One million views! I can't believe it!

[SonjaPerera]

I would like to celebrate with you that… I’ve achieved one million views in my Google Maps pictures!!! How can it be? When I saw it this morning I felt we all could share our sight (and insights) with the world.

I started posting some pictures just one year ago. At the beginning, I wasn’t very sure about it. But the system kept on encouraging me to add photos, so I was like… maybe?

After my first ten reviews with no pictures, I travelled to Copenhagen with my niece and my son to meet my brother and his partner. Once there, the beautiful landscapes, the outstanding museums, the cool shops and restaurants… were absolutely inspiring. I started uploading photos every now and then… how could I not share these awesome places with other users? Therefore, I shyly answered: yes, let’s try .

Our journey continued: Bornholm, Świnoujście, Gdańsk,… I was astonished by the many great things I could upload … and I carried on publishing. So, thanks Denmark and Poland for pushing me to post pictures for other Google Maps travellers, even if they were not too professional. That’s how I started. I guess sometimes we value more the things that we don’t see everyday!

Back home in Madrid, I went to a nearby shop and realised the opening hours were wrong in Google Maps (it’s quite frequent in Spain during the summer… sweltering hot!).

I thought a shot of the temporary time schedule might be useful. When I discovered that dozens of people were seeing my picture, I saw that this could really help.

The experience truly cheered me up. Pictures not only contribute to share great spots during our trips … they can really help local

businesses where we live. Shots could provide very useful information… and this is a great support, especially for small local businesses that are not very aware of the digital world, so they see

m not to “e-xist”.

And we can do more. Sometimes I add shops that are not in Google Maps, take a picture of the place and their products, and then I always encourage the owners to subscribe to “My Business”. They cannot believe how easy is to handle their info!

But I could say, without fear of being wrong, that one of the persons most benefited and blessed by Google Maps it’s me. The more you give, the more you receive

AND NOW, ONE MILLION VIEWS! SO GRATEFUL. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT… YEE-HAW!

[SonjaPerera]

My beloved @JaimeGine @MaviAlfaro @Adrianita and @MaryDeVicente . Thank you for joining Local Guides Service and Connect to support me. Now it’s me who strongly encourage you to maximise your contributions as Local Guides… To some extent, this post is for you.

Sister @MamenPerera …I hope wou’ll the be next 1 million-views Local Guide! Go for it!

[TorM]

Great achievement @SonjaPerera ! Fantsastic!

As well nice that you have made some contributions in one of the most beautiful towns Gdansk!

All the best and have fun with the ongoing contribution!

[SonjaPerera]

Thank you, @TorM

I know you moderators are miles beyond my figures. It’s very warm and kind of you to understand how important this is to me!

About Copenhagen and Gdansk: the vast majority of the pictures have been removed, because I wasn’t aware of our policies. Still, the very moments of taking them, the joy… will always be treasured in my heart.

[MamenPerera]

Heyyyyy so great to hear! I agree that we tend to post more pictures when we travel, but as you say we can be of great help when we are home! Congrats!!!

[SonjaPerera]

Thank you, dear sister!

@MamenPerera …We are in this together!!!

(I’ve just seen your profile, over half a million views on your pictures. Congrats).

[AdamGT]

Congratulations on your fantastic achievement @SonjaPerera . You should definitely check out the Leaderboards of the Most Viewed Photos!!!

[Erik_van_den_Ham]

Congratulations @SonjaPerera many millions more will follow. All you need is time and more and better contributions. If you want to learn more about views and performance of pictures I would suggest reading this post and submit your stats.

[SonjaPerera]

Thank you @AdamGT

I’ve just checked out your article. Amazing… millions views on a single photo?

It’s also inspiring that my dearest peers @LaloPadilla and @FaridTDF are on the top line of two of them. They’ve been sooo helpful since my very first contributions.

I’ve found your proposal very interesting: reflecting about the why’s, the how’s. My “star photo” shows the result of a National Lottery board. Are people putting their hopes and wishes there? It has received about 75.500 views during this year. I’ll find the time to complete your form. Maybe I’ll be the 3rd Level 7, if I’m not wrong!

Link to my “star photo” recieving over 75.000 views within the last seven months.

Thanks!!!

[SonjaPerera]

Thank you @Erik_van_den_Ham

I’m so glad with your support.

Best regards from the sunny Spain.

[Syamsul5917]

Wow

[AdamGT]

It’s great that you checked the Leaderboard article and found it interesting @SonjaPerera . Yes there are some amazing photo achievements BUT you do not needs millions of views to make it on the leaderboards. A newcomer Level 1 Local Guide can do it! As you say it certainly is inspiring as you could be amongst many amazing Local Guides and we can all learn a bit more about the why’s and the how’s of what makes a “star photo” and perhaps improve our overall performance of our photos! Yes the way I see it at the moment you would be in the top three of the Level 7 leaderboard as well as making it onto the #2 Leaderboard for All photos Sorted by Average Views per Photo!!! I and other fellow LGs who have already participated look forward to seeing you listed there but more importantly you can be part of the learning and sharing about how we can improve the performance of our photos .

[SonjaPerera]

Thanks @Syamsul5917 !!!

[SonjaPerera]

Of course, that’s the very point @AdamGT : Learning and get to a deeper understanding of our service and how we could improve it by sharing our experiences. I find that doing it through the pictures it’s a great idea as they “have their own language”… let’s get visual!

[LaloPadilla]

Congratulations @SonjaPerera

As people say “The fist million is the hardest”, when my photos reached that amount of views I couldn´t believe it aswell. In that moment I realized I was helping a large group of people.

I wish you all the best and let´s make those numbers reach the sky!!!

And also Congrats @FaridTDF for that 1st place in @AdamGT post, you guys are doing an amazing job!!!

[Wisnusetiono]

congratulation @SonjaPerera

[SonjaPerera]

Thank you, @LaloPadilla !!!

Your words mean a lot to me, a gift

[SonjaPerera]

Oh, @Wisnusetiono . You won’t imagine how joyful I feel receiving a reply from the magic Indonesia. I feel very connected.

Thank you, dear.

[Wisnusetiono]

, salam kenal @SonjaPerera

[JanVanHaver]

Congratulations @SonjaPerera on reaching that milestone! And glad to see that you put so much effort in adding pictures to Maps that are really adding value ánd that you put so much effort into writing this inspiring post about it. Most of the posts in this Achievements section only mention “hurray I reached 1M views” without further details, so it’s great to also see a post here that has enthusiasm written all over it.