Using images to describe our work

[#1]

This is probably just silly but...

I was going through a bunch of tools I have and found this ShapeCloud Generator. Since I wanted to see how it worked - and discovered one of the shapes I could generate was a Google Map Pin - I thought these would be fun to make and share. They are simply free images I made to share with you - to use in your ... Blog posts? Avatars? Comments? Sig?

These are .png images - so the resolution should remain high - as long as you use the original. Also, I chose to display these as "small". They should be fairly large - to give you leeway for sizing.

Have fun!

.  

I get bored and need creative outlets. 🙂

[WynLin]

P.S. If anyone would like one of these in a different language - send me the words in your language (and font, if needed) and I will do my best to create you a version suitable to use.

[ErmesT]

Well, the use of the pin is, according to the Local Guides Program Terms and Conditions , is protecting by copyright, @WynLin and idea exchange is reserved for ideas about improving Maps and the Local Guides program.

As you are quite new in the community, I want to show you "Your guide to Connect" , the introductory Guide of the community.

In there you will find all the necessary information to know how to easier contribute in the here.

Do you have a doubt about how to do something? The Help desk is here for you,with a long list of post with detailed indications on how to post.

Which kind of contents we share in the community? What are Connect topics? will give you an explanation

[WynLin]

@ErmesT 

In reading "Your guide to Connect" I feel it's not (less) clear - do we ask questions/post problems? Because this is the impression I've been getting - "Connect is not a forum for users to work out issues and problems." Do I have that right? Yet, I was unable to find a support user group for Local Guides. To ask how to deal with the colossal jerk guide 9, I posted about in another area. And this has been frustrating to me. The topics described in the Guide to Connect are not at all what I need when I come here looking for information. I'm not saying they are useless - just not useful to me.

I am actually not new to Local Connect - I've been on here since 2016 - I know I have been adding to Google Maps much longer - as I understand the significance and importance of accurate reviews for businesses and accurate directions to get there. But in 2017 - I asked a question about pictures I had taken that turned into a copyright issue. I barely remember it now - and there were no answers to it. I do remember not being able to find a forum or group to pose the question in. Needless to say, I didn't come back here very much. FYI - I've been on the Internet since it was called ARPANet. So I usually don't need too much technical help - but when I do - I "google" my question - and invariably find a group or page dedicated to the issue. Local Guides is a rare one for me - hard to find much of anything - the help pages I've found are not very...fleshed out. They are set up more like FAQ - and since many of my questions are not frequently asked - well, they are not much help.

I'm going to be really "frank" with you here - nothing I say is meant as a criticism - just an observation of what this group means to me. I see many many posts from international users, such as yourself. I see almost no posts from USA Local Guides. I get the feeling this site is a showcase - for anyone not in the USA - simply because of limits by country or that the maps are not as up-to-date in Asia, Europe, South America, and any other countries I might have missed. (I realize I mixed my continents with countries - I'm trying to make this short.). A showcase of knowledge and contributions. There seems to be more concern about awards, points, levels, etc than editing Google Maps for accuracy. I rarely see posts from the USA - if I do they are almost always troubleshooting questions, like why did I lose points or why did Google deny my edit. I even set my "favorite" locations to local areas - to see if local USA users would crop up in my feed.

At one time I was on Facebook - and there were separated groups for Local Guides by regions. At that time I didn't have any questions - or if I did - it was answered by searching through the posts. Someone else always has the same question - so I always search first. I'm no longer on Facebook - I quit about 1.25 years ago. Best thing I ever did despite everything on the Internet being converted to "Facebook". Are Yahoo and Google Groups even active any longer? I miss them. There you rarely had to recite the rules - people joined and read them - and believed in netiquette - an antiquated saying now.

So I added the graphics - because it seemed like most people were looking for ways to "showcase" their work. I wanted to "contribute" to this site - in some meaningful way. I don't think my use of the Pin as a shape is a copyright issue as described in the link you gave me. Else, why would it be available to use as an icon in MS Word, or a shape in my ShapeWords tool? Or for that matter - I can access it in the symbol sections of most fonts. I think what Google is asking is that we do not sell products using the shape as our own, or take credit for it; and that we do not invent our own map programs using the copyrighted pin shape - as one of our prompts/icons. I could be wrong. 

