Google Maps is going to test a new social feature where users in a number of cities will soon be able to follow Local Guides and see local recommendations of places and things to do.
Google Maps is all set to take its biggest plunge towards being more of a social networking platform, as it begins testing a new feature that allows users to follow top “Local Guides” – its community members who actively review businesses, post photos and share detailed information on Google Maps.
The test cities are London, Mexico City, New York, Bangkok, Delhi, Osaka, Tokyo, San Francisco, and São Paulo. Top Local Guides are determined by points and levels based on input activity which will be presented under the “For You” discovery tab at the bottom of the Google Maps app.
The new feature, in addition, the app began as Google’s response to the Yelp Elite Squad – Yelp might argue that Google nakedly copied the program. It had 5 million participants globally in 2016. The following year that number grew to 50 million and to 95 million by 2018 which has now leaped to 120 million, as stated.
Google said the recommendation feature is going to focus more on photos than words. Most of the reviews in the “For You” tab are going to be in the form of photo collections, which then need to be clicked on in order to read something a guide wrote.
Google didn’t specify when the feature would actually launch in the test cities; we hope to see it soon.
