Category Archives: App.net news

Sharing Photos on App.net

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Let’s talk photos.  They play a huge part in social media. They convey in one glance what can take many words to describe. (someone should really turn that into a saying…) Most people these days walk around with a camera on them and take photos of just about anything you could imagine.

Now, while we agree that not every photo is worth sharing with the world, the ready access to a photo-taking device with an internet connection have made social networks a more interesting place to hang out and we want to encourage more of it on App.net.

We would like to start highlighting great photos that we see shared on App.net because we think there are some great shots being shared out there.  We started an account called @hand_picd which reposts photos from the global photo feed.  It is a manually curated account so we’re taking the time to look through the photos shared on App.net to highlight the ones that stand out to us.  Maybe you’ve been “hand picd” already! Here are some of our favorites from the last week or so:

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The variety of photo sharing options on App.net have been made possible by our thriving developer communiy. It has been inspiring to see how far the community has come in less than a year.  It was natural that the first apps built for the service were messaging clients, but as the number of clients grows and begin to mature we now see photo sharing become a standard option with various photo sharing services like Mobypicture, img.ly, Droplr, and BLI.MS being integrated into these clients.

We now have our first dedicated mobile photo sharing app in Sprinter which lets you easily take photos and post them to App.net. Photolicious and PanoPerfect aslo integrate their services into App.net and give you completely different photo browsing and sharing experiences to choose from.

We hope to continue to see more options and new ways to share photos on App.net as the service matures. Keep posting great photos and we’ll keep an eye out for your masterful use of composition, natural lighting and balance.

 

This Week’s RecApp

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This week we have a Mac app for managing your ADN files, an iOS release of one of the earlier apps to hit the Directory, a panoramic photo sharing app, a web app to create lists on ADN and one to connect developers with designers.

 

swingSwing - for Mac - The simplest way to get files into your App.net file storage.  Upload single files, multiple files or folders.  Auto-upload screenshots. Upload cliboard contents with a global shortcut.  Share short URLs.  Log in with multiple accounts.  Created by @urbanape

 

 

 

bufferBuffer - for iPhone - Share more easily to App.net and other social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, all from one place right on your iPhone. Buffer also works from many of your favorite iOS apps to post to App.net: Reeder, Pocket, via email and Instapaper.  Buffer is the easiest way to stay on top of your social networks and to post great content all day long.  Created by @buffer

 

 

 

panoPanoPerfect - for iPhone - PanoPerfect is a fun, free, and simple way to share beautiful panoramic photos on your iPhone. App.net is fully integrated with PanoPerfect. You can auto share uploads, and create an account by signing in withApp.net.  Created by @natechiger & @coulton

 

 

 

list appList App - Search & Discovery - Create, share, subscribe and manage lists of users, read the combined stream of posts.  Created by @ryantharp

 

 

 

 

scoutzieScoutzie.com - Search & Discovery -  Scoutzie is the best way to find the right designer for your project. We connect top designers from around the world with customers seeking professional design services. In order to keep the community safe, we require that customers validate their online presence with multiple social media account. App.net is one of the available choices.  Created by @scoutzie

 

 

We’ll back back with another recApp when more apps pop up in the Directory.  Keep calm and download apps.

 

App.net Passport for iOS is now available

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blog-passportWe are excited to announce that App.net Passport for iOS is now available (download link). Passport is the easiest way for iPhone users to browse the App.net directory, find their friends, and to manage or create an App.net account.

Our mission has always been to support developers and to give members more choice. At its core, Passport is our directory app: an easy way for iPhone users to find and install other App.net iPhone apps, and for iOS developers to connect more directly with new users.

Here’s what you can do with Passport:

  • Create an App.net account
  • Find and follow other App.net members
  • Download and discover App.net iPhone apps
  • Update your bio, profile photo, and cover image

Notably (and quite intentionally), the Passport app does not have posting or messaging features. As always, we encourage App.net members to use 3rd-party apps. An additional benefit of the Passport app for 3rd-party developers is a new Authentication SDK which makes it easy to seamlessly integrate App.net login/signup functionality into any app.

 

image_2  image_3image_4  image_1 invite image

It’s also worth noting that anyone who downloads Passport will be able to create a free-tier App.net account. Like everything we do, this is an experiment, and we will be watching the data closely to see what we learn and its impact on the community. To set expectations: we may decide to turn off open signup via the app at any point.

Non-iPhone users: we haven’t forgotten about you. We plan on taking our learnings from the iOS Passport app and applying them to other platforms.

Thanks!

The App.net team 

This Week’s RecApp

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A slightly smaller batch of new apps to share with you all in this week’s recApp but there some apps that fill in the Directory where it was a little thin.  A cross-platform client, a photo viewing/sorting app, a Windows group messaging client, a dedicated mobile photo sharing app and an app that has been around for awhile but only recently was added to the Directory.

