Chances are that when you’re deciding where to eat, and you come across a restaurant that has no photos on Google Maps, no reviews, absolutely no presence, you probably won’t eat there. I can tell you It has happened to me. So when I get to be the first to upload photos and comment on a place (maybe because it has just opened or maybe, because it’s a really small family owned restaurant that has no big marketing budget), I find it rewarding.
What I like the most about being a local guide is discovering new places, and helping others discover new places. But to me, it also means a new medium for getting my foodie reviews out there and helping the world to eat delicious. You see, I consider myself a foodie and Google Maps has opened a whole new world for me to get my content out there.
Every month I get that email with some cool stats telling me how many people saw my photos and how many people read my reviews, because every time I visit a restaurant that I liked, I will upload a mini review with some photos of what I ate and help people decide on what to eat and where to go and eat.
And the most valuable aspect of local guides for me, is finding those hidden gems. When I’m traveling, I love to eat where the locals eat, not just the tourist places. So I try to give back to the community and put myself in the shoes of a visitor to my country, and guide them to those great restaurants, that are not in the tourist areas but are totally worth visiting. Like ‘Oye Pez’, the place in the picture below, which has probable some of the best ceviche in Bogotá, but it is not in a neighborhood where you will find tourists. Believe me, ¡this place is a must!
I hope to one day, be able to say I’ve helped many people on deciding where to eat, and even become the go to guy in Local Guides when it comes to eating out here in Bogotá, Colombia. And even though I’m relatively new to local guides, I love participating, giving back, and every day that goes by, try to learn more about local guides and get better at it, after all, getting more views on my photos than others kind of makes it a competition, and I like to win.
