Let me tell you a story about how I became a Google contributor and what it means to me being a contributor nowadays. When I first started to use Google Maps I didn’t even know what contribution to the map means. 
Only had one goal in my mind: to keep track of the places I’ve already been during my travels. I quickly figured out that Maps can be a really useful tool for this. I just have to take at least one picture and upload it to Google Maps, so later I can see all my photo contributions marked with those pretty little red pins. 
So I started to regularly take photos about the places I liked… sometimes about places I didn’t really like. Basically, this -little selfish- idea was the initiator of my Google contributor „career”. 
One day, I was going out for an evening walk in Budapest and I was like: „Hmm, this evening cityscape is really cool! Let’s make a photo, share on Google and see what other contributors shared about the places here. Maybe I can find some hidden gems with the help of the community.” Guess what… I did! Tons of reviews, posts, pictures and lists were available telling me the answers for my questions or showing that additional experience I was curious about. It was a whole new level of sightseeing, all available on my phone, without a tour guide or a tourist map. Wow! 
From this day on, I started to take more and more pictures about places I visited recently. 
Leisure parks, monuments, cafes, restaurants, bars, shopping malls… you name it. It’s a pretty interesting way to discover new cities and places around you inland or even abroad. Knowing that you actually help other people (tourists or locals like you) while sightseeing, makes the whole Google Map thing so special.
Also started to look for new places in my hometown based on the informations shared by fellow contributors! 
Finally, what I especially like about the Local Guides program is this way you can never get bored when traveling alone. There is always a perfect place for a photo or an interesting story to tell.
Lost in the middle of nowhere? Type „things to do in the middle of nowhere” to Google Maps and start to enjoy the rest of your day! 