It’s a known fact images have the greatest impact on people’s minds when they look for information and want to pre-visualize places they would want to visit. A good text review they will read, will make them aware what to expect and understand other’s experiences. Nevertheless, a photo that accompanies a text will provide them with the right image for that specific location, as they would probably imagine something different just by reading a text. This is why I consider adding relevant and correct photos to the map has a strong and important impact on others.
The photos I added up to this point in time have 3,907,505 views, so quite an important number of Google Maps users could visualize the places they were looking for and know what to expect when visiting the place. It gives me a real satisfaction knowing I can help in this way and people from all over the world can access a visualizable Google Maps.
The impact and the satisfaction is even bigger when I see that my most visualized (358,393 views) photo is of a place that is little-known or visited and the information, especially the optical ones, are quite poor. Specifically, the Ilhéu das Rolas, a small islet south of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a paradisiac island, mostly uncharted so adding these photos I am sure made a great impact on travellers.
My most viewed photo - paradisiacal beach on Ilhéu das Rolas
All in all, every single photo I add I believe is helpful, no matter the number of views in the end. Either I add a picture from a very famous place or one in a very remote area, Google Map users that search the locations will find a relevant image of that search.
In the end, the satisfaction is at the highest when business owners are thanking me for the reviews and photos or when users find helpful what you post on Google Maps. I am proud to be part of the Local Guides family, also through my most enjoyable and interesting activity – uploading photos on Google Maps.