 

CauldronCauldron - for Mac / Windows / Linux - Cauldron is a cross-platform desktop client for App.net. Fire up Cauldron and immerse yourself completely in the App.net experience with an application that’s neither light-weight nor mobile, but was instead tailor made for desktop computers and exclusively for App.net. Created by @chriscolon

 

 

 

PhotoliciousPhotolicious - for iPhone - Browse through various photos posted on App.Net in a familiar and fun way. Photolicious allows you to add App.Net accounts, browse through photos posted in your timeline, create new albums from #hashtag or @username terms, view comments on the photos and comment on them yourself.  Created by @larna

 

 

 

RoryProject Rory - for Windows - Project Rory is a group messaging client for Windows 7 and 8. Features private rooms for friends or coworkers, emoticons, and most importantly, animated GIF support. It’s also compatible with Patter and App.net private messaging. It’s all your messaging needs in one place.  Created by @fam

 

 

 

SprinterSprinter - for iPhone - Sprinter is the easiest way to share photos with your friends on App.net.  Use the simple camera interface to capture a photo and apply a filter, add a caption to the post, & attach your current location.  For more on Sprinter read our more detailed blog post from last week.  Created by @rrbrambley and @derelk

 

 

 

jLEP3NRdbE1OdELM3aKkuNafU117InMiOiJzMyIsImIiOiJhZG4tdXNlci1hc3NldHMiLCJrIjoiYXNzZXRzL3BhZ2UvZGYvNDAvMDAvZGY0MDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMC5wbmciLCJvIjoiY29tcG9zaXRlQGM9ZmZmZmZmZmY7b3V0cHV0QGZvcm1hdD1qcGVnLHF1YWxpdHk9OTAifQPocket - for iPhone and iPad - When you find an interesting article, video or web page that you want to view later, put it in Pocket. Once it’s in Pocket, it automatically syncs across to your phone, tablet and computer so you can view it anytime on any device, even without an internet connection. Pocket was recently updated and added to the App.net Directory but has been available for some time.  Created by @pocket

 

 

That’s it for this week.  We’ll be back with more apps to share with you in the next recApp.

 

App.net Podcast Episode 10

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Note: We apologize for the decreased audio quality of this podcast.  The technical difficulties will be solved in Episode 11. 

This week on the App.net Podcast @berg again joins @dalton to talk about all things App.net.  They cover topics such as this week’s release of domain verification, the state of the ADN app ecosystem, user streams and ADN branding.  The podcast closes with questions from users.

 

  • 0:20    Domain Verification release
  • 1:20     What does “verified” mean on ADN?
  • 6:05     Why we used “rel=me”
  • 10:00   Follow buttons - customizable: https://github.com/appdotnet/piha
  • 15:15     State of the app ecosystem - Microblogging
  • 20:15    State of the app ecosystem - Media sharing
  • 22:50    State of the app ecosystem - Social gaming
  • 30:45    User Streams
  • 33:25    App.net’s growth
  • 35:20    Site-wide branding – App.net vs. Alpha vs. iOS directory app “Passport”
  • 41:40    ADN Hackathon reminder / WWDC meetup  
  • 43:20    User Questions

 

Thanks to @ca, @chartier, @kosso, @jmergy, @davidangel, @clonezone, @mrbeefy, @cocoasamurai, @nhk, @shawndrape, @simon_w, @blumenkraft, @flashblu, @spacekatgal, @jefflemond, @zero, @bryanjclark, @jamesduffell, @jssrea, @nsonic, @timpritlove and @pedroh96 for submitting user questions

 

 

Apps mentioned in this week’s podcast:

 

Subscribe to the RSS of the podcast or subscribe through iTunes.

If you have a question for a future podcast, a suggestion, or other feedback, send your thoughts to @ADN using #ADNpodcast.

Standard Podcast [ 1:00:56 ] Download (2619)

Seven Questions with Developers: @boxenjim

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This is the latest in our series Seven Questions for Developers on App.net, where we ask  developers the same set of questions to learn a bit more about their apps and the stories behind them.

IMG_2829Our next developer is @boxenjim, who makes Patter for iOS. @boxenjim lives in a small town in northern Utah, almost in Idaho. He lives with his wife and son (and dog) in a little house with a yard and a garage and “a little patch a dirt to grow stuff in.” Apparently no picket fence though.

Tell us about your App.net app. What are you looking to accomplish with it?

Patter for iOS is a messaging application that lets people chat with friends privately or in public chat rooms. As the name implies it is the iOS version of the Patter web application built by @duerig.

The primary goal for my app is to support, promote, and enhance the Patter web application…the mothership as it were. Some secondary goals for me are to learn the App.net API better and to be more involved in the community. I also hope it can be an example of an interesting way to build on top of the API.

Currently, the app is more tailored to somebody that has already used Patter but I hope to make it clearer for those who have little or no exposure to Patter or even, for that matter, to App.net.

All files are hosted in your personal App.net file storage, so we don’t keep your content on our servers.

What qualities make a great app?

I like apps that are immediately obvious how to use and are uncluttered in appearance. I like apps that have a bit of personality and character embedded throughout their interface. I want to be able to get a laugh or two or see something unexpected.

With just about every app I’ve made I try to add in a few little Easter eggs just for fun. With Patter for iOS I decided early on to add something fun or unexpected with every release. I’m trying to do it in such a way that if you aren’t really looking you’ll never notice or be bothered by them, but, if you dig around a little, you will be able to find this whole other world inside the app that you never noticed before.

