First thing – What is YouMap?
Welcome to the YouMap how to guide! Here we will detail some of the key features of YouMap and will help you map your favorite content in no time - But first what is YouMap?
YouMap is a mapping platform that enables users to build custom maps in minutes. Our mapping platform was built for communities and individuals to empower real time curation and organization. We’ve built our platform to better connect people with those on the ground with the knowledge they need. YouMap lets you customize everything from the map’s privacy settings to how your posts look and how others engage with them. With YouMap you can easily create your next trip tracker, map your favorite restaurant experiences, or map your next community project – it’s all about YOU. Maps can also help you build and join interest-based communities to stay informed on new events & experiences.
Initial Step – Sign up
After installing the YouMap app on your iPhone, launch the app to start your onboarding process. The first step is tapping the Get Started button.
If you have already signed up in the past, tap the Sign in to your account button.
You can use you Apple ID or Google Account if you don’t wish to sign up via email.
Introduction to YouMap
Map Drawer
At the bottom of the screen you may notice a collection of icons and maps. This is called the Map Drawer, this is a navigational menu that helps you access the maps and feeds that you want to view or post to, each representing a community on YouMap.
The Map drawer contains several important elements: My World, Discovery, Map Library and a list of your favorited maps.
My World is a collection of all the maps you create, moderate, and follow.
Tap Discovery to discover more content from other maps. To return to the maps you follow or to see your posts on the map, tap My World.
Swipe the drawer upwards to reveal an activity feed. This view lets you explore many posts on a list view.
The My World section consists of a map, and an expandable map drawer with buttons.
Map Library
The Map Library lets you control the maps you want to quickly access in your customized view (Known as My World) here you can favorite and reorder maps to access easily in the home screen. Use this feature to find and post to maps you use most often.
You can remove a map from your favorites by tapping the yellow star on the right. You will be asked for confirmation (and you won’t delete your map). |
Star a map to favorite it (and easily access it from your home screen). You can also drag and drop the order by long pressing a map. |
Double tap the Map Library icon to access your map library. Tap Manage to customize your library. |
Search
You can search for locations, people or maps in the search section. To begin your search: Tap the search icon at the upper right corner of the screen to access search. Select Location to search for a place or a business. Select Maps to search for maps and select People to search for other users.
- Didn’t find what you were looking for? Try moving the map to your desired search location and then search again. We are using the Open Street Map database and constantly updating our location data set.
Map Creation
Creating a New Map
Creating a new map on YouMap is easy, go here for instructions on how to create a new map on YouMap.
Post Templates
Have something to share? Post to add your own information to maps. Posting on YouMap is quick, fun, and easy using Post Templates. But first a few words about post templates… Posting to your profile.
What are post templates?
At YouMap, we believe that mapping should be about more than just pins on a map. That’s why we created post templates. With post templates, you can create maps that reflect your unique perspectives, empowering you to understand our world better. Just as a map key on a paper map helps us make sense of the data on your map.
Post templates are the building blocks of YouMap’s maps. They give you the power to create a map that's uniquely yours. They bring app-like powers to your maps, by adding and arranging content blocks and saving them as a template, you can make sure the structure of your map perfectly reflects your vision and purpose.
Post templates are a great way to add structure and organization to your map. By adding content blocks in a post template, you can add specific and structured information to a map. This is a great way to add data to a map in an organized way. Post templates also allow you to add rich content to your map. By including photos, videos, and text, you can create a more engaging and informative map.
For example, if you are mapping a family vacation, you could set up a few post templates when you create your map. Ideas that quickly come to mind are “places to visit”, “Unique Stays”, “Travel Tips”, and “Favorite Photos”. A neighborhood community might have templates for Lost & Found, Community Events and Items for Sale. Each post template is represented by your chosen emoji on the map and can be used by anyone you invite to your map. In this fashion, all your invited family members can post following your customized post templates on your new family map.
By leveraging the collective intelligence of our global community and the power of post templates, we can unlock the value of unstructured data in our minds and turn it into meaningful insights.
Using Post Templates
Now that we’ve established the value of post templates - how does one set up a post template?
To start you have two options:
- Customize a premade template
- Create a custom post template
The key difference between these two methods is the first method provides some suggested content blocks (you can modify, add, remove any content block) while creating a new custom post template involves a few extra steps.
Regardless of your choice, setting up a post template is easy and useful. A post template contains any variation of content blocks (fields) such as text, media, audio, link, select, rating, value slider, option slider, and date.
Tips for quality posts:
👩🏫 Post to relevant maps – Is a cheap pizza place related to a dog map?
♻️ Follow the post flow – Try sharing all the information the map owner
asked for – a photo is not always worth a thousand words ;)
📍 Post to the correct location – it’s all about location, location, location!
📸 Use the “Add Media” button to add images and videos to your post, if
geo data is available from the photo you will have the option of auto filling
the location.
The Post (+) Button
Tap the + button on the map to open the posting menu. Next, select a map you wish to post to (tap the arrow at the top of the screen to select another map). Your post location is shown as an address or name of location, to select another location tap the address bar.
