For some years now I’ve been a foodie. I really enjoy going to new places and eat different things and through food get to know a little bit of the local culture. One day I decided to go to culinary school and learn the techniques and the history behind them. That was my second degree. My first is in Advertisement with my thesis focusing on the semiotics of photographies.
When Instagram came out I could combine the two things I studied for, food and pictures. I had the time of my life posting pictures with cool effects and writing reviews of dishes I cooked. My first post in February 2012 doesn’t let me lie, not a cool picture though. I was having so much fun. I deleted these posts because looking back at them I thought they were so bad, lol.
I was super into analyzing the dishes from places I went but I wasn’t putting my thoughts into words, I was just telling my friends or whoever was with me at the time my impressions on what we were eating, the architecture of the place, how good the service was. This was before Local Guides.
It wasn’t until the movie Chef with Jon Favreau came out in 2014 that I started to think about how heavy a critics review is and how it impacts a professional’s life. I had an IPhone at the time not because I wanted but because my S7 edge broke and my father had one to lend me so I used it. It was so frustrating because I was so used to the Google platform and there was no Google rewards or the Google Maps contribution. After some time I bought my current phone (I wish i had the perfect meme to express how I felt going back to Samsung) and I could continue my journey but this time always remembering the movie Chef which for me is a great movie. I wanted to help the community by writing helpful and honest comments but never trashing the place, always trying to find some good part of if even if it didn’t meet my preferences and expectations.
Whenever I go to places now I try to take as many pictures as possible so that I can create a complete review. When Maps asks me to contribute I see in that notification a chance to help others pick the place to go hang out with friends, celebrate birthdays, or to have the perfect romantic dinner. I think that is what Local Guides means to me.