Summary of the Meetup recap:
I think the greatest miracle of this Meetup was that we were able to cover so much depth and insight in 1 hour, 38 minutes! So, here you go;
- This Meetup was held on Sunday, the 25th of July, 2021 at 2 p.m.(WAT) G.M.T. +1 or 8p.m. (WIB) G.M.T. +7
- The focus of the Meetup was strictly on Sharing rules or tips that Local Guides should follow to ensure they remain in the program for as long as they want, as a part of celebrating the fifth year anniversary of Local Guides Connect as initiated by our beloved Program Manager; Traci Cappiello in this post.
- The Topics shared were derived from official Google and Google Local Guides documents and from contributions by Devi Dimitra (Co-host) @Ddimitra ,Jan @JanVanHaver , Morten @MortenCopenhagen , the Local Guides present and me.
- A lot of preparation went into preparation for this Meetup that has been covered here; Behind the Scenes of the Most difficult Meetup I ever hosted
- We followed and Stuck through to an Agenda during the Meeting which is as follows;
AGENDA
- Introduction of Hosts/Welcome
- Overview by Ewaade
- Sharing by Devi Dimitra
- Questions based on what Devi Shared
- Sharing from two Local Guides (we will select at random)
- The Local Guides Documents and what they say to us by Ewaade (a.k.a. RULE 5)
- Questions based on what Ewaade has shared
- Short Interlude - one LOCAL Guide will share with us their most embarrassing yet fun moment as a Local Guide.
- Rules for Local Guides Photo Contribution by Ewaade, Devi and Attendees
- Common Reasons for Account Removal/What to do if your Account has been removed
- Questions and Answers
- Vote of Thanks by Devi Dimitra
- End of Meetup /Closing
- Surprise
Your takeaway/souvenir from this recap is something I have titled the âRule 5â, which, if you follow, is sure to keep you in this program for as long as you please;
- Rule 1 - Keep in mind your Eligibility status always
- Rule 2 - Donât be a âWoodpeckerâ-seeking-Perk
- RULE 3 - STAY AWAKE, O SLEEPER
- RULE 4 - Do not be Greedy
- RULE 5 - Be Patriotic
To learn about what went down at the Meetup; the important information, the thrills, the laughter, the jokes, etc.;
- Read the Recap
- Watch the Video
- Go through the Photo Album
- Do it Again
- Do it once again
Happy anniversary Local Guides, Happy Birthday Connect!
RECAP OF THE LOCAL GUIDES RULES MEETUP (VIRTUAL)
- INTRODUCTION
The meetup began with the Introduction of some of the Attendees who joined early enough.
- OVERVIEW
The overview was presented by Ewaade and prepared using information from this document; Local Guides Program Terms and Conditions
- Badging and Levels
Each Local Guide is placed into a Level and awarded badges based on the points derived from the contributions they make to Google Maps
- Am I eligible to be a Local Guide?
- You have to be 18 years old and sign up to join the Program
- You are not a business, a brand or an organization. If you have/manage an existing business and use Google My Business, you can not join the Local Guides program with your business account, same goes if you represent a brand or an organization.
- I am not mixing up my work as a Street View Trusted Photographer listed for hire (which is paid) with my Local Guides Membership (which is voluntary). Say for example; You are a Local Guide and you are also a Professional Streetview Trusted Photographer and have been listed for hire, when you are contacted by a company and do a job and are paid for it, donât upload same photos or other imagery to your Local Guides account as Map contribution for points. Do not bundle your Local Guidesâ membership with your work as a Street View Trusted Photographer listed for hire.(You can find a better explanation in the video). Whatâs better? The Streetview has been separated from the Local Guides program now. There is no forum for Streetview on Connect anymore, so, it becomes easier to keep things separate!
What is this eligibility status saying to us? Go to the account you have been contributing from and see you are contributing as a âPersonâ.
- DEVIâS PRESENTATION - RULES GUIDING REVIEWS
Devi shared with us about the Rules guiding REVIEWS different from âhow to make a good reviewâ, she shared on how to ensure that; the Reviews you are sharing on Google Maps do not lead to your account being suspended or you losing your Local Guidesâ membership using the following tips;
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Only Review a place You have visited!
