After the recent success of the Daily Maui Photo App launched for the iPad in April, it was time to start a 2nd Maui App.
And while it took longer than originally expected, the follow up Maui Postcards App was launched to the App Store back in July.
Maui Postcards Features
The Maui Postcards App makes it easy and fun to Share the Magic of Maui by allowing you to create personalized postcards with my very best Maui images and have them printed and mailed to anyone in the world.
Version 1.0 – Initial Release
- Browse photos in multiple categories on both iPhone and iPad.
- Create personalized postcards, powered by Sincerely.
- Send postcards to US addresses for $1.99, International for $2.99.
View more details at the Maui Postcards App page and also follow along on Facebook.
What’s Next?
Well, the first version of this App was kept fairly simple on purpose. Behind the scenes, however, there was a good amount of development to take the API I created for the Daily Maui Photos App and create a second version to use for the Maui Postcards App.
Part of that new API was to support multiple Photographers who could contribute their own categories and photos to be available in the Maui Postcards App, too. Much of that development was completed in the App itself as well, but it’s currently disabled while I work out a few of the remaining logistics and build out the version 2.0 features.
Speaking of version 2.0, there’s already a healthy list of features I hope to add in future releases – primarily around social media engagement. And while adding something like creating digital versions of these postcards to share or post on Facebook would undermine the charm of the printed postcards this App is designed for, I am looking at how to incorporate Facebook and Twitter into a more share-focused approach to help spread awareness and interest in the App.
Specifically, I’d like to get a custom post type working for the Maui by Postcards website (that’s the next announcement, by the way) and have it use the same API that the App uses to display the postcard images online. Picture how Instagram links work, for example.
From there, users can share links to individual postcard images via Facebook, Twitter, and Email (like in the Daily Maui Photo App) as well as have a URL to “Like” with Facebook, too.
And After That
The great thing is – if all goes as planned – any work I put together for supporting that new custom post type in WordPress could also work for the same concept my Daily Maui Photo website has. That would mean my one last site that’s hand-built could finally be migrated over to WordPress and benefit from all the great features there, too.
It’s no accident that all of these projects feed off of each other like that. It’s something that also makes all of this so interesting and exciting as well.
Try the App
If you haven’t already, go ahead and download the Maui Postcards App and let me know what you think. If you have a suggestion, question, or issue, leave a note here, on Facebook, or through the App Contact page.
Many thanks, and enjoy,
– Kris