 

IMG_2830What tools are important to you as a developer?

A super amazing, super beautiful and supportive wife, a little boy that needs me to bring home the bacon and be a good dad, a whiteboard, a pencil and paper, a quiet place to work, adequate sleep and lots of reference materials. I also have a unicorn and a few other mythical creatures on standby.

As far as a list of hardware/software, I use a 2010 13″ MacBook Pro and I have an iPhone 4S, an iPad 2 and an iPhone 3GS for testing. I regularly use the following apps/services: Xcode, Tower, GitHub, TotalTerminal, Droplr, Dropbox, Soulver, 1Password.

I also have some super awesome beta testers that are exceptionally good at finding all my screw ups and helping me squash bugs. I guess a little bit of imagination and curiosity can’t hurt too.

Why did you decide to build something on App.net?

I was drawn to App.net pretty much immediately after seeing its core values. I joined early on in the original campaign. I had dabbled here and there on the API and had worked on a really simple implementation of App.net for my previous job.

I really just woke up one day with a determination to get more involved on a personal level and to try to build something awesome. So that’s what I’ve been trying to do since.

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What got you started writing code? 

To be totally honest, I intentionally avoided it for a really long time. I was born into a family of nerds and actually pushed back against my nerdy heritage, but it finally caught up to me. I didn’t really do any actual programming till my mid 20s.

Eventually, after working for a while as an IT/business manager, I decided to back to school. During my first semester, I took a computer science course as an elective and quickly got hooked. I started teaching myself iOS development and within a few months found a “real” job building iOS apps.

I’ve been programming on the iOS platform for something like 3 years and and also did a little web development for about 5-7 years.

Any advice for aspiring developers (all the young coders out there)?

Just go build something. All you really need is a desire to do it and a little initiative. It doesn’t matter much how much you know or don’t know. Just put yourself out there and try stuff out and after a while, work will just come. Just take it a day at a time and a line of code at a time. A lot of the apps I’ve built I did it just to build them.

When you’re not coding you’re…

Um, probably thinking about coding, sleeping or spending time with my family or a combination of all three. I enjoy cycling, photography, metal working, wood working, yard working, camping/fishing/outdoorsy stuff, rifle/pistol shooting, jeeping, fixing stuff like cars and lawn mowers and 4 wheelers, and basically anything I can turn a wrench on. I find that unless I balance the mental activities with some sort of physical activity, I’m just not quite whole as a person. I need to get out and get my hands dirty and calloused and cut up from time to time.

Announcing Domain Verification

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Thinking about what “verified” means on the social web

As App.net has grown, it has become clear that providing additional signals to help determine the authenticity of an account is important. We have spent significant time discussing the best way to approach this problem, and have decided that a domain-based verification process is the best option. With domain-based verification, anyone can verify that their App.net account is controlled by the same person that controls a given website.

This verification mechanism works in a self-service manner for individuals, companies, even pseudo-anonymous identities. In this context, the definition of “verified” is different than what you might expect: instead of being a signal that an account is controlled by a celebrity, it is a verified signal of who is actually in control of the account. For example, “Fake Grimlock” could verify that the person who controls the FakeGrimlock App.net account is the same person controlling the website FakeGrimlock.com.

Domain Verification on App.net

Today we are excited to make domain verification available to the entire App.net community. Once your website is verified, people will see a special icon and a link to your website on your App.net profile. Each account can be associated with only one domain name, but each domain name can be associated with multiple accounts.

Verify your website in three steps:

  1. Enter your website on the domain verification page.                                                             domain verification 1
  2. Add an App.net follow button or a special html tag to your domain’s index page.                                       domain verification 2
  3. Once you’ve added the html to your website, click “Verify”.                                            Screenshot 4:29:13 10:18 AM

If we detect the follow button or HTML snippet on your site, we’ll add the verified status to your account. Please note that if you change your username or remove the html from your website, you’ll lose your verified status on App.net. We plan on adding additional options in the future for individuals are not able to use these verification methods.

To learn more or to start the verification process, please have a look at the account verification page.

What is Sprinter?

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sprinterApp.net is a social network and a platform for applications – a network of independently developed apps – that members can choose between. Depending on your preferred method of connecting to App.net, there is an app for you. This series will showcase the variety of apps you can use.

 

The team over at @alwaysallthetime has been busy.  A month after the release of their video sharing app Climber hit the App Store, @rrbrambley and @derelk announced the release of Sprinter, their photo sharing app, also for iPhone.

Sprinter is the first dedicated, mobile photo-sharing app for App.net with a simple, intuitive interface for posting photos quickly.  Sprinter does one thing but does it well.

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Open the app and there is only one thing you can do: take a photo.  After that you can apply a filter, then add a caption, tag your location and post to App.net.  Sprinter does a good job of limiting your potential actions to guide you through the flow quickly.

You are able to choose either the back or front-facing camera and there is a flash option as well.  Sprinter currently has seven different filters to choose from and all photos are stored in your App.net file storage so you own your photos.

old building       bagels       buddha       Rob eyes       Giraffes       office       rubix       lightbrite