I did not know that Local Guides Connect existed, even if I knew I can contribute, and help improve Google Maps. If not for a Twitter post that I saw I about Local Guides Connect, I would probably remain oblivious to this day. Since I have been using it for a few days now, I have a wish list on how to improve the user experience of the Local Guides:
-
A Local Guides Mobile App. The content that I wrote was from my laptop, but when I tried looking for the app, I can’t find it in either Android, or IOS. I tried accessing www.localguidesconnect.com from my mobile web browser, but I am having a hard time looking at the entire page, and writing content from the mobile web browser is not as seamless as well. I hope the app is on its way soon.
-
Access to Google Photos as an option to contribute photos and videos in Google Maps and Local Guides Connect. Just like most people with limited storage space in their phones, I automatically back up all the photos and videos that were taken using my mobile phone via Google Photos, and eventually delete the backed up files to free up my storage space. This became a problem when contributing images that you knew you have, and you have to re-download it from Google Photos, upload it to Google Maps or Local Guides Connect. I hope Google can make this experience seamless, since both are Google products.
-
Videos that are longer than 30 seconds, or a feature that can tag a Youtube video that is related to the location. Most of the time, I capture videos, aside from photos, to give other travelers a feel of what to expect. I just find the 30 second video limit is not enough and I hope it could be longer.
-
I hope the “Meet ups” tab can be organized by country, then by city. I tried searching for upcoming, and past meet ups in my city and I can’t find it. I just hope a minor tweak can enable this.
These are the things that I think would help us have a better user experience.