Apps, Camping, Canoeing, Hiking, OutdoorsEvan HoltMarch 27, 2014Yonder1 Comment

Apps: Yonder

Apps, Camping, Canoeing, Hiking, OutdoorsEvan HoltMarch 27, 2014Yonder1 Comment

If you have a phone, you have probably heard of Instagram, a hugely popular app that lets you snap photos, geotag them and share them with your friends. Browsing through the photos you can see that a lot of people love to share photos of themselves enjoying the outdoors... but what if you took it a step further?

Looking for outdoorsy activities around you? Want to discover a new trail or experience? Yonder, by Green Mountain Digital recently hit version 2.0.25 of their app which is that extension of the core photo sharing app idea. Let's walk through how it works...

Snap a photo, (It's in square format), select one of three filters (or leave it as-is), add up to three experience types (There are plenty of options to choose from such as backpacking, camping, hiking, paddle sports (we'd like to see Kayaking and Canoeing broken down further), snowshoeing, trail running, wildlife viewing and more...), add a few comments and geotag it, and now you can post it to the rest of the Yonder community.

Don't stop there however, you can...

Add hashtags
Upload video
Share with friends a photo via iMessage, E-mail, Facebook or Twitter
Create a list of photos, such as favourites, or a bucket list of places to explore

You are only a single tap away from "liking" a photo, getting directions to where the experience is (via Apple Maps), commenting on the photo, or adding the person as a Yonder friend.

Snapshot of Mark S Burnham Park http://t.co/l6nX5FBcPL @YonderApp pic.twitter.com/GvkI05e5CA
— Trail Swag (@trailswag) March 27, 2014

One nice touch is that when you scroll through a feed and stop at a photo, all of the user's information fades away so you can fully appreciate the photo. Swipe to continue and everything fades back in.

If you drop into Map View, you can pinch to zoom or pan to places near you to "Explore this area" and see what other Yonder users have discovered. Tap on a location to see a mini description of what the spot has to offer, including the place's website, tips about visiting, or an option to phone them, straight from the app.

Geotagged photos at Jasper National Park in Alberta

My favourite part of Yonder is when people geotag photos. One tap on the location takes you to all the things that Yonder users have photographed such as the unique experiences at that location. The power of smartphones!

We would like to see a way to share photos online via embedding them into webpages, perhaps a few more filters, and more people using the app. Be sure to tell your friends and help build the community as this is a great initiative.