

Show HN: Live location-based messaging board - Shout_App
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apogeeapp.apogee&hl=en

======
Shout_App
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!

------
justsee
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_App
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 :)

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

------
Avitas
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_App
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? :)

~~~
Avitas
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.

~~~
Shout_App
I just saw the report and agree it is due to the "go to" icon as you said. The
most likely cause of that is if you do not have location services enabled/your
tablet hasn't found your location yet and my app is trying to make use of a
location that "doesn't exist" yet.

I will implement a fix for that tomorrow.

The user location should be exact, but there is a limitation due to the "macro
level view" \-- I think.

You make a very excellent point... my first version/draft was meant for
phones. I didn't add any special logic/format any views for tablets. That
would take a little bit longer to implement. I don't have a tablet, and
honestly didn't think of it. Thank you for pointing it out :)

The photo problem is pretty interesting... as I've been able to change/use
multiple different photos and got what I wanted. It could be a tablet thing...

Your feedback is very useful, a lot of what I hoped to get from posting here.
Thank you very much.

