To the best of my knowledge, I’m not even sure how or why I got into the local guide business, but I do remember a certain moment when it crystallised. here’s a primer though; I’ve always been a peacock, ever since I can remember. I’ve never been good at being a wallflower. that’s just not my nature. so when google kept pestering me a while back, about posting your photos because I made the mistake of letting my first Samsung handset upload my photos unto my google photos because my Microsoft OneDrive was filling up too quickly and google promised unlimited storage, or something thereabouts. that saying ‘beware of Greeks bearing gifts’ has never been more aptly appropriated!
After enough persistence from google, I finally allowed them to post my photos, and probably wrote an asinine review. I did not take any of that seriously until my local Baptist pastor told me he’d seen my review and he liked it. that was my come-to-Jesus, road to Damascus moment, my epiphany. that was it! from there, it was like a lightbulb had gone off! I realised the power of the google local guide.
In the time that has ensued, I have had a lot of very interesting experiences, mostly positive, but the most vivid, and the one that has informed everything I do since was a negative episode I had at halls head central shopping centre. so, I go to the local Aldi’s, shop for groceries and on my way out start taking photos of the shops, as you do. about 100 metres to my car and just out of the shops, this woman accosts me and demands that I delete all the photos I took of her daughter. I asked her what she was on about. she told me I’d probably been hired by her daughter’s abusive ex or somebody of that nature to snap photos of her. of course, nothing ever prepares you for these things but something exactly like that, so I told her she must be off her rocker! she started shouting and managed to draw a small crowd. in the end, I kowtowed and explained to her, to my eternal embarrassment, what I was doing and deleted all her photos. she still did not believe me. nothing I could do there!
Since then, whenever I’m asked, and it’s not been many, I tell whoever it is I’m happy to delete their photos straightaway.
Truth be told, I do this local guide thing for myself. it’s sort of a therapeutic release for me because as a PhD candidate and a full-time worker, god knows I need an outlet. from writing about businesses - including one that threatened to take me to court if I didn’t remove a post, and I didn’t remove it because it was all factually true - to taking photos, the peacock in me enjoys that!
Hi @KofiOfori
Welcome to Local Guides Connect the official Google Local Guides community.
As you are new, here is one of my favorite post full of tips for using connect : https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/Help-Desk/14-helpful-tips-for-using-Connect/ba-p/1238710
I hope it helps!
Good luck for your application!
Julien
PS: if you want to speak to anyone on connect, don’t forget to mention the person with @+ username. The person will get notifications as you just have received.
thanks so much @Julien44 . as u rightly pointed out, i’m super new here and glad for teaching me the ropes. i hope they get me to san fran and will follow your pointers. i presume you also applied so all the best to you as well julien. hopefully if we both make it, we have a drink in san fran. whisky perhaps, none of that french wine shit. lol
We will see how it goes.
Please have a look at the core values of connect, it might help you too :