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Do not review using racial slurs, hate words and speeches
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Also do not put brand or commercial advertisements or promotions in your review
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Do not gather other Local guides to deliberately destroy or tarnish the image of a business through false review
Footnotes
- Morten added that; âa good rule to keep in mind while writing a review is to âproveâ that you have been there! Include details that you know people canât find online, also, make sure to add some positive comment, after which you could include at the end; some constructive criticismâ.
Rules for writing a Post on Connect by Devi Dimitra
- Original Content Policy (writeup) -Do not copy a post from an external source and paste it on Connect. For example; if you are a blogger and have made a post somewhere on your blog and then paste it, the system automatically detects and marks it as Spam, even though the Content is originally yours. So, do not Copy and paste from anywhere else on the Internet to Connect.
- Original Content Policy (Photo) - You can only share on Connect, photos that are originally yours or which you have a permission to use. For example; Devi shared of a time she posted on Connect some photos she had posted elsewhere, her post got marked as spam and she got a warning also even though the Photos are originally hers.
- Be kind to others - no political statements, no hate speech, no harassment or bullying is permitted on Connect.
- You cannot promote a business or a brand in your post
Footnotes:
Jan emphasized that; original content is important both in the context of Connect and Google maps and cited example of friends he has who are professional reviewers with another website, who post the exact same Content as reviews on Maps and how these reviews get automatically detected and removed.
Side Joke: Jan shared with us how @ErmesT is able to pick out any form of spam or plagiarism within 5 minutes, he says âhe has a nose for itâ. 
- QUESTIONS/CONTRIBUTIONS BASED ON DEVIâS PRESENTATION ON RULES GUIDING REVIEWS
- Rosy Kohli @RosyKohli shared about how she is the first to write a Review on Maps in some places and days later, she finds some other people, copying her exact same words and adding one or two sentences. This kind of behavior should be discouraged. Reacting to this, Ewaade advised that she leaves a thumbs down on such âcopy and pasted reviewâ and if she checks the Local Guideâs page and finds that; they have the habit of doing that, she can report the Profile
- Next, we had a question from Guru Krishna Priya @Gurukrishnapriya asking if she can use the Content of her Review on Maps, as a Post on Connect. Reacting to this, Morten advised that it is best to leave a Review on a place on Maps since it will help more people than on Connect where there are millions of people but few who are very active
- Next, we had Alpha Sumareh @AlphaSays sharing with us how some people actually copy âcontent from wikipediaâ and post as Review. He also asks some of them to share with him their profile, so he could check and point out if they are doing wrong by Google standard. He added that; if you know someone doing something wrong on Maps and you have a way to reach out to them, kindly do that and educate them, instead of going to report out rightly.
- Talking about Reviews poorly done on Maps, Nida Rifyal shared one she came across. She said she read a review of A Government office by a Local Guide that read; âPlease take care of our sister in this office. Sheâs a new employeeâ.
- EWAADEâS PRESENTATION - THE LOCAL GUIDESâ DOCUMENTS
These four documents formed the crux of my presentation;
- Community Policy
- Why was I removed from the Local Guidesâ Program?
- Local Guides Terms and Conditions
- Google Terms of Service
From these four documents, I derived five rules and if you like; call them; 5 tips which I have collectively called; âThe Rule 5â. I ensured the rules are 5 so that; they can fit on the fingers of one hand, also because we are celebrating 5 years of Local Guides Connect. Tidy, right 
?
(Note: To each of the Rule, I have attached the âBackground or source documentâ from which I derived them)
So, here you go;
Background to Rule one: Who is qualified to be a Local Guide?
- Rule 1 - Keep in mind your Eligibility status always - Keep in mind; âwhat makes me qualified to be a Local Guide?â, stick to doing that only at all times
Background to Rule Two: Perks and early access to features are offered at the discretion of Google and its affiliates/partners
- Rule 2 - Donât be a âWoodpeckerâ-seeking-Perk - Perks and invites to special events are given at the sole discretion, constantly haggling about not receiving Perks can put you in bad books.
Background to Rule Three: The Local Guides Brand
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RULE 3 - STAY AWAKE, O SLEEPER -
I have named Rule number 3 thus, to ensure that we LOCAL Guides are always aware that; despite the rights and privileges and the authority we have to effect these changes ON Google Maps and help people find places worth going and things worth doing, we are only but Guides! We are not employees of Google. While you may goof about it, Google does not want to hear of it or see it written anywhere, not even on your Social Media accounts.
