Although I have been an avid user of Google Maps for every new trip taken, it never occurred to me what it means to be a Local Guide. I was not even aware of such a program or community, until last year August.
From my childhood, I always loved listening to stories and if you skim through my childhood photos, you would see , I already knew how to favor the camera. Cut to today, I love telling stories, because I still love listening to them, and photography. It has become the love of my life (after stories and music) and forever will be.
All thanks to Instagram and Google Maps; they surely have helped in honing my photography skills and in taking storytelling to a whole new level.
And if you are thinking it stops there, then think again. What being a Local Guide has to do with this and what does the program mean to me? Well I thought, I would have do the usual stuff a normal tour guide would do on a usual trip; describe the origin story that led to what it is today, and possibly, what could become of it, in the future.
And here’s where the beauty of Google Maps, and hence being a Local Guide (one of the best decisions I made) comes in. With every photo of a new place I have clicked and posted, I get to see people take their time out ,view it, and ask questions sometimes. The happiness and satisfaction I get, from seeing people engaging themselves, wanting to know more about the location from the pictures I have clicked , being able to guide them well and hence increase their love for travelling, cannot be put into words.
In this short journey of being a Local Guide, I have often noticed, that we as people, before going to a new place always read reviews of that place. Not that it is a problem, but those who already been there, either write nothing or are lost in translation, often rendering users either confused or in shock to find out what is written is stark staring different from the reality. As a Local Guide, I would like to change that by writing my honest opinions, thus ensuring my reviews are reliable and instrumental in saving time for a lot of people, especially those who are taking a trip , on an otherwise, very busy day.
I am a proud Indian expat Local Guide from the UAE, and look forward to being a part of this wonderful meetup which breaks barriers and brings the world together. Thanking the team at Google Maps and hence the Local Guides Community, from the bottom of my heart , for this Opportunity to attend my first ever Local Guides Connect Live.
