Category: Uncategorized

Episode 32: News, news, news

Look, this Google Maps team is seriously messing up my planning. Typically I record one episode per month on a specific topic related to the Local Guides program, and I then add a short section at the end where I talk about new features. But they keep releasing so much new stuff and revealing a seemingly endless list of interesting facts, that I am now forced to make a dedicated episode to tell you all about these wonderful newsworthy topics (18 of them if you add it all up) in full length. Actually I don’t mind doing that at all, I even love it, and I’m pretty confident that the majority of the audience feels the same way.

SHOWNOTES

 

SCREENSHOTS MENTIONED

 

Color indicator of busyness (item #6)

 

Restaurant pins containing ratings (item #7)

 

StreetView in split screen mode (item #8)

Episode 31: Reaching Level 10

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, there are no plans to introduce additional levels any time soon. For this episode I have therefore invited a number of level 10 local guides for a short interview and asked them to share their secret tips on how to reach level 10.

SHOWNOTES

Episode 30: New Ways to Edit

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.

SHOWNOTES

Episode 29: Marketing Agencies

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.

SHOWNOTES

Episode 28: The Exceptions

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.

SHOWNOTES

Episode 27: The Big Boss

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.

SHOWNOTES

Episode 26: Ratings & Reviews

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.

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

[Will be available soon]

Episode 25: Verification of Edits

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.

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

[Will be available soon]

Episode 24: Lists

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.

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

[Will be available soon]

Episode 23: News & Updates

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?

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

[Will be available soon]