Graffitio

It looks like Apple got Release 5 into the App Store way faster than I expected. I guess that saves me the work of putting together a screencast! Here are the new features:

• Create new walls with pinpoint precision using Google Maps: This is by far my favorite feature. You can precisely locate new walls you create. Having walls at their correct location will allow us to do some really cool stuff, which you’ll start seeing.
• See a wall’s location on a map with the new detail view: And this is the first thing that precise wall locations enable. Now if you see a wall in a new city, you can just pull up the detail view and see it on a map. You can then go to Maps and get turn by turn directions.
• Flag walls for review by the Graffitio team: There’s tens of thousands of walls that were created before Release 5. We want to move these walls to their precise locations and clean up the cruft that’s out there. Flagging walls will help us do that.
• Delete your signed posts with a swipe of your finger: I’d have loved this before when I accidentally hit Post before I was finished with my message.
• Choose whether or not to show the Infinite Wall or unsigned posts: These are located under Graffitio in the Settings.app. Turning these off is a great way to filter out the noise.

On the server-side, I’ve just added the ability to link new devices to existing usernames. For those of you that have received replacement iPhones or iPods or upgraded to new ones, this will allow you to keep using your usernames.

As I mentioned earlier, Release 6 will be awhile. If any bugs crop up in Release 5, I’ll release fixes, but no new features for awhile. In the meantime, you will be getting the web version. You’ll be able to go back and attach your username to posts you’ve made in the past, fix the names and locations of walls you’ve created, and delink your username from any devices you no longer use.

Also, some users in blog comments and on the walls have expressed concerns regarding their privacy now that Graffitio has added mapping features. Some users expressed concerns about being stalked, and let me say that no individual’s location information is sent out by the application. Walls are obviously tied to a location, and that information is available on the maps. For those of you that created walls in your homes, rest assured, the new web features will allow you to adjust your walls to a level you are comfortable with.

Finally, let me just say how much I love all of you. Developing Graffitio has been a pleasure, and it makes me so happy that so many of you are as excited about it as I am. You’re the best.