New Perk: Free access to the New York Times

[Al-Eb]

Hello, Thank you for reminding me of the first perk, which is a 3-month free access to digital New York Times. As a news junkie, I cannot have enough from reliable news outlets. However, for decades I managed to get news from various sources for free. Therefore, I do not need any special offer to access the news I need to know. Digital versions of well-established and world-renowned newspapers are struggling just as much as the paper versions that are currently closing in masses. I thought that your perk system is based on offering the contributor a list of items from which he/she can choose and not only one thing that you impose on them. If your perk system only works this way I will stop contributing to Local Guides or any other Google activities since it is a complete waste of time and effort. I am looking forward to hearing from you with positive response. Thank you for your time. Al

[Al-Eb]

Hello,

This is a follow-up notice for the moderator of the new perk related to 3-month free access to digital New York Times. I did not receive any response to my posting from December 07. Even though I opted out of Local Guides program I am still getting invitations to contribute. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time.

Al

[JeslynL]

Hello @Al-Eb, I see that you have just re opted-in to the program, which gives you access to post here on Connect as well. Regarding the notifications you received even after exiting the Local Guides program, I believe they are Google Maps notifications (not Local Guides prompts) which you have enabled. If you no longer wish to see them, you can turn them off in your settings. 

While many Local Guides enjoyed the free 3 months subscription, I'm sorry to learn that you didn't find the perk appropriate. The Local Guides program is constantly evolving, and so are our offers. As you may already know, many perks we shared so far are partner offers — some city-specific and/or available for limited time periods only. And therefore we never had a list of perks for Local Guides to choose from. This is a suggestion I will pass along to the team, thank you. 

[Al-Eb]

Hello JeslynL, Google Moderator,

Thank you for your kind message. I did not expect from Google to be inflexible in terms of the perks. To impose a certain partner's offer that is irrelevant to the need of the contributors is counterproductive and will lead to opting out of any future contributions in Local Guides. I already stopped my contributions until positive changes happen to the offers. Furthermore, I appreciate that you will pass my suggestion to your team leader. Happy New Year 2018 to everyone.

Al