I am not sure how or when it started. When I try to think about it, I just picture myself playing around answering million of questions about places I´ve been that Google Maps pointed very precisely. I also remember competing with my husband about who has the biggest Contributions Score on Google Maps. This competition between us became bigger, and I could never know how his score were bigger than mine, even if I tried very hard to answer the questions quickly. So I decided to really try to understand more about Local Guides and its contributions, reading all the material available, and making sure I could get more points by helping people even more. I figure out that by just giving stars in restaurants and pubs wouldn’t be enough to help people with the information they need, because it does not give any explanation as to why I rated that way, and does not describe the experience I had in that place.
I’ve never had much time and dedication to learn about camera and photos, but I love to take spontaneous pictures of my friends and family. When I started contributing more to Google Maps, I had a greater motivation to take pictures of places I’ve been, trying to show my impressions about that place, focusing on the details that somehow caught my eye. I try to avoid taking pictures of the menu because I know the prices could change, and it kind of limits the review, because a place is not summarized by its price, but for its decoration, attendance, and all the experience that can be lived.
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Vale Encantado, Minas Gerais | Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais |
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Brazilian açai “icrecream” | Parque Estadual de Ibitipoca |
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The information we find on Google Maps is a great help, as well as being a way for the company / store to receive feedback on people’s views regarding the service provided, the environment, and the quality of their product. Over time, managers are more involved with what the customer has to say about their service, and this becomes very clear when a store responds to a review on Google Maps thanking them for feedback or responding to some criticism or customer suggestion.
It is not just about reading reviews, it is about reading someone’s perspective about some place, which could be yours too. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln in this context, I would say that Google Maps is basically “Of the people, for the people, by the people”, so we must embrace this community and walk together to feed it.