Map Privacy Settings
YouMap believes in privacy, and we empower our users to choose how they wish to create and share their content. We offer three privacy settings for maps including:
- Public – Everyone can see the map
- Selected People – Only invited people can see the map
- Only Me – Only you can see the map
Additionally, you may choose to let users to post (or not to) on your maps. If you wish to have others post to your map and make it grow be sure to tap the Allow users to post toggle. Similarly, you may wish to keep the posting structure according to the Post Templates you added to your map. To do so, the Quick Posting toggle should be off.
Embedding a Map
Embedding your map can enrich your website with a customized interactive map. To embed a map on your webpage, go to the web version of your map (share a map to get the url). Click the share icon and select the Embed a map tab. You have several sizing options which you can preview. Additionally, you can set a custom size and export the relevant html code.
Select your Map Size and preview the map size before you embed your map. There are several sizing options including the ability to customize.
Follow a User
Follow other users on YouMap to get notified when they add new posts, create new maps, or engage with maps you follow. Additionally, you can collaborate as map moderators. Tap the Follow button in a user’s profile to follow them.
Activity Menu
Tap the bell icon at the top of the user profile to access your activity menu. Here you can see the latest activity in your maps as well as updates about people and maps you follow. You may also see notifications from the YouMap team and invitations to become a moderator.
Map Details / Post Details
Maps and posts on YouMap have two main views: the first is a collapsed view that displays information and a map and the second is a fully expanded view. The expanded view details more information and can be scrolled as a list. Swipe up or tap the post to expand a post or map and reveal all the details.
Adding a Place to a Map
Adding your own places gives you the freedom of featuring the places you truly care about! At YouMap we use the Open Street Map open-source database. Our mission is to improve this global database by enriching this data with on the ground real users like you!
You can add a place to maps you create or maps you moderate. To add a place, select one of your maps and expand to see the map details page. Then select the PLACES tab, and tap the Add a place button.
You will now be able to search for a place by search or by dragging the map.
If you can’t find the place you are looking for, you are able to manually add it to the YouMap platform by tapping the Create a new Place.
Tips for searching and adding places:
- Drag the map to the area you are interested in before searching for the place.
- Think of Places as containers for posts, by adding places your map will be more interactive.
- Include a city when searching for a location - for example “Zahav Restaurant Philadelphia” instead of “Zahav”.
- Try searching in the native language where the place is located.
Viewing post on YouMap
YouMap gives you a bird's eye view of the world around you. Zoom in and out to reveal the most important posts, and as you zoom out, you'll see an animation of pinging bubbles like a radar of where content is located. Tap the animated bubbles to zoom into the details of each post, so you can explore what's happening in your area in real-time. With YouMap, you can get a full picture of your world with just a few taps.
Exploring Context Cards
Context cards are previews of posts you can interact with on the map. Swipe left and right to navigate between context cards. Like what you see? Tap the context card to access the full post details. Swipe right or left to see another context card and move along the map.
Context cards also provide a quick view of the content within a post, including the name of the map it is on, the author, and the post's featured content block.
Setting a featured field in a post template determines the layout of the context card. Content that you feature on a post template will appear on the post context card.
Posts (map view)
Posts on YouMap are displayed on maps. What makes YouMap unique is its power to display the most relevant information on a map in the form of post bubbles. Unlike other mapping platforms, we believe too much information can overwhelm instead of guide. So, give our post bubbles a try for yourself by going to the map section and see posts pop on your map. No posts in your area? Post to add a new post bubble to the map.
Post (list view)
Every map contains posts. You may see these posts as bubbles on the map view, or you can scroll through the map’s list feed. Enter a map you wish to explore and expand the full map details screen. Time to discover and share posts in your favorite maps!
Up Voting / Down Voting
Show your appreciation (or dislike) to posts by up voting and down voting. Tap the thumb icons to cast your vote.
Commenting on Posts
Leave comments on posts and engage with others. Commenting shows your interest in the content and can help you interact with the creator and other map followers. Be sure to respect the community rules and help make YouMap a safe space. To comment on a post scroll to the bottom of the post and tap the comments text box.
Sharing a Map/Post
To share a map, tap the share icon at the upper right corner of a post or a map. You may share your map or post with other YouMap users or with people outside the network.
You may share maps or posts with people on YouMap or people outside the network |
Moderators
Moderators help your map keep its purpose. We believe in community moderation for best control of your map’s content. You may invite people to moderate your map to cooperate in the map building process (adding places together, restricted posting permissions, and community rules). To add a moderator to your map, tap the Manage button in your map screen.
The next step is to search for the username you wish to add as a moderator on your map and select the permissions you wish to grant your moderator.
Delete a Map
If you wish to delete your map, select your desired map and expand the map details screen. Tap the menu icon and select remove. You will be asked one last time for confirmation before removal of the map and its content from our system.
Blocking a User
To block a user, find the user you wish to block and then go to their user profile page. On the upper right corner you will see a three dotted icon which opens a menu. Tap Block User to block the user. This user will no longer be able to see your content on YouMap. You can always unblock a user in the app settings page.