Please check your Local Guides accounts and everywhere and see you are Awake!
Background to Rule Four: Meet-up sponsorship
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RULE 4 - Do not be Greedy -
While you are free to accept sponsorship for your Meetup to make it more fun and less expensive to Attendees, make it known and open to your Host/Sponsor that He/she has done that at his sole discretion. His sponsorship does not influence your Maps Contribution.
Also remember to make it known to Google and to the attendees that you have been sponsored.
Background to Rule five: The Local Guides Content Policy
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RULE 5- Be Patriotic -
When thinking about this Content Policy, just think about what you as a Patriotic citizen should or would do. Think about what you would do that will make people say; wow! EXCELLENT BEHAVIOR! Think about what you will do that can make you get a honorary award in your country, this is what the rule is saying you should do.
And anything that contravenes this is what could get a Local Guide removed or warned.
ADDITIONAL RULES - K.I.M. (KEEP IN MIND)
If you get invited to a Google Event (e.g. Connect Live) or host a Meetup, there is one additional rule you should keep in mind
Background to the Additional Rule: Disclaimer of Warranties and Photographic, audio and video recording release
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Concluding Rule - Waiver of Rights as specified -
If ever you get invited to a LOCAL Guidesâ event or host a Meetup;
- and are permitted to bring a guest, you are solely responsible for your Guestâs behavior and misbehavior
- You are solely responsible for yourself; accident, losses and all
- If Google takes your video or photograph at an event they have organized, they are permitted to use it across all their platforms as they please without giving you a compensation for it
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QUESTIONS/CONTRIBUTIONS BASED ON EWAADEâS PRESENTATION
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Jan; talking about Perks mentioned that; there are several ways to look at a Perk, even a Badge is a Perk which every Local Guide Level 4 and above gets
. So, every Local Guide has received a Perk! -
Guru Krishna Priya added that; âBeing a Local Guide is itself a Perkâ
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SHORT INTERLUDE
Next on the Agenda was the âShort Interludeâ. The floor was declared open for Local Guides to share with us; that one embarrassing moment they have experienced while carrying out their duties as Local Guides. Three encounters were shared as it relates to Food, Photo walk, and Travel.
- Food Related - Alpha shared on how; once he had gone to a Restaurant that is one of the most viewed on Google Maps; a typical Turkish restaurant. He was really looking forward to the experience and planning on how he will share his experience with other Local Guides. So, he arrived there and asked them to give him a recommendation. He waited for like 15 minutes and nothing came, others were having their food. Then, they brought him some complimentary meal made up of salads and some other stuffs (which at the time he thought was the main meal), he ate it (as you would expect offoodie Alpha
) and almost lost it! Asking; âis this all I get for all the amount you took from me?â He picked his bag and was about to leave when he saw the Lady bringing a giant plate of food. The Lady asked; âwhere are you going?â He replied; âThis Restaurant did not suit me, I did not get the experience I was hoping to getâ. She laughed and said; âThis is your mealâ. Everyone in the restaurant began to laugh too. He apologized and dug into it! - Photo-walk related: Ewaade shared about a Photo-walk embarrassing moment she had. One day, I was free and decided to take a photo walk and update map information in my environment. Some Saturdays following that, I was at Rehearsal in Church, when one of the Younger Lay readers, asked; âwhat were you doing the other day? I saw how you will stop, look up, stare at a building, snap a photo and then move to the next. I saw you when I was going out and still saw you while returning taking such a long walk, I began to wonder; âwhat is wrong with Sister Agnes?ââ I was very embarrassed! But, I would not have it any other way. When I see places I have added to Maps and see how it has helped people, It gives me immense satisfaction
- Travel-Related- So,**Alwy @Dr_AlwyPaul **shared of her visit to a Park for Children, she went there and was taking photos and updating their information. While asking the questions, there was a family standing by listening. After she completed updating the Map, the family walked up to her and asked her to tell them about the Park and the facilities, so, she proceeded to share with them. After she was done, they brought out some cash to pay her. She was astonished
and asked; âwhat are you doing?â It appeared that they offered to pay her because they thought she was a âTour Guideâ 
after which she took another 10 minutes explaining to them what a "Google Local Guideâ does and how they do all they do voluntarilyâŚ
Rules for Local Guides Photo contribution
TravellerG @TravellerG kicked off the Contributions by saying;
- Share a Photo that you know will be useful for someone who intends visiting the place
- Share a Photo you know will be relevant to the owner of the business e.g. in the case of a restaurant; Short clips of food preparation or the place the food is prepared, photo of recipe, etc.
