To obtain quality information about places they plan to visit, travelers have several habits. If word of mouth remains very popular, more and more online alternatives are now available to them: TripAdvisor, Yelp, reviews on Facebook andGoogle Maps. The latter calls on a very active community.
These are theLocal Guides. Their goal? Get preview access to features under test, such as the last one concerningtoponymic oral translation. How ? By contributing by adding photos, answers to practical questions or even constructive opinions. So far, nothing new.
What changes
On the other hand, from now on, a small panel of international users can benefit from a new feature which allows them tofollowthe account of a Local Guide. In the same way as when you subscribe to a Twitter account, the idea is then to receive content shared by the person in question. They are then available in a section of the app calledFor You.
The idea is therefore to offer a kind of interactive and personalized mini-guide when you are on the move. The advantage is that this time it is notnor sponsorednor written by self-proclaimed “experts” like in the books that we have all already seen on a globetrotter's shelf. On the other hand, it comes directly from an influencer who works in his free time, like when you read Wikipedia.
How to benefit from it?
If you live in France, no luck: this functionality is not yet available foriPhone. However, it is possible that it will be launched here in the coming weeks if it proves itself in the other countries which welcome it in beta. Local Guides should, as always, be the first to test it.
If, on the other hand, you live in Bangkok, Delhi, London, Mexico, New York, Osaka, San Francisco, São Paulo or Tokyo, then jackpot: you may have the chance to discover this change inMapswithin a few hours, if it is not already effective
