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Connect Moderator

How to recognize Google Local Guides

Local Guides en masse adding picturesLocal Guides en masse adding pictures

Believe it or not, but if you carefully look for some subtle details in behavior and posture, it is possible to spot local guides among the crowd in a shopping street or in a restaurant. Let me list a few of those for your convenience.

 

If they're in group, usually during a so-called Meetup, they're easy to find as they will often flock together around anything that deserves to be photographed - as you can see in the picture above taken in Krakow (Poland) during the European Meetup in September 2018 (where I had the honor to meet @TorM, @ermest@AntonellaGr@helga19@davide7O, @NatalkaR, @LudwigGermany and @ikaramon). But if they are on their own 'in the wild', you really have to know what exactly you need to pay attention to.

 

In the shopping street, look for:

  • the person checking the sign with the opening hours, while it is pretty obvious that the shop (s)he is standing in front of is open - this is a local guide checking opening hours
  • the person standing in front of the building where a shop used to be, but is not anymore as there is a for rent or for sale sign clearly on display - that is a local guide checking if the business that used to be there is already marked as closed
  • the couple where the wife (just there to shop) often has to wait for the husband to make any progress in the shopping street, instead of the other way around, which is much more common - there's always one more business to check or picture to add

Local Guides in action during the European Meetup in KrakowLocal Guides in action during the European Meetup in Krakow

In the restaurant, look for:

  • the person whose first question when seated is not: "Can we have a menu, please" or "Where is the toilet?" but "What is the wifi password?"
  • the person who asks to get the menu again after the dishes have been served - to correctly enter the name of the dish when uploading the picture
  • the person who will consequently often eat semi-cold dishes, as during the uploading (s)he noticed that there was a notification about a question in the Q&A section or some new comments to a post on Local Guides Connect

 

When think you have then finally identified a local guide, there is an easy extra test to be 100% sure: just say the words 'Level 10' and you will see a special twinkle appear in the eyes - in most cases from the aspiration and hope to reach that status, in some cases from pride of being there (yes, admittedly: this is speaking from my personal experience as I used to be among the former for a long time, but have now joined the ranks of the latter).

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12 comments
Level 9

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

Hello dear @JanVanHaver

Thsnk you very much for mention me in your post!

You are quite right ,when we come to another country we visit different interesting places,and the first that we need -Wi-Fi,in order to download photos,reviews on the Google map,in the restaurant we eat half cold dishes,because we take photos them, we answer the questions about this cafe or restaurant

It is true.)

I congratulate you with level 10!!!

Best wishes and good success.

I glad that meet you in Krakow and other locsl guides--

@TorM, @davide7O

@ErmesT, @AntonellaGr, @NatalkaR

@

 

 

Level 9

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

Wao @JanVanHaver,

This is a very nice post. Thank you for sharing insights for recognizing a local guide.

Google Maps and Chrome Product Expert.

Always use @ before name to tag anyone on the Connect.
Level 10

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

Ahahahah @JanVanHaver yes, this is really true!

I'd add:

- he didn't use the smartphone directly by hand, but he holds a gimbal

- he always bring a backpack (filled with drones, 360 camera and so on)

- even if is really cold, he wears a LG tshirt underwear ๐Ÿ™‚

Connect Moderator

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

Quite right, @LucioV. And perhaps, in a few million years, when paleontologists dig one of those up, they will decide that it is in fact a sub-species that they might call Guidus Localis Threesixtius ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Level 8

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

@JanVanHaver you made me laugh soooo much!!!!!! ๐Ÿ˜‰ ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚ 

I can add LG couples. You can spot them arguing " I saw it first, I had to post it first!!!" 

Congrats on your L10

Ciao

Antonella 

Google Moderator

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

You made me laugh with this really interesting and great post, @JanVanHaver. Thanks for sharing. 

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Connect Moderator

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

I am laughing in tears, @JanVanHaver

Well done, congratulations. This post is responding to a lot of people that is frequently asking how to find other LGs.

I am adding a couple of tips:

  • one of the magic words is: 360!!
  • If you see someone, trying to hide himself under a table with a smartphone in the hand, try to locate the camera: he is probably a LG shooting a 360, trying to hide himself from the view
Level 10

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

Hahaha, nice description dear @JanVanHaver ๐Ÿ˜

I know all of us experienced such situation. Waiting of other members of the family for us to complete our LG tasks in the street is really necessary ๐Ÿ˜…

Also if you see that someone is capturing a store that is nothing special like a tourist attraction or even restaurant, person might be a LG just to upload it on Maps

But the final test you mentioned works fine. I've nearly used it before by telling the word "Local Guide".

Yep, we're all LGs, of course Good Ones ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป

Amir | Join us on IranLocalGuides
Connect Moderator

Re: How to recognize Google Local Guides

@AntonellaGr @Ivi_Ge @ErmesT @Amiran Glad to hear that I have caused so much laughter, that was exactly what was intended (and writing the post was also a lot of fun)!

 

@AntonellaGr your remark about couples contains a lot of truth: earlier this year I happened to meet a LG couple during a meetup in an Eastern European country, and there was a fair amount of arguing - but then again that might also have been due to the fact that they were Italian, which is obviously an aggravating circumstance ๐Ÿ˜‰  

Check out LetsGuide Podcast | #LGCTM | Please always @Mention me so I see your reply