Connect Moderators are Local Guides just like you and me. They apply the knowledge they’ve gained as active members of our community to moderate Connect and help improve the experience for everyone. You may see them welcoming newcomers, explaining the program, answering questions, and sharing their knowledge with others.
Each month, we share some personal insights from one of our amazing Connect Moderators. This month, meet Adrian aka @AdrianLunsong in the Connect community. Adrian launched the Go Loco Podcast, an unofficial podcast by Local Guides for Local Guides about Local Guides. (Say that three times fast!)
Name: Adrian Lunsong
Location: Originally from Malaysia, but currently based in Manchester, UK
What I love about being a Local Guide: It’s definitely the people that makes the Local Guides program really special to me! Everyone from the amazing team running the program who makes us feel welcomed and acknowledged for our contributions, to all the fantastic Local Guides near and far who share in the collective passion of exploring the world, cataloging it, and making it accessible to all! That sense of community—of family—really shines through in meet-ups and on the Connect forum where it’s just such a pleasure to witness the joy of someone talking about their hometown or their favourite dishes or just seeing complete strangers helping each other out and sharing their knowledge or experiences.
Why I’m a Connect Moderator: When I attended the first Local Guides Summit in 2016, there was a euphoria that I felt that was truly magical. There was an initial anxiety of travelling so far and meeting strangers that was quickly replaced by the realisation that we shared so much in common and that commonality transcended differences in geography, culture, religion, upbringing, etc. In an ideal world, I would love everyone to experience that (maybe then we would have less conflicts!) but all I can do, whether I’m a Connect Moderator or not, is to, at least, help make Connect a safe space for everyone to visit, to interact with each other, and be connected to each other. So, it’s not so much a question of why since I’m just doing what I love doing! I guess I’m just lucky to be appreciated for my actions thus far.
My favorite things to explore: My hips don’t lie…I love food! And Local Guides is such a convenient excuse to go out, find a new place and eat, eat, eat! Calories…pfft…I’m ordering my fourth slice of cake so I can tell the world if it’s good or not! As such, I am very much a city person as I love going on foot, off the beaten track, down alleyways, to find a hidden gem or two. And those gems are usually cafes and museums. There’s something about those two places where I just love soaking in the atmosphere, do a spot of people watching, go sink my teeth into a lovely pastry or take gazillions of photos of the architecture!
My favorite type of contribution(s) to make on Google Maps: Unsurprisingly, it’s uploading photos (trying to remember to do videos too!) and, coming in at a close second, is reviewing. There’s a fine balancing act with photos as I’m trying to not just add tons of photos but be selective of what I add. I sometimes feel like my photos are being judged by the public so I feel compelled to get creative and do some light editing first to get it to a level that I’m happy with before I upload. With reviews, I just try to make sure I cover as much as I can and hope that it’s beneficial to someone out there!
Languages I read/speak/write fluently: English.
Places I’d like to visit: I have a strange affinity for cold places (perhaps I’ve been conditioned by my stay here in the UK!), so I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland and see the Northern Lights. I also absolutely adore Japanese culture and food, so Japan is another place that I’d love to visit. There’s the Jigokudani Monkey Park where wild monkeys go bathing in hot springs during the cold wintry months…Kawaii!!
Fun fact about me: When I was 13 years old, I joined my school band as part of a state initiative to get about 300 students from five different schools musically ready to perform for the National Day Parade celebrations, which the state was hosting! For about seven months, I was taught to march and play my chosen musical instrument—the alto saxophone! I wish I could say I was the cool kid blasting out Kenny G pieces, but I wasn’t! Nonetheless, I did well enough that myself and several others were invited to play for the state’s Youth Symphony Orchestra again for the National Day celebrations. It was an amazing experience, especially for someone who’s not entirely musically inclined. (I still can’t sight read and am probably tone deaf!) To this day, the band members still keep in touch with each other and it was my first large group activity that showed me the joys of complete strangers getting together and working towards a shared, greater good!
We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know @AdrianLunsong. Say hi or ask him a question below as he has a lot to share about Google Maps and Connect.
Interested in becoming a Connect Moderator? Learn more here.
Want to learn about other Connect Moderators?
Learn more about Flash in January 2019
Learn more about Stephen in November 2018
Learn more about Paul in October 2018
Learn more about Sampson in September 2018
Learn more about Sonia in August 2018
Learn more about Nunung in July 2018
Learn more about Shirley in June 2018
Learn more about Farid in April 2018
Learn more about Ludwig in March 2018
Learn more about Karen in February 2018
Learn more about Ivan in January 2018
Learn more about Ermes in December 2017
