I was completely unaware of the Local Guides program until last year.
I used to always post feedback even in the forms that are usually available at any restaurant if you go out eating back in the days. I used to write in all the points of my concern both positives and negatives if any. Never used to refrain away from that.
So when I used to get pop up from my maps about reviewing a place I used to enter my review without a knowledge that how it is helping other people. I used to post pictures when Maps used to automatically detect that I have clicked a picture somewhere and would ask me to upload it. Later on last year during the applications of Connect Live 2019 I got an email saying I was a level 5 and above Local Guide - It took me weeks to understand the local guides program. I didn’t even know what was I supposed to do. When I learned about this great platform unfortunately the window to submit the application had lapsed. I understood that how Google has created this brilliant initiative for us - the people to share our knowledge to others. Each review, each picture impact our lives in so many ways that is unimaginable.
The feeling of content that I get as If I’m actually helping someone give me a great sense of pleasure. Like I would like myself to be helped, I love answering questions that people may have about the place I may have visited. Same way If I am visiting a place I would every time go through the review of that spot and check some photos before reaching there so that I know what to expect.
I am an Indian expat living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, used to live here in my school days with my family but now since the last 3 years have been living and working here only by myself and a couple of friends that I made here maybe through acquaintances or work. There were times when you feel completely lonely in another country without your family and may need to have places or spots to basically find peace and tranquility. I found couple of places using maps itself, yes it may sound weird but I indeed did find them. By using maps in Day to day navigation we come across so many hidden gems that we may have never known of if we didn’t see it on the maps. Local guides help to improve the maps, it was their contribution that pours the maps with all the information. Below are few examples of places I found using Google Maps solely.
Unfortunately in Dubai here we don’t have Local Guide meetups like how I’ve seen among other places as per the posts here. Definitely it should happen and give people more reach to spread the knowledge and experiences. The opportunity to give back to the community itself is a feeling so great that it just makes me very very happy. And as they say, what goes around - comes back around.
By using the local guides platform we are building a chain of helping other by which eventually we ourselves are going to be benefited from. It is like a tree that we are growing of which fruits we can reap.
For me personally, the pictures do help a lot with regards to any listing on the map and not to forget and genuine and unbiased review about the listing.
That is what I get from using the abilities given to me by the local guides program and how it enables me to help other people. The emails I get time to time when my pictures are viewed so many times, or if someone finds my reviews helpful it gives me a feeling of satisfaction that I was able to help someone - And who can not love that feeling, that’s what makes us what we are - Human
