i have Been google local guide for over 3 years. But when My friends Ask me why do U do that… I have No Idea! 
Can anyone tell me the benifits of being google local guin in 2024 ?
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I don’t know about you, but I have several reasons why I contribute to Google Maps:
- Photography - I enjoy taking photos and I feel that, like most other things, the more you do it, the more skilled you become. This by no means implies that every photo becomes better than previous ones, but just that you become more adept at seeing photographic possibilities.
- Exercise - My photo capturing ventures are often an excuse to venture out and explore new places and do a lot of healthy walking!
- Connecting with my surroundings- contributing to Google Maps is a great way for me to notice things I would probably ignore otherwise. I think this helps me become more aware of the diverse and interesting points of interest in my own community as well as new areas I visit.
- Competition - I enjoy tracking all of my various contribution data and competing with myself to achieve more reviews, higher counts, more videos, etc. than before. It’s really nothing tangible, but I still find it fun! (Submitting monthly data to the leaderboards compiled by @AdamGT is especially fun when you’re chasing data goals)
- Being an explorer- Sure, I’m not Magellan or Columbus, but it’s satisfying to know, that even in the 21st century, I can still be the first one to add a place to the map, chart a previously uncharted road, or post the first photo, video or review of a place.
There are likely other reasons I contribute, but these are the main ones that come to mind.
Thanks
Matt
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For me the benefit is basically knowing that we help each other making sure the information in Google Maps is up to date and correct. I use Google Maps on daily basis and there was one time I drove 30 minutes to a restaurant that’s supposed to be open after checking the info on Google Maps, only to find out the location is closed due to incorrect info. That’s the one hour (driving back and forth) I’ll never get back. So I ended up submitting the edit to their opening hours so others won’t experience the same thing.
Other than that, I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting Local Guides around the world during my travel, and I’ve met them through this community. It feels like wherever I go, there’s always a friend.
Once in a while we may get offered rewards, but that shouldn’t be considered as ‘benefit’ but more of an ‘extra’, like cherry on top. Don’t think too much about it because this is not due to levels or amount of participation, but more of marketing gimmick. The main benefit should always be the joy of helping each other.
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Thank you for your most honesty reply, But None the above is a benefits !
Thank you for the reply, that Is very Interesting, I like to travel as well but never have I ever meet no otherer Local guide. maybe 1 day I’ll be able to attend 1 of This events as well.
“Local Guides around the world”
Hi @New_Vision ,
You said it. I think nothing special about becoming a guide in 2024. It’s an ongoing process. In life, we don’t do everything for our benefit or it will be rather extra to say that we work for the benefit of others. But definitely, there are a few things that start happening automatically when you become a Google guide. every benefit can’t be measured in monetary or material output but most importantly it’s a good or happy feeling about what you have done. right?
Whenever you are roaming around or traveling to some places, in some or other way always Google is of great help. It can be the Google Maps, Places Reviews, Photographs, and much more. Here you understand what useful work someone has done for you. right? That’s the BENEFIT for you.
In the same ways when you visit some place and find something different from what you got from the Google Maps or you may find that something missing in the formation, should be updated or added to the existing information then that’s the BENEFIT for others by you.
So your thought process improves here. The way of looking to the places and various happenings there are looked more critically. I always try to capture more details from the point that how it can help to the people visiting here in future. The changes happening and the photographs with more information and different angle are captured. It’s a good change in the overall thought process when you visit to places. It’s a BENEFIT. No?
When you find that your reviews helped someone…the feeling is great. When you find your photographs are viewed for number of times, Its great feeling that your efforts resulted in BENEFIT to someone…
I am happy that at level 9 you had this question for the Google Guides. Nothing goes waste. Its just a transformation of information from one form to other. It reaches to the people across the globe and assists them, helps them and BENEFITs them in various ways…
I think this may be the explanation you are looking for…
Welcome…
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What make me happy is make others happy. We help each others with this guide.
I just love google map
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There used to be rewards for Local Guides above certain levels back in the day. Has that been stopped now?
It’s a nice thought, and appreciated. I have had similar experiences walking to a destination (a long walk in summer with a backpack) in anticipation just to find that the business was sold and no longer there (Three YEARS AGO).
However I was hoping for some discounts, promo codes, and what not like a YouTube music premium free trial, or at least a 50% discount for a month. Maybe play credits? A free in-game purchase?
Bing rewards does a better job at giving some sort of reward ( Even though it’s to get people to use their search engine , news , etc and to stay afloat with the others). However, the search engine barely ever comes back with the results I am hoping for (In which case I use Google, if nothing still then Yandex, or I seek out a search engine for a specific thing. Also, it’s easy to rack up the max points 
I earned $75 gift card (Took quite a while, but didn’t require much effort or time).
Great topic. I was rummaging over this myself. I also do the local guide thing mostly for photography. I love taking pictures while traveling, helping other people, and challenging myself. However, many times I find myself spending too much time posting the photos to the map. Maps seems to ne accurate (or at least more accurate) when you are posting the pictures close to where they were taken, but as you move away, the location is not detected correctly. That means for me that I have to find this by hand in the map, and upload the pictures directly to the place (tnis is v.s. the general “add picture” interface. This takes a lof time to do. I travel a lot, and move many miles (sometimes hundreds) per day. There is also tbe storage considerations. I do take a lot of pictures with my phone, even more when I am uploading them to maps. My phone’s memore fills, so I have to dump to external storage. It would be nice if google provides some extra storage. I remember a few years ago google sent a reward for 1 year of google 1 free. that is the 100gb plan. I didn’t do it at the time as I thought after a year I would have all this files up there and the offer would expire… In amy case, I will probably stop uploading to google maps. It is too much work, and there are no tangible benefits to it. I can still take my picures, send them yto my friends, and have more time to enjoy tbe places I am at, rather than spending one hour every day trying to figure out where a picture was taken from 100 miles away.