Work for better google maps and not for perks.

[Manish_KV]

Hello all,

I am a level 6 active contributor on google maps. I was going through a few posts in the forum today and found many posts regarding "Google Perks" and requesting ID cards by google.

My beloved fellow contributors,

My answer to the people who are requesting "Google Perks"

Local Guide is a voluntary program in which you can contribute to google maps voluntarily which in turn helps in improving google maps. Just don't work for the sake of perks. The right things will come to you at the right time. Till then all you can do is to contribute to google maps. 

My answer to the people who are requesting "Google ID Cards"

You don't actually need an ID card. I do agree that sometimes people will ask why we are clicking pictures. Make them understand that you are a "Local Guide" and show them what you have been doing.  Remember: ALWAYS TAKE PERMISSION FROM THE CONCERNED AUTHORITY BEFORE CLICKING PICTURES. 

[MojoJojo]

Couldn’t agree more, we don’t need ID card. Places have rules and we just need to follow them.

[aka_Rὁn]

@Manish_KV

I agree with you totally and it saddens me to see that the only area  of Ideas Exchange which seem to attract much interest is the Perks section where the highest voting on the Local Connect Forum is for free goody bags, the runner-up is for other kinds of tokens or merch as perks.

It seems that only a minority of Local Guides are motivated by a volunteer ethos based on these stats.

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[Manish_KV]

@MojoJojo

I agree that each place has the rules. I would suggest the local guides to speak with the concerned authority of the place before clicking the pictures and videos. Just show the contributions on your google maps and explain to them in detail regarding the advantages. Spare a few minutes. They will definitely say yes and won't ask you further questions if you take a prior permission. 

[Manish_KV]

@aka_Rὁn 

I agree with what you say, my friend.  Maps is the place where we are taking a voluntary responsibility of improving our locality.  If the "Local Guides" are contributing only for perks, then they are in a wrong place. 

[aka_Rὁn]

@Manish_KV

Having said that I am also aware - as a full-time community volunteer of long-standing, that not everyone can afford to be as generous with their time, their resources, their talents and their work as others and that being a volunteer is actually a privilege.

One of my research projects has centered on the "Invisible Infrastructure" - the massive amount of unpaid work (often highly skilled) that continues to make significant contributions to our national economies and to our local communities.

The Open Source movement is just one example of that and the Local Guides community of unpaid and highly committed volunteers is another.

Most of my local involvements are with established disability charities and with the community of unpaid carers.

Unpaid carers save the UK £132 billion a year which is roughly the cost of a second NHS (National Health System) and a fact which is not only being kept from the headlines but from Parliament.

Local Guides should be prepared to accept the volunteer ethos to help our world become a better place without demanding some kind of perks.

The only "perks" I would be interested in are of the non-monetary kind - such as the ability to communicate directly with some of the employees who do the manual fact-checking when new locations are added to Google Maps and that "perk" would benefit Google Maps as much as it did the Local Guides and could clear up a lot of misunderstandings in the process.

What are your own thoughts on this ?

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[TraciC]

Hi @Manish_KV, As your post was not an idea and instead a discussion, I moved it over to the appropriate area here on Connect. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for others for sharing, too.