As for the link you gave me to the "Help" section - I have stated several times now - that I don't appear to be able to post to it, ask questions, tag it, or otherwise use it meaningfully. And apparently "general discussion" no longer exists here. 

So TLDR - I get the feeling you are telling me I probably don't belong here - in a polite pleasant way that I really appreciate. I'm ok with that. I always try to use all the resources I have available to me - in order to be an honest and accurate editor to something I really rely on - Google Maps. I especially want to stamp out spam and useless details that clog up my bandwidth. But it does sound as if you and the "guides" are telling me that Local Guides Connect is not that place. Am I right? 

[ErmesT]

Hi @WynLin , thanks for your reply. As you asked about copyright I addressed you to the page where Google says that "The Local Guides logo is a Google brand identity and is reserved for official use only. Do not use the Local Guides logo, pin, or any other Google imagery in any of your online or offline materials without expressed written permission." So the specific point for me is: Is that pin the one protected by copyright? Where is the limit of the copyright? in the pin itself, or in the versions used by Google Maps? I hope someone will respond.

The previous version of Connect had a section - Mapping your World - where to ask specific questions related to mapping, and several "language" sections. With the new Connect, Google moved to the original scope of the Community: Connecting people. Previously the Language board had a lot of similar questions, and in my opinion it was quite sad to see that Italians were talking only with Italians, and so on.

Even if we have a specific section where to ask questions and to report issues (you already posted in there) we address maps issues to a more specific Community: the Google Maps Help Community They follow the technical issues, while connect is more a place for the local guides to share their stories and experiences. Why? Because this can inspire others to improve.

Regarding your country, there are several very active Local Guides, I can mention here a few of them for you to check their profiles: @KarenVChin and @jayasimha78 , @Erna_LaBeau form Michigan, (all of them are Guiding Stars 2021) and @Denise_Barlock from North Carolina, Guiding Star 2020. Of course, while some post is specific about your country, other are more related to different topics, because we always want to involve a larger group of people through common experiences.

Regarding your last question, no, you are not.

There is space for everyone in Connect, and a lot of people love to fight spam. I personally have around 6300 edits, one third of them are fake places removed from Maps. I had my last duplicate removal edits approved a couple of hours ago (three places instead of one, I removed two of them)

And there are conversations about how to post more useful photos in Maps. I am going to be frank too, some of your photo is redundant, so you may find that conversations helpful. What I mean is that there is space for different approach, and different ideas.

Of course, not all the contributions in the Community are really interesting. I read a lot, so I know that. The Local Guides active in the community help the authors to improve, and to become better contributors, in Connect and in Maps.

To go back to the subject of this post, I know you want to be helpful, and I just want to try to avoid any trouble for you. I've escalated the issue, and I hope to have a feedback from Google.

Have a nice day

[iorikun301]

sorry for interrupting. it's actually easy. why don't you see a lot of posts from US local guides? yes because they don't write/share stories/experiences here much. for whatever reason. because like local guides from any country, they are free to share or not to share in this forum. no coercion. there are many topics that can be discussed in this forum. there is about typical food, travel stories, photography, and of course about the experience of using maps. you want more posts from local guides USA? start writing, start sharing your story. Over time, there will be many posts from local guides in the United States. Yes, even though it's possible that the author is only you. it does not matter. 

[InaS]

Hi @WynLin,

Thank you for sharing, but what you posted is not an idea, so I am closing it. Idea exchange is a place on Connect for Local Guides to share their feedback and ideas with our team to tell us about a way to improve the Local Guides program. To learn more about the Idea Exchange, you can read this article How do I use the Idea Exchange?

Connect is a place to get to know other Local Guides, plan activities, share your stories, give feedback, ask questions, and more. Everyone is welcomed here :).

[WynLin]

@ErmesT for you to say "And there are conversations about how to post more useful photos in Maps. I am going to be frank too, some of your photo is redundant," kinda took me by surprise? I usually report redundant pictures myself. If you see any redundancy in my photos - that is because Google Maps will not take my edit suggestions without "proof" - and they suggest I post a picture. Despite the picture having redundant information - that seems to be the only way to get my Edits taken in. But I think I see now - what "shadow banning" means. I'm still not sure what the difference between "shadow banning" and banning is - I should think banning doesn't need an extra word to describe its meaning - so I thought maybe shadow meant - it's grayed out or something? That is why I asked in another post.

