Author: Jan Van Haver

Episode 22: Sources of information

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 use.

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[Will be available soon]

Episode 21: Badges

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.

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TRANSCRIPTION

[Will be available soon]

Episode 20: Fun Facts

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.

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SCREENSHOTS MENTIONED

 

 

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:05
Hello, and welcome to the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. Today is another milestone for LetsGuide Podcast as we’ve now reached 20 episodes and still going strong, if I may say so myself. Unlike most episodes, today’s episode is not one that focuses on one specific topic, but rather it’s a collection of fun facts, things I’ve gathered along the way while being active as a local guide. Some of those are no doubt things that, to at least some of you, will already be known, but other fun facts I am revealing here and now for the very first time

Jan Van Haver 0:49
As usual, before beginning, I want to emphasize that I’m not an official representative of Google or the Local Guides team. I’m just a local guide like most of you. Things I’m telling in this podcast are therefore my personal interpretation. The recording date of this episode is the middle of March 2020 and it is therefore describing the situation as it is today – but that is constantly changing, especially these days. So if you might be listening at a later point in time, things might have changed. Continue reading “Episode 20: Fun Facts” →

Episode 19: Local Guides Clean The Map

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?

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:05
Hello dear listener, welcome to the LetsGuide Podcast. Glad you could make it to yet another episode – it’s already number 19. 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? That’s the topic of today’s episode, Local Guides Clean The map.

Jan Van Haver 0:41
As usual, before we start I want to point out that I’m not an official representative of Google or of the Local Guides team. I’m just a local guides like most of you. Everything you hear in this episode is, once again, my personal interpretation of things. This episode is being recorded at the middle of February 2020, and is therefore of course describing the situation as it is today. Should you be listening at a later date, things might obviously have changed. Continue reading “Episode 19: Local Guides Clean The Map” →

Episode 18: Crowdsource

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.

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:06
Hello and welcome to yet another episode of the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. You’re listening to episode number 18. This episode is in fact not covering Google Maps as such, but another Google product named Crowdsource. To explain what Crowdsource is all about, and why you as local guides might find it very interesting, I had an interview with Crowdsource Product Manager Anurag Batra.

Jan Van Haver 0:37
Before we start the interview, I want to point out that I’m not an official representative of Google, I’m just a local guide. So everything you hear in this podcast or everything I come up with is just my personal interpretation of things. This episode is recorded in the middle of January 2020 and is describing the situation as it is today. Should you be listening to this episode at a later date, things might obviously have changed. So let’s hear what Anurag has to share with us during the interview. Continue reading “Episode 18: Crowdsource” →

Episode 17: Shopping Centers

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.

SHOWNOTES

 

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:06
Welcome to Episode 17 of the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. 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.

Jan Van Haver 0:36
Before we do, as always, I want to point out that I am not an official representative of Google and I have no official affiliation to Google or the local guides team. I’m just a local guide like most of you. By the way, if you’re not a local guide, yet, and you’re listening to this, please go to episode number one. Listen to it. It’s about 20 minutes, then sign up for Local Guides program and come back to hear the rest of this episode, of course. Everything you hear in this podcast is my personal interpretation of things, and this episode is being recorded at the beginning of January 2020 – and is therefore describing the situation as it is today. Should you be listening at a later date, things might of course have changed. Continue reading “Episode 17: Shopping Centers” →

Episode 16: Connect Live

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.

SHOWNOTES

 

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:04
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. If my count is still correct, this is episode number 16,. and the topic today is Connect Live. One of the terms you come across frequently among local guides in their conversations on social media and of course also on Local Guides Connect, the official forum, is the term 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 and a lot more.

Jan Van Haver 0:38
Before getting started, I want to point out as usual that I am not an official representative of Google. I’m just a local guide like most of you. Everything I say in this podcast is therefore my personal interpretation. This episode number 16 is recorded at the beginning of December 2019, and therefore describing the situation as it is today, should you be listening at a later date, then of course, things might have changed. Continue reading “Episode 16: Connect Live” →

Episode 15: Perfect Pictures

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 on Local Guides Connect).

SHOWNOTES

 

TRANSCRIPTION
Jan Van Haver 0:06
Hello and welcome to the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. Today in episode number 15 titled ‘Perfect pictures’, we have an interview again. One of the main activities of local guides is uploading pictures to points of interest, on Google Maps of course, and it typically gives them a lot of satisfaction when those pictures get a lot of views or even get featured – which means being shown as the main image for that place on Maps. In today’s episode, we have an interview with an expert in that subject matter. It’s Torben Mauch, who you might know from Local Guides Connect where he’s one of the Connect Moderators. His handle there is @TorM.

Jan Van Haver 0:57
Before we really get started, as usual, I want to point out that I’m not an official representative of Google or the local guides team. I’m just a local guide like most of you. Things said in this podcast are therefore my personal interpretation. This episode is recorded at the end of October 2019, and everything is describing the situation as it is today. Should you be listening at a later date, things might obviously have changed. Continue reading “Episode 15: Perfect Pictures” →

Episode 14: Meetups

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.

SHOWNOTES

 

TRANSCRIPTIONS

Jan Van Haver 0:05
Hello, and welcome to yet another episode of the LetsGuide Podcast the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. This is already episode number 14. Today we talk about what happens when local guides meet in real life. Being a local guide is all about contributing to Google Maps, as you know, 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 Meet-ups. In this episode, you’ll find out what these Meet-ups are all about, and what typically goes on when local guides meet in real life.

Jan Van Haver 0:49
Before we start, I want to point out once again that I am not an official representative of Google. I’m just a local guide myself. Everything I say is there for my personal interpretation of the things that you need to know about being a local guide. I want to emphasize this even more than usual today as there is some very exciting news about me myself as local guide. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to find out what this is all about. Today’s episode is recorded the middle of October 2019, and therefore describing the situation as it is today. If you’re listening at a later date, things might have changed dramatically. Continue reading “Episode 14: Meetups” →

Episode 13: News & Updates

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?

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:06
Hello, dear listener, and welcome to the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. We’re recording episode 13 already today and just as we had in episode number 8, this is an episode about, or with news and updates, as there’s simply so much new stuff going on these days. The way local guides can and should interact with Google Maps is constantly being updated. So what has changed since the last news and updates episode? What is completely new? And are there perhaps updates for topics we already covered? Stay tuned to find out this and much more in episode number 13.

Jan Van Haver 0:51
As usual, at the beginning of the episode, I want to emphasize that I have no official affiliation to Google whatsoever. I am just a local guide, like most of you, and everything I say is therefore my personal interpretation and nothing more than that. The episode today is recorded at the beginning of October 2019, and therefore describing the situation as it is today. Should you be listening at a later date, then perhaps things might have changed, of course. Continue reading “Episode 13: News & Updates” →