Show HN: Live location-based messaging board

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apogeeapp.apogee&hl=en

by Shout_App • 12 years ago

22 11 12 years ago

play.google.com

Shout_App5• 12 years ago

A new app that I have just released. It allows users to communicate with others around them, or by traveling to a new location and participating there. You can think of it as a live Yik Yak app.

It could be used to get help with travel plans, give shout outs, or share funny/embarrassing things going on in your community.

In a way, it acts like a real life version of a public chat in an MMORPG.

Would appreciate any feedback!

hangonhn• 12 years ago

I had basically the exact same idea but am glad someone else did nonetheless. I think your apps looks much better than what I would have done. Congratulations! Ideas are dime a dozen but implementation takes real investment. Good luck!

Shout_App5• 12 years ago

Thank you very much! I think the more difficult problem is getting users, at least compared to the actual programming of the app. XD

justsee• 12 years ago

Congratulations on shipping!

Rolling up your sleeves for some location-based, real-time coding would have been a bit of fun right?

Giants like Twitter have obviously had location-based tweets for a long time but a sizable segment of those users will always be reluctant to share their location against what can be a very public, linked account.

An app like this that allows anonymous users to jump into location-chats anywhere could be really useful.

Obviously geographic channels on IRC have existed for aeons and do the same thing, but putting it in a modern app for a new generation makes sense.

There are undoubtedly loads of other existing services and apps doing this kind of thing, but who cares if this is all a personal R&D mission right? You never know where it might lead.

Keep at it!

Shout_App5• 12 years ago

Thank you very much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!

I've made a few iterations of this idea, but I am most proud of this one... at least I am improving.

I see this app being similar to Yik Yak, the more popular app (that I know of) in this niche. I decided I wanted to do what I can to improve on this.

Being anonymous/not requiring to sign up to use this app was one major component, which is done... but I wanted other users to be able to get to new locations and be able to contribute there (if you're familiar with Yik Yak, it's read-only at other locations other than your own).

There are a lot of apps allowing location based apps, but I wasn't aware of any that made it... visual on a map like this app. IRC and other apps like this are mostly just the "message list" part and not see "more detail/context" on a map.

It was a fun project to work on nonetheless :)

Avitas3• 12 years ago

Crashed almost immediately upon startup and map display. I'll try on other devices if it keeps doing this on this one.

The concept seems pretty cool. I like it. It has the potential to do a lot of useful and fun things.

I really hope the dark side doesn't rear up too quickly. If not watched carefully, it could become a cesspool of hate, crime, defacement, intimidation...

Shout_App5• 12 years ago

Hey! Thank you for letting me know. That's the first I've heard of that happening, were you able to send a report?

Yes, that is a good point... perhaps I should add a "report" feature to each post. What do you think? :)

Avitas3• 12 years ago

Yup, I sent a report.

I have narrowed it down to being triggered by the go to gps coordinate icon. It happens on the only device I have tried it with thus far.

I sent a few messages and got a 'lol,' so the basic functionality of that works.

I also noticed that user locations appear to be intentionally generalized to the nearest town/neighborhood center. That's probably good thinking for now, though I relize it may be unintentional on your part.

When I tried to link a photo to my account, the gallery image I selected was not used. Instead, a photo that is not even in the category/folder I selected was used. No matter what image I select in any category/folder, it always uses that same pic.

Sadly, it looks awful on my 10" tablet.

Clearly, this is a 0.1 version.

Overall... even considering the few negatives, it's a really nice concept that should continue to be developed and polshed. You should be proud.

Avitas3• 12 years ago

Shout_App wrote: 'perhaps I should add a "report" feature to each post. What do you think?'

---

I think that would be a good idea. However, my idea of a "report" feature and your idea of a "report" feature may be quite different. My thought is that this added "report" functionality would be a rather involved classification and targetting subsystem. I would not even use the word "report" to identify this functionality. What I am thinking of would add several interesting benefits. But, it's complicated.

Give some thought to this. You can do some interesting stuff.

wiradikusuma• 12 years ago

I dont understand why you're downvoted (I upvoted you just because of that). Your comments are valid, and your concern is genuine.

Show HN: Live location-based messaging board

Related Stories