Meet a Connect Moderator: Jan

Community guidelines The Local Guides Connect community
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Caption: A photo of Jan smiling, and an illustration with a light bulb, an email, a globe, a notebook, and a magnifying glass.
Caption: A photo of Jan smiling, and an illustration with a light bulb, an email, a globe, a notebook, and a magnifying glass.3959×1980 792 KB

Connect Moderators are Local Guides just like you and me. They apply the knowledge they’ve gained as active members of our community to moderate Connect and 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 one of our amazing Connect Moderators. This month, meet Jan ( @JanVanHaver ). Jan lives in Belgium and speaks Dutch, English, German, and French.

Name: Jan Van Haver

Location: Belgium (but also spends a lot of time in Germany)

What I love about being a Local Guide: Google Maps is one of the most popular apps ever, literally being used by more or less everyone I know. Being able to add useful contributions, help improve the data on the map, and keep it up-to-date, brings me both joy and satisfaction. This helps other Google Maps users, like individuals and local businesses.

Caption: A photo of Jan posing next to a sign with directions during a walking trip in the woods of the Hunsrück region in Germany. (Courtesy of Local Guide @JanVanHaver)
Caption: A photo of Jan posing next to a sign with directions during a walking trip in the woods of the Hunsrück region in Germany. (Courtesy of Local Guide @JanVanHaver)2206×3107 2.47 MB

Why I’m a Connect Moderator: Not every Local Guide is aware of all the possibilities Google Maps offers. Sometimes, they aren’t even sure what the guidelines and best practices are. That’s why I want to actively share the knowledge and experience I have collected as a Local Guide, an attempt to guide the guides, you could say. This includes writing posts on Connect and reaching out on social media to Local Guides who appear to be experiencing difficulties.

The initiative I’m proudest of is the podcast I’m hosting. It is called LetsGuide Podcast, and I try to get a new episode out every two weeks, focusing on a particular Google Maps or Local Guides related topic.

My favorite things to explore: Instead of uploading the 258th picture of some famous monument in a major city, I like to explore areas that still have very few contributions from Local Guides. There is often a lot of information to add, improve, or correct in such locations.

My favorite type of contribution(s) to make on Google Maps: I try to do a bit of everything, but editing places is by far my favorite. I especially like to correct names and find the best possible category for each place. I also very much enjoy adding new locations to the map and uploading the first photos to existing places. Being a pioneer is a sweet feeling.

Languages I read/speak/write fluently: Dutch is my mother tongue, but I also speak English, German, and French.

Places I’d like to visit: I’m not a big traveler, and I don’t really have a bucket list. Life just seems to bring a nice opportunity from time to time that takes me to places, and I’m perfectly happy with that.

Fun fact about me: My wife and I have five children: two daughters with one month difference in age, two sons with one week difference, and another daughter who is a bit younger. Take a minute to think about how on earth that’s possible, before reading on to find out the perfectly logical explanation.

Actually, we have no kids together, but my wife has three children from her previous marriage, and I have two from mine. All five are adults now, and we even have some grandchildren already.

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

Interested in becoming a Connect Moderator? Learn more here.

Want to learn about other Connect Moderators?

Learn more about Emeka in March 2020

Learn more about Omer in February 2020

Learn more about Sumaiya in January 2020

Learn more about Steve in December 2019

Learn more about Jordan in November 2019

Learn more about Torben in October 2019

Learn more about Hiroyuki in September 2019

Learn more about Jesi in August 2019

Learn more about Alejandra in June 2019

Learn more about Adrian in May 2019

Learn more about Gregg in January 2019

Learn more about Stephen in November 2018

Learn more about Paul in October 2018

Learn more about Sonia in August 2018

Learn more about Nunung in July 2018

Learn more about Shirley in June 2018

Learn more about Farid in April 2018

Learn more about Ludwig in March 2018

Learn more about Karen in February 2018

Learn more about Ivan in January 2018

Learn more about Ermes in December 2017

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@InaS Thanks for this introduction of our beloved fellow @JanVanHaver . He is always very helpful and friendly to us.

Keep inspiring!

Happy Guiding!

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Very nice reading more about you @JanVanHaver , our Belgium friend, pod-caster and Maps edit super master :blush: .

