Meet your Google Places neighbor: Marcelo Teson

Editor’s Note: Now and then we'll spotlight one of our amazing Google Places reviewers. Both so you guys can start to get to know one another and so we can pull together and share our favorite local places. This week we introduce you to Marcelo Teson of Austin, Texas. 

To find out more about our community activities in Austin, visit us at google.com/austin or follow us on Twitter at @GoogleATX.

Location: Austin, Texas

How long have you lived in Austin?

I've been in Austin for just over a year (one year and one week!). Before Austin, I lived in LA doing sound editing on TV shows for NBC/Universal. After several years, I got sick of the industry rat race and my wife and I decided to relocate to her hometown and refocus our lives. We love it here!

Only a year, and yet you’ve managed to rack up a considerable amount of Google Places reviews! What’s your favorite thing about Places?

I love how easy it is for people to start reviewing. You don't need to set anything up or fill out a ton of personal info, you just start reviewing and go. I also love the mobile app — I’ve enabled “shows me nearby places” with info from GPS. If you're in the car wandering around and looking for somewhere to eat, the suggestions change as you drive around. That's real-time recommendations based on location. Ridiculously cool.

We’ve also seen you out and about at lots of Google events in Austin, including some of our coveted Power User events. What’s been your favorite so far?

I loved the happy hour at Trifecta last week for users that volunteered at your Keep Austin Weird Festival booth — delicious pizzas, bourbon flights, and meeting all sorts of cool new folks, and it was all courtesy of Google! Really shows you how much you guys care about your users. The Round Rock Express power user event was a close second because the Dell Diamond just rocks.

Have any embarrassing moments you’d like to share with the world?

I once threw up on the mom of the girl from Napoleon Dynamite. It was food poisoning-related, but otherwise it's a long story.

Remind us to ask you about that later! Finally, can you share with us some of your Austin Best Evers?

Dog Almighty: This place has amazing hot dogs (including vegan ones!) and lots of options, along with mountains of fries and tater tots — all at unbelievable prices.

I Luv Video: I love the free beer night on Tuesdays, the incredible selection, and the little stickies on the DVD covers giving snarky opinions about the films you're renting.

Marcellion Pan Y Vino: Delicious, generously portioned tacos and other Mexican fare. This is the real deal!

Posted by Whitney Francis, Austin community manager