- Donât repeat shots, simply; donât post duplicate photos
**Sophie Menusee @sophie_fusion **continued;
- Take few pictures and try to select the best one that has a proper angle
- If the Photo is for Maps, try to take photos that provide some depth of information. For example; the Signboard, photo of the Menu, the Board showing the phone number
- Ask permission from the owner of business if you can take a photo of the interior
Alpha Sumareh continued;
- If you are taking photos in a place, try to ensure your photo is unique, if there are many people gathered about the entrance taking âentrance photosâ, go take something else
Jan added;
- Always check for Photos that cover accessibility especially of the Parking Space, as most people focus on taking photos of the entrance when looking out for Accessibility features.
Devi added;
- Donât take Selfies, donât add selfies to Google Maps.
Jan and Rosy Kohli added this exception;
However, of recent, there is an exception, people are encouraged, of recent, to add photos of them taking the Covid-19 vaccine to encourage others to do the same. So, these kind of selfies are permitted because of the ongoing Pandemic.
While this sharing went on, the âRules for Local Guides Contributionâ Presentation slides was shared in the background.
These tips were derived from this document; Local Guides Community Policy
- Tip One- Images should be Relevant and in focus
Itâs important that images be relevant and in focus.
What does it mean for an image to be relevant?
- It should have something to do with the business place
- It should make another person want to experience the place
- It should help another person find the place
What does it mean for a Photo to be in focus?
- Photo should be at least in the Centre. There should be nothing detracting from the image
- Tip Two - Privacy rule
While taking photo in public, you have to mind the Privacy of others especially in places like; Hospitals, Clubs, Hotels, etc.
I think to be on the safest side, where peopleâs faces appear, blur them out, you can do it right on Maps before Upload
- Tip Three - How?
- Exteriors of buildings should be taken in Horizontal
- Photos should be taken from above for photos of dishes
Questions from the Presentation
- Indah @indahnuria asked a question about getting her photos marked as spam even though she had taken the photos herself; especially of Photos of famous places that she took in New York City, some of the Photos were taken from exact same spot by different people, so the photos look the same and asked why these photos may be marked as spam even though they are from her device. Any answers please?
- Alwy Paul asked; "How do you observe the âPrivacy Ruleâ while taking a Video to be uploaded to Maps? How do you ensure that the faces of people donât show? Reacting to this; Jan shared that; âyou could ask people if they are really recognizable or you can do the video in such a way that; they are not recognizableâ. He continued; However, there are exceptions, what if you want to make a video in a Barber or Hairdresserâs shop. To this, Ewaade reacted that to take a video in such a location, you can have the client shield his face while you do a video of the Hair.
From this we went on to discuss;
- COMMON REASONS FOR ACCOUNT REMOVAL
For Photo Contributions to Map
- Dark, Blurry or Redundant photos can be removed
- A Local Guide may be removed if they;
- Post same images across many locations
- Post images that infringe on Human rights
- Post Fake or stolen photos
For other reasons which include but are not limited to;
(Source Document; Why was I removed from the Local Guidesâ Program?)
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Participating on Local Guides as a business
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Behaving inappropriately on Connect
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Posting duplicate reviews or photos
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Contributing offensive content or spam
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Adding fake locations
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Changing correct business names
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Adding unnecessary keywords
- What to Do if your Account has been removed or Suspended
(Source Document; Why was I removed from the Local Guidesâ Program?)
"If you think youâve been wrongfully removed from Local Guides after reading the policies above and your account has been removed for more than 10 days, fill out the âLocal Guidesâ Appeal form for Account Removalâ to let us (the Google Team) know youâve been suspended.