Selfie with @JanVanHaver at the Connect Live 2019 lounge - Local guide @LuigiZ
Selfie with @JanVanHaver at the Connect Live 2019 lounge - Local guide @LuigiZ2640×1980 444 KB

Thank you @InaS for sharing this great post.

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Thank you @InaS for interwieving @JanVanHaver .

Belgium is nice country with rich history. I was in Bruggs, Oostende, Gent and Brussel all great travel destinations.

Big hugs from Slovakia.

Karol

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Hello @JanVanHaver Congrats! to you and best of luck! @InaS He is one of the greatest connect Moderator of our connect forum. Thank you very much for your Introduce Moderator post sharing with us. I wish you all the best.

A Local Guide Photography
A Local Guide Photography4032×3024 2.72 MB

[Stay Home, Keep Clean, Stay Healthy and Always Be Happy With Your Friends and Family]

Best Regards.

Omar

:bangladesh:

Bangladesh

# Click Here & Read My Previous Post.

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Always kind, helpful, motivating, and super knowledgeable. Thanks for being a champ on Google Maps, Connect, and in my podcast feed.

Cheers.

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What a nice read!

I think @JanVanHaver really deserves to be a Connect moderator, he is a major contributor with a big heart for making the world a better place.

I have met Jan last year for the first time in the airport, where we boarded the same flight to San Francisco to attend CL19 and it was such a pleasure talking to him. But what I remember the most is that my eagerness to contribute even more, drastically has grown since then. Jan has inspired me so much, and is definitely inspiring a lot more people with his podcast and many other ways.

Funny situation: Jan was doing lots of things in the media (tv, newspaper,…) around the time of CL19, and my mom and my sister were sending me media articles where Jan was explaining more about the Local Guides program. And they asked me: “Do you know this man?”, while I was literally just sitting next to Jan at that moment! :grin:

Jan and me in Brussels, boarding the flight to San Francisco.
Jan and me in Brussels, boarding the flight to San Francisco.2320×3088 831 KB

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Thanks @InaS for adding the post to this legendary series.

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Hi @InaS

I have found this post quite interesting. I gone through line by line.

@JanVanHaver You are multilingual. I also know 4 Indian languages (Hindi, Gujrati, Punjabi, Bengali) and one Global language “English”.

I love the way Ina described about your kids.

" Fun fact about me:

My wife and I have five children: two daughters with one month difference in age, two sons with one week difference, and another daughter who is a bit younger."

But when I scrolled down, My doubt cleared.

Any way I like the way you are “Belgium Guy”

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Thank you, @InaS . Congrats @JanVanHaver ! You really deserve to be it. Be spirit to editing maps!

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Sounds great! Hi @InaS , Thank you for sharing this update with us.

Congratulations @JanVanHaver , My best wishes to you!

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@JanVanHaver I forget to disclose. I like you podcasts and learn a lot through you voice.

Thank you JanVan

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@ShafiulB @LuigiZ @KarolT @OmarBD @MortenCopenhagen @Stphn @Sandeepnirvan @Irfan_dPriyanto @ShahMdSultan thank you for the kind words & nice compliments.

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Wow @JanVanHaver , you speak many languages! I love your podcast :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks @InaS for the information :slightly_smiling_face:

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@JanVanHaver I love to hear your podcast. Your voice helps me to relax! Thanks for it.

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@JanVanHaver I’ve known you because of the Let’s Guide podcast! It’s really interesting! I’ve been in Belgium ten years ago for a student exchange. It was one of my favourite places I’ve been to. I loved the fact that I could just take the train and stroll in a new city every day. Thanks for your good work!

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I could listen to @JanVanHaver with his great voice saying each word. He is a fantastic storyteller, and it is always a pleasure to chat with him. Thank you @InaS , for this excellent text about him.

Local Guides Alexandre and Jan.jpg
Local Guides Alexandre and Jan.jpg2423×2647 1.39 MB

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Congratulations @JanVanHaver You truly go of your way to help people here. I thank you for that. I LOVE your Podcasts please keep them coming.

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@JanVanHaver Great work as a Local Guide and Connect Moderator! Good to know more about you. @InaS Very nice introduction.

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Such a great interview @InaS

Congratulations to @JanVanHaver . Its so nice to meet you via a virtual meetup and you are most kind and helpful person i came across. Belguim indeed always makes me thought of the finest chocolates and there come from belgium the finess comes through it.

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