Besides exploration of cities, writing a genuine review and adding real photos to Google Maps are the most interesting thing I’ve done as a Local Guide. It is a simple task, but the impact you made is big. By writing a sincere and genuine review, you can help place owners understand their places better. At the same time, you also help others get more information about this place instead of knowing from the articles from bloggers, or the posts from Instagrammers, which might be sponsored and thus biased. By adding real photos of a place, you can present true scenes to all the others, so people won’t have wrong expectation causing from those photoshoped photos in social media. Here are some personal experiences I would like to share.
Communicating with the place owner
I still remembered my feeling the first time I received the notification email that the owner replied to my review. I was really shocked, since I didn’t realize that what I did would actually be viewed by owners. What I wrote are the things I don’t like so much; however, the owner replied politely that they already sent my opinion to the manager, and they would keep improving their ingredients and service. Also, they really appreciated my feedback.
Afterwards, I decided to write more reviews in a genuine and polite way to have a good conversation with the places. Writing reviews is not just for leveling up and sharing information. More important is communicating with the place so that we can contribute to make the place better.
Letting people view the authentic place
With the rising of social media, people always want to show the best photos of themselves. As a result, they edited and photoshoped the photos to make them nicer. However, these awesome photos can be misleading, because the place is not always so beautiful. Consequently, you may have high expectation of the scene and end up in disappointment when visiting it in person. That’s why I always add realistic photos to Google Maps or even short film. Take my school, University of Washington, as an example. UW is famous for its cherry blossom at the Quad. Nonetheless, being located in Seattle means the weather is usually gloomy. Here are the two photos I uploaded.
From my perspective, #nofilter is the best way to show the real world. In addition, I tend to upload more photos to present the views from different angles. Every time I get the notification about how many people viewed my photos, I just feel fulfilled that I help people not having wrong expectation of a place.
Just as what I said at the beginning: small action, big impact. Writing reviews on Google Maps is a simple way to share your opinion. Adding no-filter photos is a easy manner to present the real world. By doing both, I can make cities and places more accessible to everyone. These are the things I like to do as a Local Guide. And, that’s why I love being a local guide.