Note: If your account has been removed, do not create another account to post on Connect. Creating alternate accounts is against our (the Local Guides) program rules and may result in another removal.
It may take up to 3 weeks for our (the Google team) team to investigate and privately respond to you. In most cases, we (The Google Team) canât provide details on why you were removed."
- QUESTIONS/REACTIONS/CONTRIBUTIONS
- Dr. Deliana @doc_dells asked; âis it possible to contact someone breaking the rules to notify them that they are in danger of being removed? What do you do in the event that this person is not a Local Guide; for example; those who leave a lot of selfies and post fake reviews?â Reacting to this; Jan said; Oftentimes, it is not the fault of the people uploading, because they get a prompt from Maps and from there they just decide to upload every otherpicture from their outing to Maps. Also, you have the option of reporting the person (if it is a Local Guide) and you know the person is intentionally breaking the rules.
- Zuhra @Zuhralc asked; âcan people who have titles; for example; the Connect Moderators or Local Guides Level 8 and above be removed from the program?â Reacting to this; Jan responded; âYes, your level or whatever title you hold on Connect doesnât make you immune to getting removedâ. Ewaade added to this; that there is a clause in the Local Guides rule which says; âNote: We canât always let you know that you violated a policy before your account is removed. However, we do try our best to contact our most active Connect contributors when their contributions may violate a policy.â You can read about it here. So, try your best to be an active Local Guide, interact with others, so that even when you make a mistake, you may get a notification.
- Talking about Photo contributions and Privacy rule; Indah mentioned that; " it all depends on the context of the Review or Photo". For example; at a Tourist spot, she tries to get the best angle and finding the best angle, some times, you need a person to be there (what we have come to term âThe Human Elementâ), say for example; you are taking a photo of a valley, you need to see someone in there to properly appreciate the depth and what not?! So, including photos that show people or show your face depends on the context.Indahhhha
. Reacting to this; Jan added; âhaving a person in the picture can also be useful to illustrate sizeâ. To which, many gave a nod.
- VOTE OF THANKS
Devi gave the âVote of Thanksâ. She appreciated everyone present and expressed gratitude to them for joining us despite their busy schedules, as she wished everyone; âA Happy Connect Birthdayâ. 
- CLOSE/END OF MEETING
We concluded the meeting at this point and bade everyone a farewell while we asked those who feel like waiting behind for the âSurpriseâ to wait behind.
- SURPRISE
Itâs a surprise right, so, we canât share about it here, but if you look through the album, you may get an inkling as to why there were so many healthy and happy smiles.
ATTENDANCE LIST
- Devi Dimitra (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Ewaade (Lagos, Nigeria)
- TravellerG (India)
- Falguni Paleja (Mumbai, India) ppp
- Jan Van Haver (Belgium)
- Morten (Copenhagen, Denmark)ppp
- Jean Pangalila (Bali, Indonesia)
- Yulia Suci Rejecki (Indonesia)
- Arati Shinde (Hyderabad, India)
- Saidul Karim (Malaysia)
- Zuhra Lucie (Mombasa, Kenya)
- Rosy Kohli (Mumbai, India)
- Guru Krishna Priya (Chennai, India)
- Anil Singh (Goa, India) ppppp
- Radja Sitanggang (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Rahmat Harman (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Dr. Deliana Permatasari (Tangerang, Indonesia)
- Indah Nuria (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Fx Budi Widyatmoko (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Nyai Nurjanah (Sukabumi, Indonesia)
- Bilal Shiakh (Pakistan)
- Deso Padesso (Indonesia)
- Shruti Manjrekar (Mumbai, India)
- Alpha Sumareh (Famagusta, Cyprus)
- Alwy Paul (Phillipines)
- Sophie Menusee (New Delhi, India)
- Nida Rifyal (Indonesia)
- MD. Kamal Hossen Rana (Bangladesh)
- Agoes Santosa
- Olufeyisayo Sofolahan (Nigeria)
- Md. Reazul Hoque
I tried my best to compile list of Attendees both from Chat record and the Rule 5 Photo Album, if for any reason, you checked this list and your name is not there and you attended the meetup, Please send me a private message, so we can pick a date on which, I will buy you a chilled drink to say; âsorryâ for my misdemeanor.
.
itâs a wisdom drink, right? 