But I saw where I submitted a screenshot picture of a woman's review of her church. It does not appear on the maps, though - just a big black page. At first, I couldn't understand why I had uploaded that picture...then I remembered I was working on identifying food pantries around the area. Apparently, here in Indiana - they are most generous in donating - but have no idea how to disseminate information to those who need it. So I believe I was either correcting the category or giving it a second category of food bank...something...who knows...and I uploaded the picture. I assume my photo (which is in fact redundant) is hidden because it was not for public consumption. 

Otherwise, I'm not sure what you mean about redundant. For you to bring that up - you either saw quite a few redundant pictures - and I looked at a couple of pagefuls and didn't see anything. So I have to wonder if your real intent was to attempt to make me look like I need a lot of schooling. Since you keep suggesting that I still need to learn a lot - I'll assume that is what you were doing.

Thanks, anyway, but many, many men have beat you to the punch of trying to discredit my 30+ years of knowledge in the IT industry. Now I just get tired of it and bow out. Please don't try to read between my lines. If you don't understand fully what I'm saying just ask me. Don't assume. In the meantime, I think I'll limit my visits here. Apparently, I have nothing useful to add.

[ErmesT]

First of all sorry for my bad English. I am trying my best but sometimes I know that I can appear rude as English is not my own language. Well, it is not my intention, please believe me.

I am not trying to discredit you and your 30+ year in the IT industry, @WynLin .

Most of the best expert in IT that I personally know are women, and I always learn from them.

But I can imagine that it is not easy. I have a personal experience of this through the eyes of my wife, and I know how easy is to be discredited 

However, we are not talking about IT industry, we are talking about contributing in a product (Google Maps) with photos, reviews, edits, etc.

As you ask for some explanation about redundancy, here we go. photos are considered redundant when a user post a lot of similar photos of the same subject. A good practice should be to choose only the best one, and to avoid an excess of photos. Several Local Guides are using this method (well, it is not your case) to get more points, thinking that Google will automatically detect the duplicates, so they post "near duplicates" photos (someone call them "five degrees photos") to get more points. Most of them are no longer local guides, because this is a violation of the  Community policy :

• "Dark, blurry, and redundant photos will be removed. Users who duplicate photos across locations, ..... will also be removed."

As I said, this is not your case, but you have some redundant photo too (and some not intentional duplicate like the ones here below)

Most of the times this happen because Maps is suggesting us to post the photo, but it is up to us to decide to do it or not.

We wrote some post about this subject, that you may find helpful:

• How Many Photos should I contribute to a place? Quality vs Quantity 
• Local Guides in The Mirror - How useful are our contributions? 

Different story is when you use some superimposed text to flag as closed a series of shops inside the airport. Why not to report the shop as closed instead, or to upload the photo in the right place (the shop) instead of uploading them in the container (the airport) ?. The good intention (reporting a shop as closed) become useless if you upload them in the wrong place.

Hidden photos

This is an interesting subject, as I think that the AI is trying to identify contents that are violating the rules, but need to be improved. Following several request and complaint coming from the community, I've made several test in this field.

When on desktop you click on the thumbnail and instead of the photo you see a black screen, it means that the photo has been made private. One of my top photos, with more than a million view and several likes is now private. A private photo is easy to detect by comparing your private profile (visible only to you) and the public one.

As you can see some of your contributions are private, but you will have to check them by yourself (the private profile is obviously private)

Apart of this, there are photos that, even if visible in your public profile, are not visible in the listing in Maps. As I said, I've made some test and I've sent a report to the team (this is one of the opportunity of a moderator) for them to investigate. As you are an IT person, you can understand that working with images identification is an exciting experience, but it is a quite new field, and a lot of improvement are expected in the next years. When the AI will be able to identify with more accuracy duplicates, redundancy and wrong (location) contents, I think we will see a revolution in our contributions.

See you around

Ermes

P.S.: Regarding your hidden reviews there is a known issue, reported here. Just follow the link and drop a note for the team to check your profile. Everything that is adhering to the rules will be released