LetsGuide Podcast

An important element of the Local Guides program is the gamification - the fact that you can earn points by contributing to Google Maps and that those points help you reach higher levels. The highest level you can reach as local guide is level 10 - and judging by what Mara Chomsky, Global Lead of the Local Guides program at Google, told us in the interview I had with her a couple of episodes ago,...

The last few weeks and months, quite a few of the ways you can suggest edits on Google Maps have changed - both in terms of the processes and the screens that are presented to Local Guides in the Maps app. In this episode we will explore what exactly has changed and find out whether things have gotten better or worse. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, j...

Not all contributions on Google Maps are made by local guides. A lot of information is also contributed by the businesses shown on Maps - either by the business owners or by marketing agencies working on their behalf. In this episode we will have a closer look at those agencies by interviewing Rasmus Himmelstrup, a local guide who works for such an agency. Check out the shownotes on https://www.le...

In this episode we will explore some of the intricacies local guides are faced with when adding places to Google Maps or editing existing ones: we take a deep dive into the official (and sometimes curious) guidelines on how to proceed in several exceptional situations. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .

In this very special episode you can listen to an interview with none other than Mara Chomsky, Global Lead of the Local Guides program – the big boss, so to speak. In the interview she talks about the role the local guides program plays at Google, and reveals some insights about the history of the program and its future. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch...

Two of the activities a lot of local guides most frequently engage in are: giving places on Google Maps ratings (1 to 5 stars) and writing reviews for them. Those are also activities Google time and again encourages all Maps users to do, no doubt because they are one of the major reasons why people consult Maps. In this episode we will therefore dig into the secrets of ratings and reviews. Check o...

One of the most powerful things you can do as a local guide is to change the information available on Google Maps, either by adding things or by editing data points of the places already on the map. When you then submit those edits, they are of course verified and in this episode we explain how this verification process works. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in...

A relatively new feature on Google Maps are lists: lists of landmarks worth visiting, the best pizzerias in town, and many more. Google seems to put quite a bit of focus on them, both by creating lists themselves and by encouraging local guides to create them, so in today’s episode we’ll explore that topic in more detail. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touc...

The way local guides can and should interact with Google Maps is constantly being updated. What has changed in the last few weeks and months? What is new? Are there any updates about the topics we already covered? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .

Being a local guide is all about adding content to Google Maps or editing things already on it. To do that in a proper way, you need to be confident that whatever you add to the map is correct information, based on reliable sources. In this episode we will investigate which sources of information local guides have at their disposal, but also which sources of information are perhaps not the best to...

In the ‘career’ of a lot of local guides badges play an important role, at it seems to matter a lot if you have e.g. a level 9 badge, or a Master Photographer one, or a Totally Popular badge. In this episode we will explore which badges there are and share some tips on how to get hold of them. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to lets...

Unlike most episodes, this one does not focus on 1 specific topic, but is rather a collection of fun facts I have gathered along the way while being active as local guide. Some of those are, no doubt, things that at least some of you will already know, but others I am revealing here for the very first time. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an...

Early 2020 I have initiated a project called Local Guides Clean The Map (#LGCTM). The goal of the project is to remove places or contributions from Google Maps that do not or no longer belong there. How can you find those places? And what should local guides do to make sure they get removed from the map? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an em...

This episode is not covering Google Maps as such, but another Google product: Crowdsource. To explain what Crowdsource is all about, and why you as local guide might find it very interesting, I had an interview with Crowdsource Product Manager Anurag Batra. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .

In this episode we look into the contributions Local Guides can make when visiting shopping centers/shopping malls. Basically those are the same as for other places on Maps, but still there are some aspects here that require some special consideration. So let's dive into some 'Local Guide best practices' when it comes to shopping centers. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com...

One of the terms you come across frequently among Local Guides in their conversations on social media and on Local Guides Connect, the official forum, is ‘Connect Live’. What is it exactly and why does it create such excitement with so many Local Guides? In this episode you will find out the answer to those questions. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, j...

One of the main activities of local guides is uploading pictures to points of interest (POI) on Google Maps. And it typically gives them a lot of satisfaction when those pictures then get a lot of views, or even get featured (shown as the main image for the POI). In today’s episode we have an interview with an expert in that subject matter: Torben Mauch (@TorM). Check out the shownotes on https://...

Being a local guide is all about contributing to Google Maps, but at times it can be interesting to exchange information and experiences with other local guides. One of the best ways to do this is attending or even hosting so-called Meetups. In this episode you find out what these Meetups are all about and what typically goes on when local guides meet in real life. Check out the shownotes on https...

The way local guides can and should interact with Google Maps is constantly being updated. What has changed since the last News & Updates podcast episode? What is new? Are there updates for the topics we already covered in previous episodes? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .

Google Maps can be used in surprisingly creative ways. An excellent example is #EdPins, an initiative with the motto “Putting learning on the map”. In this episode we have an interview with Dale Plotzki, the man behind #EdPins – and more. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .

A crucial data point for each place on Google Maps is the Map Marker (or pin), the exact point where the place is located on the map. Why is that so important? What is the optimal spot to put the pins? And how can local guides help to correct errors on the current map? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com.

To reach Level 5 as Local Guide, you need to “score” 500 points. That sounds like a lot, but it is actually perfectly possible to do that in a single day – without violating any of the rules and, most importantly, by making genuine and meaningful contributions. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com.

The list of categories that you can use in Google Maps to classify places is designed in English and the category names are then translated into other languages. What is different about these local language categories? What should you pay attention to when using them? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com.

The way local guides can and should interact with Google Maps is constantly being updated. What has changed since the podcast started? What is new? Are there updates for the topics we already covered? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com.

Google provides an official platform for local guides, called Local Guides Connect. What exactly can you find there? What can local guides do there? And why should you definitely check it out?  Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com.