An app for following people that use travel blogs, seeing the latest posts, seeing where the posts came from the integrated map and for reading each posts using a dedicated high readability view. In this way you can follow the progress of your friends while they are on holiday or use your own blog to keep friends fully informed on your progress.
The app has the following functions:
- download and present for viewing the latest posts
- display, along side the posts, a map showing the locations of each post.
- tapping on a pin shows the title and location of the associated post.
- tap on a post to read it in the viewer.
Settings:
- taping the "FollowUs" button in the top left corner brings you to the settings are where a new blog can be added and the default settings changed (e.g. the default number of bogs to show - 2 on an iPhone and 6 on an iPad).
- delete a blog or re-order them form the blog settings screen
- a one-second tap on any blog name will make it the favourite (a check mark appears). The favourite will be opened automatically when you start the app.
- although you can always add new blogs that you want to follow, the app offers default list of blogs to use the app straight out of the box. Just tap the Reset Blogs button the blotto left corner
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For authors and anyone wanting to set up their own blog to use with FollowUS
How to add location information to a post:
- This is as simple as typing in the following sentence "Location: placename." Where the place name represents where you want to see the pin on the map. Dont forget the : after Location and the . at the end. his is what the app looks for to detect the correct location
- To check the accuracy of your "placename"s, you can type them in as a search in Apple Maps. If the pin falls where you want use that.
- Top avoid ambiguity for other users in other tie zones, it is advisable to add the country to the place name. e.g. "Hotel Clarion, St Albans, UK")
- Examples of valid "place names" are "Westminster Abbey, London, UK", "Cathedral, St Albans, UK", "Washington Monument, Washington DC, US"
- You can use ","s in the place name, but dont add any "."s (e.g. Dont use "Washington D.C." this wont work the first "." will be understood by the app as the end of the "placename".
How to use FollowUs with my own blog:
- To make best use of FollowUs, you will need a blog that implements the REST API from Wordpress (endpoint /wp-json/wp/v2). This can be a free blog site from the Wordpress.com website or a URL you have paid for an ISP offering your own a server running Wordpress.
- The REST API is active by default for all blogs since V4.7, but if you have an older version or just want some more control, install the free plug-in from Wordpress called WordPress REST API (Version 2) (https://wordpress.org/plugins/rest-api/)