect Moderator? Learn more here.Interested in learning about other Connect Moderators?

Learn more about Ermes - ermest @ December 2017

Learn more about Ivan - iyudhi @ January 2018

Learn more about Karen - KarenVChin @ February 2018

Learn more about Ludwig - LudwigGermany @ March 2018

Learn more about Farid - FaridMonti @ April 2018

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@IlankovanT so many of us have a deep respect for the ocean and environment in common! Great to read more about you. :ocean:

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Hi @Atsukot

Thanks for sharing and dedicated this month to ilankovan,

He is a great contributor for Google Maps and such a humble connect moderator,I personally learn a lot from him,

He always inspired us ,from his creative ideas and through meet ups, Thanks for be with us @IlankovanT

Have a nice day

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Amazing Local Guide, moderator, contributor and person! I’m happy to share this community with such commited members as you, @IlankovanT . I will never forget when you wrote my name, placed it in a tree and then planted it in a school at Sri Lanka. That story is always in my heart. Thanks a lot for being so attentive and posting such interesting content to the community.

I will love to learn about your next adventure in Mount Everest! :slight_smile:

Thanks a lot for the post @Atsukot ! I think it’s very important for every member of the community to know that there are amazing moderators :slight_smile:

Happy Guiding!! :slight_smile:

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A very big hello to @Atsukot :slight_smile:

Thank you so much Atsukot for bringing the star (Connect Moderator) of this month.

Hi @IlankovanT

I am so happy to see you here. And I am glad we met personally during LGSummit17 in San Francisco and had the opportunity to know each other and exchange ideas.

Wishing you all the best.

Cheers

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Thank you so much everyone! @brittym , @AkmalB , @ValeriaA , @Badruddeen

And thank you @IlankovanT for giving us an opportunity to introduce you to the Connect community!

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Thanks @Atsukot for this post.

Great post about @IlankovanT , I friend long time before his moderator experience, that I can remember from my first steps in Connect. Ecologist, great photographer, honest person, always starting interesting initiative. At the same time, a person for fun.

Meeting with you at LGSUMMIT17 was a great and funny experience.

Is beautiful to know a bit more about you. I love to have a tree in Sri Lanka with my name, and I love to know that a big part of this community is represented in there.

Hope to have another glass of wine with you in October, Ilankovan

Ermes

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Indeed @IlankovanT is a great guy, I admired his journey & overall progress over time in the program.

Thanks for sharing @Atsukot :slight_smile:

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@Atsukot thanks so much for writing about @IlankovanT . I know him for last year summit even I have no time to talk in a person. He is a humble connect moderator and having a great idea of hosting a meet up. I love his idea of planting a tree with a Local Guide name on it. It is great to know him. Thanks Local Guides!

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Thanks for the introduction to @IlankovanT to us @Atsukot !!

I’ve always enjoyed your photography collection that you post! It’s been great to getting to know you in the last two years! Looking forward to seeing more great initiatives from you and also photos!! :slight_smile:

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You are a great man and LG, I’m so proud being your friend :slight_smile:

We will meet on Everest! :slight_smile:

Thanks @Atsukot for the introduction.

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Thank you for the introduction @Atsukot .

It’s a pleasure to e-meet you @IlankovanT .

I am looking forward to a one on one meet-up with you.

You are doing a great job as well as other moderators…

Cheers to the good job!!! :wine_glass:

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Nice to know about our connect moderator .

All the best for helping connect .

Thanks for sharing @Atsukot

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@ood to know about you @IlankovanT

Thanks @Atsukot for the post.

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Hello Dear @IlankovanT Many many Congratulations!! for your Achievement.

Rose Flower
Rose Flower3036×4048 1.89 MB

Thanks! a lot! @Atsukot for your introduction post.

Best of Luck!!

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Hello @Atsukot

Thank you for the introduction .

@IlankovanT is a humble person that I have seen in local guides connect ,I also saw his some YouTube videos of him.

As I came to know you love to explore rain forest just like me I’m going to explore western ghats and lonavala places this monsoon season you can join me.

Regards,

Shravan

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Thank you for sharing insight into your Local Guides life, @IlankovanT !!!

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Many thanks @Atsukot , great post about great LG :slight_smile:

Ilan is one the best local guides ,

one of the best friends , very helpful and supportive long time before he became a moderator

very proud of your friendship @IlankovanT

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Hi @Atsukot ,

Thanks for this nice post about @IlankovanT , he is such a great LG example.

Hi @IlankovanT ,

You might have already seen that one, but in case you missed here is a 360 pic taken on top the Everest:

https://www.google.fr/maps/place/Mont+Everest/@27.9878506,86.9250267,3a,90y,209.65h,68.39t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipN0vZJwaUnTd8t0XHwBxNhC_QGVQqLd0TvyFQiY!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipN0vZJwaUnTd8t0XHwBxNhC_QGVQqLd0TvyFQiY%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya43.125-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688!4m5!3m4!1s0x39e854a215bd9ebd:0x576dcf806abbab2!8m2!3d27.9881206!4d86.9249751!5m1!1e4

See you

Jul

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Someone : who is the king of meet-up in local guide program?

Me: :innocent: Amm… Mmm… @IlankovanT .

Till date he had hosted more than 30 meet-up. Really really great local guide.

Thank you @Atsukot

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