Re: What I have learned by posting 10600+ photos, earning 8300+ points and getting 130+ million view
We can't control the world, @Pea. Bad people are going to do bad things regardless of what I say. If we discover bad actors in the Local Guides program, we can kick them out.
Re: What I have learned by posting 10600+ photos, earning 8300+ points and getting 130+ million view
Hi CorrieD,
Yes it would be a concern if any Google Guides are expecting or getting freebies of any kind in exchange for a 5 star review.I would walk out if that were put to me.I rarely give any business the impression upfront that I am going to post a review of my visit / experience.I have seen the odd post from Google Guides on this forum that they should be paid for their reviews and photos but that is not what things are all about.I have had replies to Google reviews and other review sites from store owners where I have given a low review score and they have asked....even begged for my wife and I to return so they can do make up for our prior poor experience.We have never returned because my belief is that if they are willing to give us a free meal or whatever then they are expecting me to upgrade or remove my previous low score review.I have even been threatened by people affiliated with an owner of a store or shop which I have given a one or 2 star review for appalling service.This has not happened to me on Google maps but on Yelp where anybody can log in and have a go at someone who has left a low points review.....it isn't just the owners or managers who can respond to Yelp reviews...... ...anybody can so I post very few reviews on that site these days.On Google maps owners and managers can respond to my reviews and have many many times whether they were good or bad but thank God no one else can because it would be annoying.Because my wife and I regularly frequent most of the places I post reviews of on Google maps we expect to be acknowledged as regular customers and receive good service every time.We have a few places that are our favorites and even if we happen to have a below our usual good experience visit...maybe because of a new worker's inexperience or they were crazy busy then I am not going to drop them down from my usual 5 point score.Most places try to do their best so we have to have a slightly forgiving nature.Google maps reviews are very big in the major cities of Australia...my home country......I posted my first photos on Google + years ago and even wrote a few Google reviews before I knew about Google maps...back in the day when we were all using a Garmin Nuvi to get around...before there were smart phones.So these days armed with our iPhones or whatever we can take photos and write reviews in a minute or two for the world to see and we need to do that with an honest heart.
Re: What I have learned by posting 10600+ photos, earning 8300+ points and getting 130+ million view
Hi LucioV,
Since I started posting heaps of photos and reviews a few months back I have had many competitive encounters with other local guides....an lg war as you call it.I usually win because of my methodology....most local guides post one or maybe 2 or 3 photos per business but I use what I call the blitzkrieg method.If it is an appropriate business then I take anywhere from 10 to 50 photos inside and outside.One of those is usually good enough to knock off the headline Google maps photo and if it's not I go back and take more until I get the result I want.At the end of the day it is up to Google which photo becomes the main one but if you are smart and take note of what criteria they are looking for then you should come out on top.I am currently on 3094 points,I have written 1,331 reviews,posted 8,141 photos with 28,029,951 views since I joined the local guides in May last year.The key is to get lots of good headline photos with lots of potential back up photos in case you lose it.Practice makes perfect!
Re: What I have learned by posting 10600+ photos, earning 8300+ points and getting 130+ million view
@MariePham I sometimes use my Phone (Pixel XL) when taking pictures in places I do not want to be noticed or when I do not have another camera with me. When shooting with a cell phone I have found it is much more important to hold it still (or support it on something) if the light is low. In low light situations I usually take a burst of images and pick the on one with no motion blur.
My main reason not to use a cell phone is more related to workflow and getting many high quality pictures taken and uploaded in a reasonable time and be able tie the images to more than one listing in Maps (if there are other business listings inside a storefront like a redbox or starbucks inside a supermarket). This is much easier to do in a web browser than sharing through maps on my phone.
Re: What I have learned by posting 10600+ photos, earning 8300+ points and getting 130+ million view
@LucioV@Zeds I would not say I have been in a LG War, but I certainly have aimed in on specific (high value) places and upped my gave to take the best picture(s) possible. I prefer to post only 1-3 images per place, but I spend more time "adjusting" the pictures for the places where there are "good" competition. I typically lighten shadows and apply a little more contrast, but also color correct and blur/retouch out faces as those almost always removes your chance of having a picture picked for the top spot. Googles AI software is too good to be fooled by blitzing a location with lots of low quality photos. If someone needs to take 30 similar pictures and post them all to have a chance to get the top spot they should work on their general photo skills in my opinion.
Re: What I have learned by posting 10600+ photos, earning 8300+ points and getting 130+ million view
Hi SveinR,
We are not all great photographers like you and also many of us do not have your editing/fine tuning skills.However I do take pretty good photos but I am looking for a different perspective than you........I try to get the shot no else has thought of.Quite often when I am looking to take photos of a big place like a Target,Costco,Best Buy or Walmart there are already some pretty decent photos at the top of the reviews so I take maybe 10 good shots from very different perspectives so I can have a very good chance to achieve the main photo.On a few occasions such as the Liberty Public Market in Point Loma when there are multiple small businesses all under one roof then I may take 50 - 60 photos.These are difficult places to photograph because there are 1000's of people milling in and out.I'm not in it to have the best photo but the most interesting...and of course I want to beat everyone else.I leave the fancy photography to my wife with her Nikon D610 camera.
2022
