One of the best things about the Local Guides community is that we love connecting with each other here on Connect and in real life. No matter where we are in the world, what language we speak or what we like to do as a Local Guide, we love meeting each other to share our experiences.
To help you feel connected when it’s not always possible to connect offline, we encourage you to meet up virtually, using tools like Google Meet or YouTube Live.
Not all meet-ups can be hosted virtually, but below are some ways in which you can connect with other Local Guides:
- Host a Meet where you can show and tell other Local Guides about your city, using photos you’ve taken or by taking them on a tour of Google Maps.
- Are you and other Local Guides passionate about a specific contribution or a specific category of places? Why not set up a meet-up to talk about your experiences taking photos or exploring amusement parks, for example?
- If you love cooking, why not host a meet-up where you prepare a meal and answer questions from others participating. This is a fun way to share about local cuisine and yourself!
- Do you have ideas for how you can help others with your Google Maps contributions? Perhaps you can find others who also have tips or consider themselves experts to host a meet-up about that topic.
If the above examples have inspired you to host or attend a virtual meet-up, here are some tips for making sure it goes well:
- If you’re new to Google Meet, be sure to test the tool and your own equipment before your first video call. Get to know the most common features like muting yourself, using chat, and sharing your screen.
- As a host, it’s important to make sure everyone feels welcome and included. Go ahead and start the call with introductions. Set the tone by restating the topic, length of the meet-up, and how others can participate. If you open it up for questions, leave enough time for people to unmute and share their thoughts.
- As everyone will be using different devices and have different Internet speeds, it’s recommended that everyone connects using headphones and keeps themselves muted unless they are speaking.
- If you’re planning to record your meet-up and upload the video on YouTube, include a note in the description of your meet-up. Always respect the privacy of your attendees.
Ready to host a virtual meet-up?
- On Connect, tap the pencil icon and select “New meet-up.” Choose the “Virtual” tag at the top and pick at least one additional tag to describe the topic of your meet-up.
- Choose the correct timezone from the drop-down menu to let Local Guides joining from other countries know when to tune in.
- Keep in mind that you should not include any personal information (like your phone number or email address) publicly in your meet-up posts.
- Add your virtual meeting link in the dedicated field at the bottom of the page (not in the meet-up description!) to ensure the privacy of your event.
- When you create the meet-up link on Google Meet — or another platform — please check the privacy settings. If possible, make sure they are set to keep the guest list hidden, especially if you’re creating a meet-up link in a Calendar and sharing that link outside Connect. However, we strongly recommend sharing information about your meet-up only via the Share/Invite options available on Connect so that guests mark their attendance on Connect under their usernames and not leave their contact details on the 3rd party platform you are using.
We can’t wait to read your recaps!
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