Connect Moderators are Local Guides just like you and me, moderating Connect side-by-side with Googlers to help improve the experience for everyone. You may see them welcoming newcomers, explaining the program, answering questions, and sharing their knowledge with others.
Starting this month, we’ll share some personal insights about our Connect Moderators as you may come across them here in our forum. This month, meet @ErmesT from Italy.
Name: Ermes Tuon
Location: Treviso, Italy
What I love about being a Local Guide: My love for maps is more than 40 years old. I have a quite big collection of paper maps, of most of the places where I have been. I had to pay for most of those maps: In an evolving world, with roads changing every year, I had to buy new maps very frequently. Discovering Google Maps was for me very important. I use Maps almost every day and I try to keep it updated in my area. I love to discover new places to add, and I love to take photos of the shops that I frequent. In the mall where I usually go, most of the the cover photos are ones I’ve taken.
Why I’m a Connect Moderator: I can clearly identify the moment when my participation on Connect had a very important change: December 10, 2016 (exactly one year ago). I was taking part in the Local Guides Volunteer Day 2016, traveling from Treviso to Norcia (the area of the earthquake) with a van full of clothes, food, and other needed items. It was my very first moment of collective work with other Local Guides. From that moment, Connect was for me a reference, a beautiful and interesting way for interacting with people all around the world. I never give up, so I think that this was the main reason for being picked as a Moderator.
My favorite [place/thing/cuisine/other] to explore: Hahaha, this is not so easy to reply. Well, you have read about my Treviso Wine Meet-up, so you know I love to explore food. I have traveled for more than 10 years, in China (2 years), the USA (1.5 years), Argentina (more than 1 year) and Turkey (1 year), only to mention my longest trips. Everywhere I have discovered wonderful food, and amazing places. However, I most like to explore natural places, and I love to take photos and share them. My contributions in Connect are in fact mostly dedicated to two subjects:
- Local Guides Volunteer Day 2016: the area of the earthquake in central Italy
- Treviso Wine Meetup: natural or beautiful places in Treviso and Venice area (this is nice, I am discovering my places now)
My favorite type of contribution(s) to make on Google Maps:
- Adding new places
- Edit wrong information
- Adding photos
Languages I read/write/speak fluently:
- Italian - of course
- English and Spanish - not very fluent, but for sure I can survive
Places I’d like to visit: New Zealand, Australia and Canada, as I’ve never been there.
Fun fact about me: In the late ’70s I was a very good hitchhiker, moving across all Italy with a backpack and a camping tent. Then, for longer distance, I started to use the train, moving from Venice to Sicily. I still remember a horrible dish of spaghetti, cooked in the Boboli Garden (Florence).
We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know @ErmesT . Say hi or ask him a question below as he has a lot to share about Google Maps and maps in general.
Interested in becoming a Connect Moderator? Learn more here.
