Hi, Local guides!
My name is Tushar and I am a level 7 local guide living in Delhi, India.
The past 5 years saw me relocating to 3 cities as part of my job and each one was a new experience in terms of the climate, food, culture and the people I met. The most challenging part was to start all over again in each place hunting for a new residence, new schools, hobby classes, gyms, supermarkets, saloons and so on…
Being new to a place, I did not have the luxury to spend time, moving around in a car stopping along the way asking for directions and discover places of interest. Google maps and reviews by local guides helped me immensely with this. When Google Maps prompted to rat and leave a review, I realized I could make every place I visited a bit better than I found it. I started by contributing my reviews about places, making edits, adding new ones and unknowingly got involved in this wonderful experience.
Several small business owners I interacted with had newly bought Android phones but the usage was limited to making phone calls, clicking pictures and sharing on family and social chat groups. As a local guide, I helped them create Gmail accounts, introduced them to Google Hangouts, then encouraging to both create and participate in local business interest groups using the Hangouts app. I also educated them about using Google Sheets to maintain lists of inventory and simple accounts. As a local guide, I act as a catalyst for local business owners to help them publish their business online and to help make customers easy to find them. I learned a lot in the process, the local business benefitted as well so it was a win-win situation.
As a local guide, it was never about discovering a hidden beach or waterfall, nor was it about being the first to tell everyone in the neighborhood about that chic corner shop that recently added a chocolate fountain. This is what the Local Guides program means to me - helping fellow citizens to find places that help them save time, money and energy when they can least afford to splurge it.
Ultimately, I’d love to be selected for Connect Live 2020, meet others like me from around the world and get tips and maybe even give you guys some feedback. So I hope to see you guys in California at Connect Live 2020. Thank you so much.
