Two years ago I moved to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and ate some really good tacos. They were so good I wanted to share my thoughts but was new to the city and didn’t know who to tell. I used Google Maps to find this spot and as the app was still open on my phone I thought now was as good a time than any to post my musings. Nobody showed me how to post a review or add a photo or what any of this meant. I discovered being a Local Guide on my own. Little did I know my first post would be the start of a journey filled with stars, opportunity and love.
A few months later I was offered a job in Calgary, Alberta where I had just moved from, with a large multi-family home builder. I decided to turn the job down for two reasons, 1) I wanted to fulfill the first year of my contract with my current employer and 2) because the Google review score of the company was 1.7 stars out of 5. As a Director of Marketing and Sales in the Real Estate industry I thought a score this low was not only a warning to prospective buyers but to potential employees. A few months passed and I began to consider the notion that in every weakness lies an opportunity. Maybe I could be the one to guide this company to a score which better represents the quality of their work, beliefs and culture. I reached back and accepted the position with the intent on leading the company to their rightful place. Upon joining the Team I learned quickly that my suspicions were correct, prospective buyers had written off our company in part due to poor reviews. Rallying the entire company, I made it our top priority to seek out honest and authentic testimonials from our purchasers. Within three months our Google Business score jumped from 1.7 to 4.7. Customers started commenting that reading the reviews by our homeowners became an important factor in their purchasing decision.
On April 11th, 2018 (a date in the calendar which oddly enough is 4-11) I met an amazing woman named Kelly Ngo. On our first date she shared with me how she submitted a 1 minute video (https://youtu.be/FUyWXtyHYhc) for a competition to travel to the Google Headquarters in preparation for her company’s implementation of G Suite. As a massive Google fanboy myself (Google Pixel 2, Google Reviews and all things Google) I was so captivated and instantly connected to her by how passionately she spoke. When she finished her story of how amazing the experience was I showed her my Local Guide level, points and badges. To her surprise she didn’t know about Local Guides and was in return equally captivated by what I was showing her. This was the beginning of an incredible relationship and journey told through the shared photos on our Google Photos account, shared lists of places we have been and want to go, and the reviews of the places we have discovered. I am so impressed with her progress as a Local Guide because in the last year she is already advanced to a Level 8. Earlier this year we took our first big journey together to Japan. There was no need for a Lonely Planet or paper maps. With our pocket Wifi, premade shared lists and Google Translate we were ready to navigate the Shinkansen train stations or locate the best ramen in Tokyo.
I am passionate about every aspect of being a Local Guide. I am currently a Master Reviewer, Photographer, Trailerblazer and Fact Finder (only an Expert Director as that feature recently got added). One of the metrics I am most proud of is the that there are 9.5 million views of my photos and a number of them are the primary photo for businesses and places. I love to share experiences, photos, reviews, lists, stories, facts and so much more. My girlfriend Kelly and I would love the opportunity to join you and our fellow Local Guides around the world at Connect Live 2019 to discover where the future will guide us and us the future.
Sincerely,
Ian Macdonald
Local Guide Level 8… almost 9 