Firstly, I would like to say that I started writing reviews in Google maps as a way of keeping track of the places that I had visited, specially the good ones that I had just discovered, it was a “just for fun” kind of thing. Then I was introduced to the Local Guides program and invited by Google maps, I automatically agreed because I thought it was a cool project and I could continue doing what I started. I shortly realized that becoming a Local Guide meant more than what I thought, it gave me a higher authority while I was posting reviews, it was getting more views in my pictures. It literally meant to give more importance to my voice and while it was in a certain way anonymous to all the people reading my reviews it definitely meant for me helping strangers to choose where to go, whether it would convince them to go to a restaurant or to avoid a place, maybe the juicy steak I posted made them want to have one exactly like the one I did, or ask for a specific waiter because his service was excellent. It meant became part of a community that shares and gives the resources for free, for everyone. That’s what being a Local Guide means to me.