Dear LG Friends,
With full of excitement and joy, I am thrilled to write this post to acknowledge your love, support and blessings that you gave to Ghumakkad Gossip V1 Meet-up series and helped meet its objective to introduce a platform for learning, collaboration, and growth for the Local Guides.
Gratitude 
I am thankful to each one of you who supported this initiative directly and/or indirectly. You all are very important pillars behind making this concept and the series, a success. With all of your support we delivered the first 10 set of GG Meet-up episodes successfully.
I take pride saying,
these episodes have been well-received by the community due to their inherit principles of being
Informational: covered a wide range of topics, providing valuable information to Local Guides on various aspects of the program, including supporting local-business
, accessibility, sustainability, road-editing, effective Meet-ups hosting, community building, and leveraging YouTube.
Insightful: by sharing best practices and experiences, these episodes offered deep insights to help Local Guides improve their contributions and make a greater impact within the community.
Collaborative: the GG Meet-up episodes promoted a collaborative environment, encouraging Local Guides to connect, learn from each other, share ideas, and contribute to the growth and improvement of Google Maps and Connect.
By fostering this collaborative approach and offering valuable information and insights, the GG Meet-up series has empowered Local Guides and contributed significantly to the overall strength and engagement of the community. The success of these episodes exemplifies how focusing on shared goals and valuing individual contributions can lead to a thriving and impactful community.
Many Local Guides[1] have emerged through these meet-ups and now shining on their own in the community which is a testament of the community building. The collaborative nature of the meet-ups has been a key factor in their success.
I can’t believe that it just started on January 09, 2025 with an idea of initiating Ghumakkad Gossip (Talk with Wanderer) with a kick off meet-up on January 17, 2025 Ghumakkad Gossip: Supporting Small Businesses where we had the privilege of having Connect Moderator @TusharSuradkar as a Guest Speaker and delivered the tenth episode of this GG Meet-up V1 series on July 05, 2025 Ghumakkad Gossip: Supporting Local Businesses ‘Dil Se Local’ where we had the privilege of having the seasoned Local Guide and the big promoter of Dil Se Local concept, @AjitThite as a Guest Speaker.
Once again, I take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to each one of you who directly or indirectly were part of this journey and stood up with me to make this happen. That’s what I always say as the Power of this community.
THANK YOU!
Topics Covered in GG Meet-up V1 Series
- Supporting Small Businesses: The meet-ups focused on highlighting the importance of supporting small businesses. Discussions included ideas on how Local Guides can help small businesses gain recognition on Google Maps and explored various ways to support them. Our Guest Speakers, Connect Moderator Tushar Suradkar and the seasoned Local Guide Ajit Thite shared their experiences and best practices on the topic.
Ghumakkad Gossip: Supporting Small Businesses
Ghumakkad Gossip: Supporting Local Businesses ‘Dil Se Local’
- Road Mapping: This episode provided a platform for Local Guides, particularly those interested in road mapping and map editing, to connect, share knowledge, and improve the accuracy of Google Maps data while mapping roads. Our Guest Speaker, the Road-Mapping-Champion @PrasadVR shared his experience and best practices on the topic.
- Effectively Conduct Meet-ups: These episodes provided guidance and tips on how to plan, organize, promote, and conduct successful and engaging Local Guides meet-ups. Through these meet-ups the concept and importance of Co-host was discussed. Our Guest Speaker, the seasoned Local Guide @TravellerG shared his experience and best practices on the topic.
Ghumakkad Gossip: Importance of Co-Host in the Meet-up - Part 1
Ghumakkad Gossip: Importance of Co-Host in the Meet-up - Part 2
- Local Guides Community & Connect: This episode showcased the power of the Local Guides community and fostered connections amongst Local Guides. They encouraged sharing knowledge, experiences, and inspiring each other to contribute to Google Maps. Our Guest Speaker, Connect Moderator @NareshDarji shared his experience and best practices on the topic.
- Accessibility: The meet-ups aimed to make Google Maps and the Local Guides program more inclusive. We discussed about exploring accessibility features within Google Maps, and how Local Guides can contribute to improving accessibility information for places. Our Guest Speakers, Connect Moderator @KashifMisidia and Tushar Suradkar shared their experiences and best practices on the topic.
Ghumakkad Gossip: Accessibility Awareness
Ghumakkad Gossip: Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)
- Local Guides & YouTube: Some meet-ups likely involved sharing experiences and tips on creating engaging content for YouTube related to Local Guides contributions and exploring ways to use YouTube for promoting meet-ups or showcasing local places. Our Guest Speaker, Connect Moderator @AdrianLunsong shared his experience and best practices on the topic.
- Sustainability: This episode encouraged Local Guides to engage in sustainable practices and use their contributions to highlight environmentally friendly places or practices. Our Guest Speakers, the Road-Mapping-Champion Prasad VR and the great propagator of sustainability @KetanChhaniyara shared their experiences and best practices on the topic.
Sustainability For A Green Future 
Your Love and Blessings - some stats 
In total 113 individual participants have witnessed one or many episodes of Ghumakkad Gossip Meet-up series. The maximum attendance in any of these 10 episodes was 38 during Ghumakkad Gossip: Local Guides Community and Connect Overview.
I am delighted to share the top 10 participants[2] list during GG Meet-up V1 series of 10 episodes.
Thank you @Ssiddharth2000 and @MathanVibranarayan for being so supportive and participative in 7 out of 10 episodes.
Thank you @ShreyaMusings, @SarathUpendran and Tushar Suradkar for your excellent support and participation in 8 out of 10 episodes.
Thank you Ajit Thite, @K.K.Sharma, Prasad VR, @Shrut19 and TravellerG for your unconditional support for being there 
%.
GG Meet-up V2 Series
New set of 10 episodes under GG Meet-up series will be starting soon with a different outlook and with different set of topics. Stay alert for the update.
Looking forward to your continued support and blessings for the future GG Meet-up episodes!
Sharing is Learning.
Keep building a well-informed community stronger 
together.
Stay Happy, Stay Healthy!
JAI HO!!!
gratitude-post
Meet-ups
map-editing
, excited to see it
Keep us inspired sir
)
और कोटि कोटि धन्यवाद। आपका सहयोग इस GG Meet-up V1 series में काफी सराहनीय रहा है। इसके लिए मैं आपका आभार प्रकट करता हूँ।